UAE Tax Residency and Citizenship in 2026: No Income Tax, 9% Corporate Tax, and No Passport for Sale

Two questions come up in almost every UAE consultation: “Will I pay tax here?” and “When do I get the passport?”. The first answer is pleasant, the second is honest. Sources: u.ae on corporate tax, the Federal Tax Authority, u.ae on Emirati nationality and the BRIDGES article on UAE citizenship. Checked on 2 November 2026.

Taxes for residents

Tax	Rate
Personal income tax	none
Corporate tax	0% up to AED 375,000 of profit, 9% above
VAT	5%

Corporate tax applies under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 to financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. Individuals pay it only if they run a business with turnover above AED 1 million. A salary, rent from your own flat or dividends are not taxed as personal income.

Tax residency: the three tests

The UAE does not tax you, but your home country may still do so. To show you have moved, you need a UAE Tax Residency Certificate. Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 makes you a tax resident if any one of these applies:

1. You spend 183 days or more in the UAE within 12 consecutive months.
2. You spend 90 days or more in 12 months, hold a UAE residence permit (or GCC nationality) and have a permanent home in the UAE or a job or business there.
3. Your usual or primary residence and the centre of your financial and personal interests are in the UAE.

The Federal Tax Authority issues the certificate online. I always tell clients to check the rules of the country they are leaving, because the certificate alone does not end your tax residence there.

Citizenship: no investment route

The UAE has no citizenship by investment. Since January 2021, investors, doctors, scientists, inventors, creative talents and their families can be granted citizenship by nomination from the Rulers’ Courts, executive councils or the Cabinet, as WAM reported. Investors must own property in the UAE, and they may keep their current nationality. You cannot apply yourself.

Ordinary naturalisation exists in the 1972 nationality law, with very long residence of about 30 years and Arabic. In practice it is rare.

The passport for comparison

The UAE passport ranks 2nd of 199 in the BRIDGES Passport Index of 4 October 2026, with 189 destinations without a prior visa. A Golden Visa gives none of that: it is a residence permit, not travel freedom, and it does not open the Schengen area.

My view

Use the UAE for what it does best: a stable residence with no income tax. If you need a second passport, plan it separately in a country that has a real citizenship route.