Business
Full foreign ownership onshore since 2021, plus more than forty free zones
The 2020 amendment to the Companies Law removed the general requirement for fifty-one per cent Emirati ownership of onshore companies, ending the sponsor structure for most activities.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Onshore commercial courts, plus DIFC and ADGM courts for entities registered there. DIAC and the arbitration centres administer institutional arbitration.
- Deadline — 30 days to challenge a company resolution
- Deadline — 30 days to apply to set aside an arbitral award under the 2018 law
Governing law
- Commercial Companies Law, Federal Decree-Law 32 of 2021
- Federal Decree-Law 26 of 2020 — removed the 51% national ownership rule
- Federal Arbitration Law 6 of 2018 — UNCITRAL Model Law based
- Bankruptcy Law, Federal Decree-Law 51 of 2023
In practice
The end of the mandatory local partner in 2021 removed the main historical reason to incorporate in a free zone, but the zones remain attractive for the legal system they carry rather than the ownership rule they used to avoid: an ADGM or DIFC company sits under common law with an English-language court. Free zone entities have historically faced restrictions on trading directly in the onshore market, which is the trade-off. The 2018 Arbitration Law is Model Law based and the UAE is a New York Convention party, and the 2023 Bankruptcy Law introduced a preventive settlement procedure and a dedicated bankruptcy court.