In recent years, tax residency issues have become more important in tax returns for government, banks and tax authorities. Obtaining tax residency status in the UAE is growing in popularity for a number of reasons:

The UAE is expected to join the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) later than most other countries – from 2018.
UAE residents and companies and individuals are generally not taxed on trading income, dividends, investments, bonds, etc.
The UAE offers tremendous opportunities for international companies; Businesses are easy to start and run effectively.

Who can apply for UAE tax resident status?
A UAE Tax Residence Certificate can be issued to an onshore company or individual but you must first become a UAE resident. This can be achieved in one of the following ways:

You can register a company in your name. There are no requirements for this company to participate in active trading; Basically, its main purpose is to support your tax residency status. This status is maintained on the basis of the onshore company, which must be renewed annually.
You can buy properties worth over a million dirhams in the UAE. The owner must be a single individual or a married couple. If there is more than one owner (or if the couple's marriage is not officially registered), each person must invest one million dirhams in the property. Our package offer includes the application for a residence visa with the option of annual renewal.

UAE onshore companies
Incorporating a company in the UAE is fairly straightforward and has proven to be an excellent vehicle for international trade as well as holding dividends and interest. A company incorporated for tax residency purposes cannot be just a shell and you must maintain some turnover in the company bank account.

Note that only UAE onshore free zone companies can be considered for tax residency purposes. Therefore, companies in Ras Al Khaimah will not be of any use in this regard.

If you decide to incorporate your onshore company in a free zone, consider Umm al-Quwain Free Zone: unlike many others, there are no share capital or statutory accounting and auditing requirements here. As with all free zones on land in the United Arab Emirates, your business will need a specific license depending on the type of activity you wish to undertake. An onshore company must also have a rented office - this service is included in our company package.