Dubai Business Setup for Pakistani Founders 2026: The Treaty You Have, the Trade Deal You Do Not Yet

Two India and UAE facts get borrowed and applied to Pakistan. Only one of them survives the check.

The tax treaty is real. The convention between the UAE and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the avoidance of double taxation was signed on 7 February 1993 and entered into force on 30 November 1994 [1][2]. It has been operating for three decades. It is a genuine planning instrument and your Pakistani adviser can read it today.

The trade agreement is not. As of early 2026 the UAE and Pakistan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement remains in final-stage negotiation, described by the UAE ambassador in February 2026 as close to signature rather than signed [3]. If you are reading that a Dubai company gives a Pakistani exporter CEPA tariff preferences today, that is a description of something not yet in force.

The distinction is commercial, not academic. A trader modelling landed costs on preferential duty that does not exist has a margin assumption wrong by the full duty amount, and that error compounds every month until someone checks it.

Since 2013, BusinessDubai.ae has registered UAE companies for founders from Pakistan and across the region, from AED 5,750 Sharjah licences to Dubai mainland structures with staff visas [11]. This guide covers what is in force, what each route costs in AED, and where Pakistani-owned setups most often stall.

What is actually in force between the UAE and Pakistan?

Short answer: the 1993 double taxation convention is in force and usable. The trade agreement is not signed, so nothing in your cost model should depend on it.

Separate the two instruments completely. They are constantly conflated by articles trying to sell you a licence.

Negotiations concluding, signature, and entry into force are three separate events, and all three have to happen before a single container clears at a preferential rate. Pakistan is at the first of them.

So build your model on the tariffs that apply today. If the agreement is signed and enters into force later, that is a reason to revisit your pricing, not a reason to price aggressively now and hope. Our import and export business guide covers how duty actually lands on goods entering the UAE, and our Dubai Customs registration guide covers the code you will need before you import anything at all.

Not sure whether your trade route works on current tariffs? Check your eligibility→

Why do Pakistani founders choose Dubai?

Short answer: full foreign ownership, a low but non-zero tax regime, a residence route that is not tied to an employer, and a two-hour flight home.

The reasons stack in a predictable order once you talk to enough founders.

100% foreign ownership. Free zone companies have always allowed it. Mainland companies now allow it for most business activities, which removed the single biggest structural objection Pakistani founders used to raise. There are still regulated activities where local participation applies, so confirm your specific activity rather than assuming. Our local sponsor requirements guide sets out where the requirement survives.

Proximity and connectivity. Direct flights measured in hours, and a working day that overlaps both Karachi and London. For a business with suppliers in Pakistan and customers in Europe, that overlap is worth more than founders expect.

An established community. Pakistanis are among the largest expatriate populations in the UAE, which means suppliers, staff, accountants and customers who already understand the market.

A tax position that is favourable but not zero. The UAE has had Corporate Tax since 2023. Anyone still calling Dubai a zero-tax jurisdiction is working from a pre-2023 script.

Residence that does not depend on an employer. Your own licence supports your own residence, and the Green Visa routes go further by removing the sponsor entirely.

Real Talk: The reason that does not hold up is secrecy. The UAE is a well-regulated jurisdiction with ultimate beneficial owner registers and information-exchange commitments, and founders expecting fewer questions than at home are usually surprised at the bank. Our UBO requirements guide covers what you must disclose.

Free zone or mainland: which one fits your customers?

Short answer: the decision turns on where your customers are, not on your nationality or your budget.

Choose free zone if you export services or goods, sell to customers outside the UAE, or run a technology, consulting or e-commerce business with international clients.

Choose mainland if you need to invoice UAE customers directly, sell to government, or operate premises the public walks into, such as a shop, a restaurant or a clinic.

Common Mistake: Buying a free zone licence on price when your actual customers are in Dubai. It is expensive twice: once for the licence that cannot serve your market, and again for the restructure that follows. Our free zone company setup and mainland company setup pages price both routes, and our free zone versus mainland comparison sets out where the line falls.

If you want mainland market access from a free zone entity, Dubai Executive Council Resolution 11/2025 created a route for that, covered in our free zone access to the mainland guide.

If you are holding assets rather than trading, an offshore company formation suits holding structures and intellectual property ownership. It gives you no residence and no right to trade in the UAE, so it complements an onshore licence rather than replacing one.

What does a Dubai setup actually cost in year one?

Short answer: a Dubai free zone licence starts from about AED 12,800 with one visa included, while a Dubai mainland licence starts from about AED 18,200 before any visa.

Here are indicative first-year figures from our own pricing, so you can size the decision before you speak to anyone [11].

Quick Math: The gap between a Sharjah licence at about AED 5,750 and a Dubai free zone licence with a visa at about AED 18,200 is roughly AED 12,450 in year one [11]. That is a real difference and it is also the entire question for a lot of founders. But price the second year too. Renewals, an establishment card and a visa renewal cycle repeat, and a licence in the wrong emirate for your customers costs you more in lost revenue than the AED 12,450 you saved. Decide on customers first, then let price break the tie between two routes that both work.

If cost is the binding constraint, read the emirate pages before you commit. Our business setup in Sharjah and business setup in Ajman pages set out what each emirate gives you and what it does not, and our cheapest free zones ranked guide shows where a headline price excludes something you will have to buy anyway.

What the licence price never includes: bank onboarding time, document attestation from Pakistan, accounting, and Corporate Tax registration. Our Dubai business setup cost breakdown covers the full first-year picture.

What tax will you actually pay?

Short answer: not zero. Corporate Tax is 0% up to AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9% above, and most small companies pay nothing only because they elect a relief on a return they still have to file.

Small Business Relief is where most Pakistani-owned companies actually land. It treats revenue at or below AED 3,000,000 as producing no taxable income, and Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 extended it to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 [6]. Three conditions catch people out: it must be elected on the return, it is closed to Qualifying Free Zone Persons, and other exemptions and deductions are switched off for any period in which you elect it, though tax losses and disallowed net interest expenditure carry forward rather than being lost [6].

Real Talk: Owing nothing and having nothing to do are not the same thing. Registration and filing obligations exist independently of liability, and the relief that produces your nil result is claimed on the return itself. The most common failure we see at this scale is a founder who concluded there was no tax to pay and therefore did nothing for two tax periods.

The 0% free zone rate is conditional. It applies only to qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person, which requires substance and activity conditions and audited financial statements. Selling to UAE consumers or into the mainland is generally an excluded activity, and a great many free zone businesses never reach QFZP status at all. Our Qualifying Free Zone Person guide sets out the conditions, and our Corporate Tax filing guide covers the return.

Splitting a business artificially to keep each part under AED 3,000,000 engages the general anti-abuse rule in Article 50 of the Corporate Tax Law [6]. It is not a structuring idea. It is a named risk.

How does the 1993 convention help you in practice?

Short answer: it allocates taxing rights between the two states. It does not decide where you are resident, and it does not end your Pakistani tax position on its own.

The convention has been in force since 30 November 1994 [1][2]. It is the instrument you and your Pakistani adviser should be reading together, because it governs how categories of income are treated when both states could otherwise tax the same amount.

What it does not do matters more to most founders than what it does.

It does not choose your residence. Your position under Pakistani law depends on Pakistani rules and on where you physically spend your time. A UAE company and a residence visa are evidence, not a determination.

It does not operate automatically. Treaty relief usually has to be claimed, and a claim usually rests on evidence that you are a UAE tax resident. That evidence is a UAE tax residency certificate, which has its own test and is separate from your visa. Many founders do not discover this until their first filing season.

Pro Tip: Sequence the advice. Speak to a Pakistani adviser about your residence position and any outward-investment or remittance requirements before you commit capital, then build the UAE structure to fit the answer. Doing it the other way round narrows your options, because some choices become harder to unwind once the company exists and income has run through it. Our double taxation agreements overview explains how the UAE treaty network operates generally.

On moving money to and from Pakistan, the UAE side is straightforward. The Pakistani side is governed by Pakistani foreign exchange regulation, which changes, and on which we are not the right advisers. That is not a hedge. It is the boundary of what a UAE formation firm can responsibly tell you.

Which residence visa fits a Pakistani founder?

Short answer: investor residence through your own licence is the default, and the Green Visa is worth checking because it removes the sponsor entirely for five years.

Two details in that table are routinely misreported.

ICP publishes no minimum investment amount for the investor and partner route [7]. Figures circulate widely and are not in the official source. If an adviser quotes a hard number as an ICP requirement, ask where it is published.

The freelance route says each of the two previous years [7]. One strong year does not qualify you, and an average across two years is not the test either.

Green, Golden and Blue permits carry a 180-day grace period after expiry or cancellation, extending to sponsored family members [8]. That is materially more room than an employment-sponsored permit, and for a founder whose licence renewal might slip it is a genuine safety margin.

Our Green Visa guide covers all three routes, our investor visa requirements guide covers the company route, and ten ways to get UAE residency maps the wider set.

Want to know which residence route your licence will actually support? Talk to a setup expert→

What should Pakistani founders expect on banking?

Short answer: enhanced due diligence, timelines measured in weeks rather than days, and a real possibility of decline. Documentation quality is what moves the outcome.

This is the part most guides skip, and skipping it does founders real harm, because banking is the step where launches stall.

UAE banks apply enhanced due diligence across a range of shareholder profiles. The practical consequence is that account opening timelines vary widely, from about a week to several months, and applications are sometimes declined outright. What determines the outcome is not your passport in isolation. It is the coherence of your business model, the quality of your documentation, the activity on your licence, and whether a compliance officer can see plausible and explainable transaction flows.

What genuinely helps, in the order it matters:

• Documented source of funds, traceable and consistent across every statement you submit. This is the single largest determinant.
• A licence activity that matches what you will actually do, described identically in the licence, the plan, the website and the application form.
• A business plan a compliance officer can follow without three rounds of follow-up questions.
• Realistic first-year projections. A projection that does not match the licence or the funding is a red flag, not an ambition.
• Named, verifiable customers and suppliers.
• Physical premises where the model calls for them, rather than the cheapest flexi-desk attached to a business that plainly needs an office.

What does not help is choosing a broad general trading activity because it sounds flexible. Flexibility on a licence is not free: it costs you explicability, and explicability is what banking approval turns on. A general trading licence attached to a software business reads as unexplained, and unexplained is the one thing a compliance function cannot approve.

Plan against the pessimistic case. Do not promise suppliers, staff or platforms a payment date that depends on an account opening in two weeks. Apply to more than one bank, and do not treat a first decline as final. Our guides to opening a corporate bank account in Dubai and handling a rejection cover the document set and the remediation route, and our AML and CFT compliance guide explains what the bank is actually testing for.

What will the bank account cost once it is open?

Short answer: between AED 79 and AED 250 a month, and the transfer pricing usually matters more than the monthly fee.

Once you are through onboarding, the running cost is knowable. These figures are as at August 2026 and you should confirm current pricing with the bank before you choose [12].

Quick Math: Take a trading business paying forty suppliers a month. At AED 25 per local transfer that is AED 1,000 a month, or AED 12,000 a year, on top of the monthly fee [12]. The whole spread between the cheapest and dearest monthly fee in that table is AED 171 a month, about AED 2,052 a year. For a payment-heavy business the transfer line is worth roughly six times the monthly fee difference.

Four other lines are worth checking before you commit [12]. FAB Basic charges AED 100 a month if you fall below the AED 10,000 balance, and the same AED 100 fall-below fee at Mashreq Pro and Pro Plus is waived after six months. Ruya charges AED 105 to close within six months, while Wio and Mashreq closures are free or waived. Mashreq offers free WPS payroll while Ruya charges AED 31.50 per file per month after a free setup. Card foreign exchange markups run to 3% plus scheme charges at Ruya, and 2.5% on non-AED transactions at Mashreq plus roughly 1.15% scheme fee.

Our UAE business bank account comparison works through the full table, including the lines the published data does not state.

Can you sponsor your family?

Short answer: yes, subject to standard income and accommodation conditions, and the overstay exposure is per person, which is the number households get wrong.

Green, Golden and Blue holders may sponsor spouse and children in accordance with the approved requirements, and the 180-day grace period on expiry or cancellation extends to those dependants [7][8]. That household-level protection is a genuine advantage over an employment-sponsored permit, where the whole family's status hangs on one employer relationship.

The conditions themselves vary by residence category and cover income and accommodation. Our UAE family visa requirements guide covers them, including the rules that catch people sponsoring adult children and parents.

Real Talk: Overstay fines are AED 50 per person per day, they are flat rather than escalating, and there is an additional AED 100 smart services fee [9]. A family of four in violation for sixty days is AED 12,000, not AED 3,000. Worse, paying does not resolve anything. ICP requires that status is adjusted or the person leaves the UAE [9]. There is also an AED 2,000 penalty for misuse of smart services [9]. For visit and tourist visas the fine is calculated from ten days after expiry [9].

Our overstay fines guide covers the grace periods, which differ enormously by permit type, and our visa cancellation guide covers the order things have to be unwound in.

What do you have to do every year?

Short answer: eight recurring obligations, chained together so that a late tenancy renewal becomes a blocked visa two months later.

The dependency chain catches people. Ejari gates the licence, the licence gates the establishment card, and the card gates every visa. Cancellation runs in reverse: dependants, individual, employees, establishment card, licence. Miss a tenancy renewal in March and you can be unable to renew a family visa in May.

Pro Tip: Put the tenancy renewal in your calendar ninety days ahead, not thirty. It sits at the top of the chain, so it is the only date where being early buys you slack everywhere downstream. Our post-setup guide sets out the sequence, our Ejari registration guide covers the tenancy step, and our establishment card guide covers the middle link most founders have never heard of until it blocks them.

If you employ staff, our UAE labour law guide for employers covers your obligations with article numbers, including the 30 to 90 day notice range under Article 43 and the end of service calculation under Article 51.

One thing you can stop doing: Economic Substance notifications and reports were cancelled for financial years ending after 31 December 2022, with fines for those years cancelled and paid fines refunded [10]. The regime still applies to 2019 to 2022, and ADGM and DIFC run their own registrar confirmations. Our economic substance regulations guide covers the amendment.

Want the licence, the visas and the annual filings handled rather than remembered? Get a free consultation→

Real Client Stories

Real examples from businesses we have helped set up. Names have been changed for privacy.

Bilal, the textile exporter who priced a deal that did not exist

Bilal ran a textile export business from Faisalabad and wanted a Dubai entity to serve GCC retail buyers. He built his landed-cost model on the assumption that a UAE company would give him preferential tariff treatment under a Pakistan economic partnership agreement. The agreement is not signed and as of early 2026 remains in final-stage negotiation [3]. His margin assumption was wrong by the full duty amount on every unit.

The structure still made commercial sense on other grounds, specifically re-export access, banking and the 1993 convention [1][2], but the numbers had to be rebuilt on tariffs that actually apply. He took a Dubai free zone licence with an investor visa at about AED 19,000 first year [11], repriced his GCC offer, and shipped in month four.

His comment: "I had read four articles saying the trade deal was done. None of them said signed, and I did not notice the difference until my first quotation came back uncompetitive."

Ayesha, the consultant who thought a UAE visa closed her Pakistani file

Ayesha incorporated a consultancy in a Dubai free zone, obtained residence, and continued to spend most of the year in Lahore with her family. She assumed the company and the visa had settled her tax position. They had not. A UAE company and a residence visa do not by themselves determine tax residence elsewhere, because that depends on the other country's law and on physical presence. The 1993 convention allocates income between the two states [1][2] but it does not choose your residence for you.

The correction was manageable once addressed. She adjusted the time she spent in each country and obtained a UAE tax residency certificate to support the position. What it needed was a Pakistani adviser, not a UAE one, and it needed that adviser before incorporation rather than eighteen months after it.

Her comment: "Everyone told me what the Dubai company would do. Nobody told me the question I actually needed answered was on the other side."

Faisal, the founder who budgeted one overstay and paid for four

Faisal let a residence permit lapse during a licence renewal delay, and did not register that his wife and two children were sponsored under it. All four accrued AED 50 per person per day [9]. The fine itself was recoverable. The disruption to a school enrolment and an in-progress bank review was harder to undo, and paying the fine did not close the matter, because ICP requires that status is adjusted or the person leaves [9].

The root cause was the dependency chain rather than carelessness. A tenancy renewal slipped by three weeks, which delayed the licence, which delayed the establishment card, which stalled four visa renewals at once.

His comment: "I thought I had one problem worth a few hundred dirhams. I had four problems, and the school did not care whose fault it was."

Start with the structure, not the licence price

For a Pakistani founder the honest summary is short.

The tax treaty is in force and useful, and has been since 30 November 1994 [1][2]. The trade agreement is not signed and should not appear anywhere in your cost model [3]. The Corporate Tax position is favourable rather than zero, at 0% up to AED 375,000 and 9% above [5], with Small Business Relief now running to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 on election [6]. A Dubai free zone licence with an investor visa runs about AED 18,200 in year one, with cheaper options outside Dubai from about AED 5,750 in Sharjah [11]. Banking is the step most likely to delay you, and the way to manage it is documentation quality rather than optimism.

Since 2013, BusinessDubai.ae has handled UAE formation for founders from Pakistan and across the region: the licence, the residence route, the bank introduction and the compliance that follows. We will tell you which structure fits your actual customer base before you pay for a licence, and our post-setup services team then runs the tax registration, the annual return and the renewal chain.

Get a free consultation→

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Pakistani national own 100% of a Dubai company?

Yes. Free zone companies allow full foreign ownership, and mainland companies do too for most business activities. The former requirement for a 51% Emirati partner no longer applies to most activities, though some regulated sectors still involve local participation, so confirm your specific activity.

Is there a UAE and Pakistan CEPA in force?

Not as of early 2026. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement remains in final-stage negotiation, described in February 2026 as close to signature rather than signed [3]. Do not build tariff assumptions on it yet.

Is there a double taxation treaty between the UAE and Pakistan?

Yes. The convention was signed on 7 February 1993 and entered into force on 30 November 1994 [1][2]. It governs how categories of income are allocated between the two jurisdictions.

Will a Dubai company mean I pay no tax at all?

No. Corporate Tax is 0% up to AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9% above [5]. Small Business Relief can produce nil taxable income at or below AED 3,000,000 of revenue, to periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 [6], but it must be elected and is closed to Qualifying Free Zone Persons. There is no UAE personal income tax.

Does a UAE residence visa end my Pakistani tax residence?

Not by itself. Your position under Pakistani law depends on Pakistani rules and on where you actually spend your time. The treaty allocates income between the two states, it does not decide residence for you. Take advice in Pakistan before you incorporate.

How much does a Dubai company cost for a Pakistani founder?

Indicatively, a Dubai free zone licence starts from about AED 12,800, or about AED 18,200 with an investor visa included. A Dubai mainland licence starts from about AED 15,000 before premises. Ajman starts from about AED 12,800 and Sharjah from about AED 5,750 [11].

What is the cheapest emirate to set up in?

Of the routes we register, Sharjah is the cheapest at from about AED 5,750, with Ajman from about AED 12,800 [11]. Both are outside Dubai, which matters if your customers, your staff or your credibility are in Dubai specifically.

When do I need to register for VAT?

Once taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 you must register. Voluntary registration is available above AED 187,500 of taxable supplies, imports or expenses [4].

Do I have to register for Corporate Tax even if I owe nothing?

Yes. Registration and filing obligations exist independently of liability, and Small Business Relief is elected on the return rather than instead of it [6].

Can my free zone company get the 0% rate automatically?

No. The 0% rate applies to qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person, which requires substance and activity conditions and audited financial statements. Selling to UAE consumers or into the mainland is generally an excluded activity.

What is the minimum investment for a Green Visa as an investor?

ICP publishes no minimum investment amount for the investor and partner route. The stated conditions are proof of investment or contribution to a UAE business venture plus the necessary licences and approvals [7]. Specific figures quoted elsewhere are not in the official source.

What salary do I need for the Green Visa skilled worker route?

A minimum monthly salary of AED 15,000, alongside a bachelor's degree minimum, MOHRE occupational classification levels 1 to 3, and a valid UAE employment contract [7].

What income do I need for the Green Visa freelance route?

Annual income of not less than AED 360,000 in each of the two previous years, plus a Ministry-issued freelance or self-employment permit and a bachelor's degree, specialised diploma or equivalent [7]. Both years must clear the figure.

How hard is it for a Pakistani founder to open a UAE business account?

It varies considerably and applications are sometimes declined. The determinants are documented source of funds, a licence activity matching the real business, a plausible transaction profile and realistic projections. Plan for weeks rather than days, and do not commit to payment dates that depend on it.

What does a UAE business bank account cost to run?

Monthly fees range from about AED 79 to AED 250 across the accounts we compared as at August 2026, with only FAB Basic imposing a minimum average balance of AED 10,000 [12]. For payment-heavy businesses, per-transfer pricing usually matters more than the monthly fee.

Which is better for me, free zone or mainland?

It depends on your customers. Free zone if you sell outside the UAE or to international clients. Mainland if you invoice UAE customers directly, sell to government, or run premises the public enters.

Can a free zone company sell into the UAE mainland?

Not directly as a general rule. It typically needs a distributor, a branch or a permit. Dubai Executive Council Resolution 11/2025 created a route for mainland access from a free zone entity, which our free zone access to the mainland guide covers.

Can I sponsor my family from Pakistan?

Yes, subject to the standard income and accommodation conditions. Green, Golden and Blue holders may sponsor spouse and children, and the 180-day grace period on expiry or cancellation extends to those dependants [7][8].

What happens if my visa expires while I am in the UAE?

Overstay accrues at AED 50 per person per day at a flat rate, plus an AED 100 smart services fee, and paying the fine does not resolve the violation because status must be adjusted or the person must leave [9]. Green, Golden and Blue holders have a 180-day grace period first [8].

Do I still have to file Economic Substance reports?

Not for financial years ending after 31 December 2022. Cabinet Decision No. 98 of 2024 cancelled the notification and report requirement for those years and cancelled the related fines, with paid fines refunded [10]. The regime still applies to financial years 2019 to 2022, and ADGM and DIFC run their own registrar confirmations separately.

What is the dependency chain everyone warns about?

Ejari or a valid tenancy gates the licence renewal, the licence gates the establishment card, and the card gates every visa. Cancellation runs in reverse. A slipped tenancy date in one month can block a visa two months later.

Can I move money freely between Dubai and Pakistan?

The UAE side is straightforward. The Pakistani side is governed by Pakistani foreign exchange regulation, which changes, and which requires Pakistani advice on outward investment and remittance before you commit capital.

What is the biggest mistake Pakistani founders make?

Buying a licence before deciding who the customers are, and building a cost model on a trade agreement that is not signed [3]. The second most common is assuming that owing no Corporate Tax means having nothing to file [6].

Related reading: Free Zone vs Mainland vs Offshore, UAE Green Visa Guide, What to Do After Setting Up a Company in Dubai

References

[1] Federal Board of Revenue, Pakistan. Pakistan and United Arab Emirates Income Tax Convention 1993, the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, signed 7 February 1993 and entered into force 30 November 1994. FBR Pakistan and UAE convention (PDF)

[2] UAE Ministry of Finance. Double Taxation Agreements, listing the UAE's treaty network including the agreement with Pakistan. MoF double taxation agreements

[3] Arab News and UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism. Reporting on the Pakistan and UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, including the UAE ambassador's February 2026 statement that it is in its final stages and remains unsigned, and bilateral trade of approximately USD 8 to 10 billion. MoET CEPA programme

[4] Federal Tax Authority. Registration for VAT, setting the mandatory threshold at AED 375,000 of taxable supplies and imports and the voluntary threshold at AED 187,500 of taxable supplies, imports or expenses. FTA VAT registration

[5] The Official Portal of the UAE Government and Federal Tax Authority. Corporate tax at 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above, and the requirement to file a return and settle the liability within nine months from the end of the tax period. u.ae corporate tax

[6] UAE Ministry of Finance and Federal Tax Authority. Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 amending Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023 on Small Business Relief: availability extended to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029, the AED 3,000,000 revenue threshold applying to the current and all previous periods, election required on the return, Qualifying Free Zone Persons excluded, and Article 50 of the Corporate Tax Law applying to artificial separation of a business. MoF financial legislation

[7] Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP). UAE Green Residency: skilled worker conditions including AED 15,000 minimum monthly salary and MOHRE classification levels 1 to 3, freelance conditions including annual income of not less than AED 360,000 in each of the two previous years, and investor and partner conditions with no minimum investment amount published. ICP Green Residency

[8] Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP). Cancellation of residency permits, including the 180-day grace period for Golden, Green and Blue residence holders and their family members. ICP residence permit cancellation

[9] Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP). Payment of visa or residence violation fine: AED 50 per person per day flat, an AED 100 smart services fee, an AED 2,000 penalty for misuse of smart services, and the requirement that status be adjusted or the individual leave the UAE after payment. ICP visa and residence violation fines

[10] UAE Ministry of Finance. Announcement of Cabinet Decision No. 98 of 2024 amending Cabinet Decision No. 57 of 2020, cancelling the Economic Substance Notification and Report requirement for financial years ending after 31 December 2022, cancelling associated fines and refunding fines already paid. MoF announcement on Economic Substance

[11] BusinessDubai.ae. Indicative first-year formation pricing and internal data from UAE company registrations since 2013: Dubai free zone from approximately AED 12,800, or approximately AED 18,200 with an investor visa, Dubai mainland from approximately AED 15,000, Ajman from approximately AED 12,800 and Sharjah from approximately AED 5,750, plus bank onboarding timelines and decline reasons by shareholder profile and licence activity. businessdubai.ae

[12] BusinessDubai.ae. UAE business banking comparison as at August 2026: monthly fees from AED 79 to AED 250, minimum balance and fall-below conditions, transfer pricing, WPS charges, closure fees and card foreign exchange markups. UAE business bank account comparison

This guide covers the UAE side. It is not Pakistani tax advice; take advice in Pakistan on your residence position, outward investment and remittance requirements before you incorporate.