UAE tax residency certificate for individuals: who qualifies, which one to ask for and what it costs

A UAE tax residency certificate (TRC) is what you show a foreign tax authority, a bank or a payer when they ask where you are resident for tax. It is issued by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA), and a certificate for a named double tax treaty and a certificate "for other purposes" are two different documents.

This page is for an individual living in the UAE, and every rule below carries the instrument that sets it. Two caveats apply to all of them. The English texts of Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 and Ministerial Decision No. 27 of 2023 are the FTA's unofficial translations of the Arabic originals. And the FTA's procedural guide, "Tax Resident and Tax Residency Certificate — Tax Procedures Guide TPGTR1" (October 2024), says of itself that it is not legally binding: it tells you how the Authority works, the decisions tell you what the law is.

What a UAE tax residency certificate is, and the two kinds

Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022, art. 1, defines the Tax Residency Certificate as "a certificate issued by the Authority proving that the Person is a Tax Resident in the State". Art. 5 lets a Tax Resident apply in the form and manner the Authority sets, and says that if satisfied the Authority "may approve the application and issue" it. The decision was issued on 2 September 2022 and has been in force since 1 March 2023.

The FTA issues two kinds (guide TPGTR1, sections 7.1 and 7.4):

• a certificate for a double taxation agreement (DTA), which names the treaty and the other country;
• a certificate for other purposes, issued on the domestic criteria of Cabinet Decision 85/2022 alone.

Art. 6 of the same decision says that where an international agreement sets its own residence conditions, those apply for that agreement. So meeting the domestic test does not by itself satisfy a treaty's own residence article. Which kind the other side accepts is a question for them: ask the tax authority of the country that wants the certificate, or the bank or payer asking for it, before you choose.

Who qualifies for a UAE tax residency certificate: the three tests

Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022, art. 4: a natural person is a Tax Resident if any one of three tests is met.

The 183-day test

Physical presence in the UAE for 183 days or more within the relevant 12 consecutive months. No visa, home or job condition.

The 90-day test for residence visa holders: three conditions at once

Physical presence for 90 days or more within the relevant 12 consecutive months, and one of: UAE nationality, a valid Residence Permit, or GCC nationality, and one of:

• a Permanent Place of Residence in the UAE, or
• employment or a Business carried on in the UAE.

All three limbs are required. Art. 1 excludes from "Residence Permit" temporary permits to enter for travel, tourism, sport, medical treatment and similar purposes, so a visit visa does not supply the second limb.

Ministerial Decision No. 27 of 2023 defines the third limb. Art. 5: a Permanent Place of Residence is a furnished house, apartment, room or other dwelling continuously available to you; it need not be owned and may be rented. Art. 6: employment is a contract with a UAE employer for remuneration paid in the State, or a continuing relationship in which substantially all your income for work done in the UAE comes from one party; full or part time counts, and unpaid voluntary roles do not.

The centre of interests test

Your usual or primary place of residence and the centre of your financial and personal interests are in the UAE (art. 4 also allows conditions set by a Minister's decision). MD 27/2023, art. 2, explains both terms. The usual or primary place of residence is where you spend most of your time compared with any other jurisdiction, as part of a settled routine, "more than transient". The centre of financial and personal interests is where your personal and economic interests are closest, judged by occupation, family and social relations, cultural and other activities, place of business and where your property is administered from.

This test has no day count, and it needs the most paper.

How days are counted for UAE tax residency, and the exceptional-days rule

MD 27/2023, art. 3: a "day" is a calendar day, every day or part of a day physically spent in the UAE counts, and the days need not be consecutive. A day you land and a day you fly out both count.

Art. 4: days spent in the UAE because of exceptional circumstances MAY be disregarded by the Authority. The circumstances must be beyond your control, arise while you are already in the UAE, be unforeseeable and prevent your departure as planned. The word is "may": it is the Authority's discretion, not a deduction you are entitled to make yourself.

UAE tax residency certificate documents: which test needs which papers

For a certificate for other purposes, guide TPGTR1, section 7.5.1, lists the documents by test. The identity evidence is the same in every row: an Emirates ID and resident visa, or a passport copy with an entry and exit report from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICP) or a local competent government entity.

Pick the test first, then the papers. With 120 days, a passport and an entry and exit report prove the days and nothing else: the second row asks for a home or a job as well, and the application has to show it.

UAE tax residency certificate for a double tax treaty

Ministerial Decision No. 247 of 2023 (issued 16 October 2023, in force from 1 March 2023), art. 2: a person who meets the residence conditions of the relevant international agreement may apply for a certificate for that agreement, and the FTA issues it in the attached form or another form it accepts. The attached form names the treaty and the other country and states "This certificate is valid from [..] to [..]".

The documents (guide TPGTR1, section 7.5.2): the identity evidence, proof of residence where applicable, and the source of income or a salary certificate. If the treaty's own residence rule refers to being resident in the UAE, you upload the documents of the table above as well.

Stamping another country's own residence form

Under guide TPGTR1, section 8, the FTA can, on request, stamp another country's own residence form if it covers the same 12 months and country as your certificate. The form must be in English or Arabic, or translated. The stamp is included in the processing fee and generally takes 10 business days. You can also upload the form with your application and get it back signed, if the other country accepts that; ask its tax authority.

Which period the certificate covers

Guide TPGTR1, section 7.2, and the FTA service page (last updated 11 August 2026):

• you select a Tax Period, which for a natural person is the Gregorian calendar year, or another 12-month period;
• the current period or a past one, never a future one, and never longer than 12 months;
• for the current period, a natural person may apply "as soon as the criteria to be Tax Resident are met" — you do not have to wait for the year to end.

How to apply for a tax residency certificate on EmaraTax, step by step

Guide TPGTR1, section 7.3:

1. Log in to EmaraTax and open "other services", then "Tax Residency Certificate".
2. If you have no Corporate Tax registration number (TRN), choose "No TRN".
3. Choose the kind: a DTA certificate with the treaty country, or a certificate for other purposes.
4. Select the period and upload the documents for your test.
5. Pay the submission fee and submit.
6. After approval, pay the processing fee within 30 business days, or the application may be cancelled.
7. Download the digital certificate; it is also sent by email. A printed copy is couriered by Emirates Post if you ask for one.

UAE tax residency certificate fees

Guide TPGTR1, section 7.7, citing Cabinet Decision No. 65 of 2020; the FTA service page carried the same amounts on 11 August 2026.

So a person with no TRN who wants only the digital certificate pays AED 1,050 in total, and the AED 50 is not refunded after a rejection.

How long a TRC takes, requests for information and withdrawal

Guide TPGTR1, section 7.6, and the service page: generally 10 business days from a complete application. The answer is one of three: approval, rejection, or a request for more information. You have 30 business days to answer a request. A printed copy follows 5 business days after payment and is delivered in the UAE only.

A certificate can be taken back: the FTA may withdraw it if it learns that information was incorrect or that the facts have changed.

Common mistakes with a UAE tax residency certificate

• Treating a golden visa as tax residency. A valid residence permit supplies one limb of the 90-day test and nothing more; the days and the home or job are still needed. How the visa itself works is on the UAE golden visa page.
• Treating property as a test. Owning property appears in none of the three tests. A home you own or rent can be your permanent place of residence under the 90-day test (MD 27/2023, art. 5), but only together with 90 days and a residence permit.
• Sending a domestic certificate where a treaty certificate is needed. Under art. 6 a treaty's own residence conditions apply for that treaty. Ask the other country's tax authority which kind it wants.
• Dropping part-days, or counting exceptional days out yourself. Arrival and departure days count (MD 27/2023, art. 3); disregarding exceptional days is the Authority's decision (art. 4).
• Asking for next year, or missing the payment window. A future period is never available, and an unpaid approval may be cancelled after 30 business days.

How to check the UAE tax residency rules yourself

The tests are in art. 4 of Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022; how the days, the home and employment are read is in arts. 2–6 of Ministerial Decision No. 27 of 2023; treaty certificates are in Ministerial Decision No. 247 of 2023; the documents, periods, fees and timing are in sections 7 and 8 of the FTA guide TPGTR1 and on the FTA service page. The whole UAE set is on our sources page. How the other country treats you is for its own tax authority.

Frequently asked questions

Before you apply for a UAE tax residency certificate

Three questions decide an application: which test your period meets, which kind of certificate the other side accepts, and which papers prove it. For a second view before you pay, describe your situation in the form below: how many days you spent in the UAE in the period, your visa, whether you rent or own a home or work in the UAE, and which country or institution wants the certificate. We pass it to one adviser in the UAE.