Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) Services in UAE
Your application to the FTA for a Tax Residency Certificate, for a treaty claim or a domestic purpose.
A residency certificate from the FTA
A Tax Residency Certificate is the Federal Tax Authority’s statement that a company or a person is resident in the UAE for tax purposes. A foreign tax office, a bank or a counterparty applying a double taxation agreement is usually the one asking for it. We check whether you meet the FTA’s conditions for the period you need, assemble its document list and file the application on EmaraTax.
The certificate is tied to a period: the FTA’s service page says it covers a tax period or any other 12-month period the applicant selects (FTA, tax residency and commercial activity certificates, page updated 22 October 2026). Which period and which purpose apply to you is confirmed with you at quotation.
What the application involves
- Eligibility check against the FTA's conditions for the period the certificate must cover
- The application on EmaraTax, for a double taxation agreement or a domestic purpose
- Commercial Activity Certificate, where that is the certificate a counterparty asks for
- Hard copies ordered when the receiving authority wants paper
- The FTA's questions on the file, answered until it decides
Get this quoted
Itemised in writing, government charges shown separately, before anything is filed.
Which one do you need?
Who can apply
- A company incorporated in the UAE, once it has been established for at least 12 months, as the FTA's conditions require (FTA, updated 22 October 2026)
- An individual resident in the UAE under the domestic tests or under a treaty
- A business asked by a foreign bank, client or tax office for proof of UAE residence
- Not eligible under the same conditions: branches of foreign companies, and the other entity types the FTA's page excludes
Whether your company or you qualify for the period asked about is confirmed with you at quotation.
The FTA's document list
What the FTA lists for a company (service page, updated 22 October 2026), in short:
- the trade licence and the tenancy contract
- the certificate of incorporation and the memorandum of association
- the Corporate Tax TRN, where the company has one
- Emirates ID and passport of the authorised signatory, with proof of the authority to sign
For an individual: Emirates ID and passport with an entry and exit report, and proof of employment, business or residence as the period requires.
The FTA's service card and procedures manual carry the full list; the final list for your file is confirmed with you at quotation.
From eligibility to certificate
- The purpose: which country or institution asked, and for which period.
- Eligibility read against the FTA's conditions for that period.
- A written quote.
- The file assembled from the FTA's list and your records.
- The application submitted on EmaraTax, with the FTA's fee paid through it.
- The certificate sent to you, and a hard copy ordered if the recipient needs one.
Fees and processing time, as published
As the FTA's service page states them (FTA, page updated 22 October 2026):
- Processing: 10 business days from receipt of a completed application
- Submission fee: AED 50, on every application
- Electronic certificate for an applicant registered with the FTA: AED 500
- Electronic certificate for a natural person not registered with the FTA: AED 1,000
- Electronic certificate for a juridical person not registered with the FTA: AED 1,750
- Electronic Commercial Activity Certificate: AED 500
- Each hard copy of a certificate: AED 250
These are the FTA's charges, listed one by one as it publishes them; we do not add them together.
Fees: Quote on request. Our service fee is quoted in writing after a short review of your file, and any authority charge is listed separately in your quote.
Who the FTA issues it to
The conditions turn on the applicant and the period. A company must have been established for at least 12 months; branches of foreign companies fall outside the service, with the other excluded entity types the FTA lists; and the certificate covers a tax period or another 12-month period of the applicant's choosing. Your dates are read against those conditions before anything is filed.
Commercial Activity Certificate
Some counterparties want proof that a business trades in the UAE rather than proof of tax residence. The FTA issues that as a separate certificate on the same service, with its own fee of AED 500. Which of the two you are being asked for is settled before the application goes in.
Not published officially
- Whether a foreign authority will accept the certificate. That is for the receiving country, under its own rules and the treaty.
- An outcome. The FTA publishes a processing time, not a decision.
- Any total. We do not add charges together; your quote lists each one.
Tax residency certificate questions
What is a Tax Residency Certificate?
The FTA's certificate that a company or person is resident in the UAE for tax purposes, for a tax period or any other 12-month period the applicant selects (FTA, updated 22 October 2026).
Can a newly formed company apply?
The FTA's conditions require a juridical person to have been established for at least 12 months (FTA).
Can a branch of a foreign company apply?
Not under the FTA's conditions, which exclude branches of foreign companies (FTA).
How long does the FTA take?
Its service page gives 10 business days from receipt of a completed application (FTA).
What does the FTA charge?
AED 50 for submission, plus a certificate fee that depends on the applicant: AED 500 if registered with the FTA, AED 1,000 for an unregistered natural person, AED 1,750 for an unregistered juridical person (FTA, updated 22 October 2026). What we charge is in your quote.
Does a Corporate Tax registration make a difference?
On the FTA's fee list, an applicant registered with it pays the lower certificate fee. Registration itself: Corporate Tax Registration.
Do I need a treaty country to apply?
No. The FTA issues certificates for double taxation agreement purposes and for domestic ones.
What is a Commercial Activity Certificate?
A separate certificate on the same FTA service, for proof that a business trades in the UAE; whether you need it or a residency certificate is settled at quotation.
Can I get the certificate on paper?
Yes. The FTA issues hard copies at AED 250 each (FTA).
Where is the application made?
On the FTA's EmaraTax platform, under your company's or your own account.
Every rule, deadline and threshold above names the authority that published it and the date shown on its page when we read it on 14 November 2026: the Federal Tax Authority (tax.gov.ae), the Ministry of Finance (mof.gov.ae) and the federal portal u.ae. Tax rules, fees and processing times are set by the authorities and can change without notice; confirm with the FTA before you rely on them. AL HUDHUD prepares and files on your instructions; your position is confirmed with you at quotation, and every decision rests with the Federal Tax Authority.
Last updated: November 2026.
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