Corporate tax 0% on profits up to AED 375,000, 9% above — but the advantage only holds if the Italian side is closed properly. AQC Consulting handles both sides, from the same firm.
In the first call we look at where you stand today and establish whether the move makes sense for you. If it doesn't, we say so there and then.
Each entry states what is actually done, not what it promises to be.
Choosing the jurisdiction on the basis of the activity and the target market, then full execution.
The residence visa is tied to the company or to the investment: the structure has to be decided first.
This is what separates a legitimate saving from a tax assessment. It has to be handled together with everything else.
Once there is more than one asset or more than one shareholder, the structure matters more than the jurisdiction.
Italian doctors, dentists and specialists cannot practise in Dubai without a licence from the competent authority.
Legal assistance on property purchases and investments in Dubai, from the preliminary agreement to registration.
Legal assistance after the set-up, when a position has to be enforced or defended.
The least predictable variable is opening the bank account: it depends on the bank and on the profile of the business, not on the firm.
A 30-minute call and a questionnaire on the business, the clients, current residence and assets. The output is a map: recommended jurisdiction, estimated tax burden on both sides, Italian issues to address.
Immediate, in the first callWe settle the corporate form, activity code, capital, shareholder arrangements and number of visas. This is also where we decide how and when to close the Italian tax position.
Within 5 working daysLicence, establishment card, residence visa, medical test, Emirates ID, opening the corporate bank account. Documents and signatures handled remotely wherever the rules allow it.
15 days minimumLicence and visa renewals, the corporate tax return, the UBO register, VAT registration where required and accounting obligations. With oversight of any remaining Italian filings too.
Ongoing assistanceThe timings above are averages for standard matters. They have to be confirmed case by case: some regulated activities (healthcare, finance, education) need additional approvals.
The right question is not which of the two is better, but where your clients are. If you invoice abroad, a Free Zone is almost always sufficient. If you sell to clients inside the Emirates, you need a Mainland structure or a local distribution channel.
| Aspect | Free Zone Most common choice | Mainland For the domestic market |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign ownership | 100% No local partner required | 100% For most activities, following the 2021 reform. Exceptions remain, with strategic impact. |
| Corporate tax | 0% / 9% 0% on qualifying income while the company keeps Qualifying Free Zone Person status. Outside that perimeter, 9% above AED 375,000. | 0% / 9% 0% on profits up to AED 375,000, 9% on the excess. |
| Selling inside the Emirates | Not directly Requires a local distributor or a Mainland branch. | Directly No intermediary, invoicing straight to the end client. |
| Office required | Flexi-desk Allowed in many zones: it cuts the fixed cost of the first year. | Virtual office / physical office A virtual office is allowed for many activities; a physical office, with a registered Ejari contract, remains the heaviest cost item where it is required. |
| Number of visas | By package Set when the licence is issued: it has to be sized beforehand, not afterwards. | By floor area Proportional to the square metres of the office. |
| Costs: first year and after | To be set in the call The first year depends on the zone, the activity and the number of visas. From the second: licence renewal, visas and the accounting and legal support required. | To be set in the call In the first year the office rent weighs most. From the second it depends on the corporate structure, the visas and the support required. |
The Free Zones most used by Italian entrepreneurs are IFZA, Meydan, DMCC, SHAMS and RAKEZ, with DIFC and ADGM for financial activities and wealth structures. The choice changes the annual cost, how banks read the company and the prospects of obtaining a tax residence certificate.
Italian attorney-at-law and international legal consultant, with an office at Metropolis Tower, Business Bay, Dubai, and offices in Lecce, Rome and Milan. She acts for Italian clients moving a business and a residence to the Emirates, holding the two legal systems together instead of looking at only one of them.
Most of the problems that reach our desk do not start in Dubai: they start in Italy, with a move made on paper and not in fact. That is why the analysis always begins with the client's Italian position, before the choice of Free Zone.
Videos recorded by clients after their matter closed. None of them was filmed in our office.
Television and podcast appearances in which Alessandra explains how moving to the Emirates works and what has to be closed on the Italian side.
Amazing Puglia · April–June 2024
Between 3 and 8 weeks from instruction to full operation. A Free Zone licence is often issued in 5–10 working days; the residence visa and Emirates ID take a further 2–3 weeks between the medical test and the biometrics. The slowest step is almost always opening the corporate bank account, where timing depends on the bank and on the profile of the business.
If you remain tax resident in Italy, the profits of the Emirati company stay within the Italian tax net and the company risks being treated as Italian-resident, on the basis that it is in fact managed from Italy. The move has to be real: AIRE registration, an actual change of domicile and personal ties, running the business from the Emirates, genuine economic substance.
Since 2024 the tax residence tests for individuals have been rewritten by Legislative Decree 209/2023: what counts is civil-law residence, domicile understood as the main place of personal and family ties, physical presence in the territory, and registration with the resident population register, which acts as a presumption that can be rebutted with evidence to the contrary.
The cost depends on three variables: Free Zone or Mainland, the type of activity and the number of visas required. On top of the licence come the establishment card, visa and Emirates ID for each person, the office or flexi-desk, and the annual renewal — as well as any government approvals required for specific activities (RERA for real estate, Dubai Sports Council, and similar).
The firm's fees start at €2,500. In the call you receive a written quote with the sum of every item, including those paid directly to the authorities.
AIRE registration is the minimum condition, not the proof. The Italian Revenue Agency looks at where the family is, whether a home remains available, where the active bank accounts, utilities and corporate offices held are, and how many days were actually spent in each country. The file has to be built before the move and kept: the Emirati tenancy contract, Emirates ID, bank movements, flight tickets, and the tax residence certificate issued by the Federal Tax Authority.
If your clients are outside the Emirates, a Free Zone is almost always sufficient and costs less. If you sell to clients or consumers resident in the Emirates, or want access to public tenders, you need a Mainland structure or a local distributor. A Free Zone keeps the 0% rate only on qualifying income and only while it meets the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions: outside that perimeter the 9% rate applies.
If you are tax resident in Italy, yes: foreign dividends are taxable in Italy and the company may fall within the CFC rules on low-taxed foreign controlled companies. If tax residence is genuinely in the Emirates the question does not arise, but any Italian-source income and the Italy‑UAE double tax treaty, in force since 1997, still have to be checked.
This is the least predictable stage. Emirati banks apply strict anti-money-laundering checks and assess the activity, the source of funds, the client base and the physical presence of the owner. They usually require the licence, the Emirates ID, a business plan and documentation on the origin of wealth. It takes 2 to 6 weeks and a refusal is not unusual: this is why the choice of zone and activity code is also made with an eye to how the bank will read the profile.
It is a renewable 10-year residence permit that does not require a corporate sponsor. The route most used by Italians is a property investment of AED 2 million or more; there are also routes for specialised talent, investors and entrepreneurs. It suits anyone who wants to detach their residence from a single company: if the company closes, the investor visa lapses, the Golden Visa does not.
Yes, but a licence from the competent health authority is required: DHA for Dubai, DOH for Abu Dhabi, MOHAP at federal level. The route involves credential verification through DataFlow, passing the Prometric examination and professional indemnity insurance. Opening your own practice also requires a facility health licence, on top of the trade licence.
The typical challenge concerns the tax residence of the individual or the deemed Italian residence of the company, and comes as a demand to tax in Italy income already declared elsewhere, plus penalties. The defence rests on documents gathered over time, not produced after the assessment. The firm handles this stage too, both in pre-litigation discussions and in court.
The information on this page is current as at August 2026 and is provided for information purposes: it does not constitute legal or tax advice and does not replace an analysis of the specific case. Emirati and Italian law change: always check during the consultation.
