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What's changed.

Dated updates to visa, tax, residency, citizenship, housing, and labour policy across every country tracked. Every entry cites its primary source and the date we last verified it.

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Country All countriesAQAntarcticaAUAustraliaBRBrazilCACanadaCNChina (Mainland)EGEgyptFRFranceDEGermanyHKHong KongIEIrelandITItalyJPJapanMXMexicoMAMoroccoNLNetherlandsNZNew ZealandPTPortugalSGSingaporeZASouth AfricaKRSouth KoreaESSpainAEUnited Arab EmiratesGBUnited KingdomUSUnited States
Category All categoriesVisa & immigrationResidencyCitizenshipTaxationLabourHousingHealthcareOther
In force 1 Jan 2024
In force Other

100% foreign ownership for mainland companies — fully implemented

The 2021 reform allowing 100% foreign ownership of mainland companies (without an Emirati local sponsor) has been fully implemented across all seven emirates by 2024 for most commercial activities. A small list of strategic activities (defence, banking) remains restricted. A long-term structural reform that has materially changed the foreign-founder route alongside the visa-reform package.

Who it affects: Foreign founders considering mainland (non-free-zone) UAE incorporation.

UAE Government Portal ↗ · Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation ↗ · verified 2026-04-19