UAE Mainland vs Free Zone: Key Differences

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1. 14 July 2026 · corrected by Emir Baycan

   Corrected the same Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 misattribution for the UAE ownership-requirement removal found elsewhere in the UAE directory, fixing it to Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020, effective June 1, 2021. A separate imprecise section wrongly attributing the ownership change to a 2019 foreign investment law (which actually only created a narrow positive list of eligible activities) was flagged but not directly edited due to low visibility.

   Before

   Since Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021, which amended the UAE Commercial Companies Law, foreign nationals and foreign-owned entities can hold 100% ownership of most mainland company types.

   After

   Since Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020, which amended the UAE Commercial Companies Law and took effect June 1, 2021, foreign nationals and foreign-owned entities can hold 100% ownership of most mainland company types.

   Why: The 100%-ownership reform was wrongly attributed to Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021; the actual amending law was Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020, effective June 1, 2021.

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