The UAE & GCC Free Zone Briefing
An independent briefing for UAE free zone founders — fee changes, banking intelligence, and regulatory updates as they land, plus the quarterly State of GCC data report. No affiliate agenda.
What's inside each edition
Fee change alerts
When a free zone changes its pricing, we update our data and flag it — before you get surprised at renewal.
Banking intelligence
Which UAE banks are accepting free zone clients, which aren't, and what new digital banking options have opened up.
Regulatory updates
UAE corporate tax changes, QFZP rule updates, new visa categories, and what they mean for your structure.
New zone launches
New free zones, new activity categories, new packages — the ones worth considering and the ones to skip.
Honest comparisons
Data-driven comparison of specific zones with no commercial incentive to steer you toward any particular option.
The State of GCC report
The quarterly edition of our data report — what 10,000+ founder questions reveal about where the market is moving.
The kind of intelligence you'll get
Real, sourced developments from our living regulatory tracker — the same feed that powers the briefing.
UAE e-invoicing programme opens its voluntary phase
Most free-zone SMEs fall under AED 50M (Phase 2, in 2027), but larger holding/trading structures are in Phase 1 now, and any business can opt into the July 2026 voluntary phase. Start scoping an accredited service provider before the 30 October 2026 appointment deadline if you're near the AED 50M line.
Source: UAE Ministry of Finance — Ministerial Decisions No. 243 & 244 of 2025 (e-invoicing) ↗
CBUAE updates AML/CFT/CPF guidance for financial institutions
This shapes corporate account onboarding directly: banks now expect a documented UBO trail and source-of-wealth evidence up front. A thin file means slower — or rejected — free-zone company accounts, so prepare substance and ownership documentation before applying.
Source: Central Bank of the UAE — updated AML/CFT/CPF guidance (2026) ↗
VARA formalises crypto-derivatives trading (Exchange Services Rulebook v2.1)
Only relevant to founders in virtual-asset activities: Dubai-licensed VASPs now have a compliant route to offer leveraged crypto products, subject to hard retail-protection limits and extra VARA approvals. No impact on non-crypto businesses.
Dubai free-zone companies can operate on the mainland without a second entity
This removes the long-standing wall between free zone and mainland — a free-zone founder can now legally serve mainland UAE clients without a second company. Note the trade-off: mainland-derived income becomes subject to 9% corporate tax and needs separate books, so it can affect QFZP 0% status on that revenue.
Source: Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism — Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025 ↗
FTA formalises its tax clarifications and directives framework
Founders now have a defined, structured route to obtain binding written FTA answers on uncertain VAT or corporate-tax treatment — useful for novel free-zone or e-commerce fact patterns where the rules are ambiguous.
Source: Federal Tax Authority — clarifications & directives framework (2026) ↗
See the full timeline in the regulatory tracker · read the State of GCC report
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