How to Get a TRC Certificate in UAE?

TRC Certificate UAE: How to Apply, Fees & Timeline

If you're a UAE resident or company trying to claim tax treaty benefits abroad, you need a TRC certificate — the Tax Residency Certificate issued by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA). It proves you're tax-resident in the UAE so a foreign tax office won't double-tax the same income.

Quick answer

A TRC certificate (Tax Residency Certificate) is issued by the UAE Federal Tax Authority via the EmaraTax portal. Individuals need at least 183 days of UAE presence in the relevant year (or 90 days plus other ties under Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022). Companies need to have been established in the UAE for at least one year. Government fees are AED 500 for the application plus AED 1,000 (individuals) or AED 1,750 (juridical persons) for the certificate. Processing typically takes 5 to 15 business days once documents are complete.^[1][2]

Who qualifies for a TRC

Two tracks. Individuals and companies.

For individuals, Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 sets the residency test. You qualify if any of these is true: you spent 183 days or more in the UAE in the 12-month period, OR you spent 90+ days AND you're a UAE/GCC national or hold a valid residence permit AND you have a permanent place of residence or carry on employment or business here, OR the UAE is your usual/primary place of residence and centre of financial and personal interests.^[3]

For juridical persons, the company must be incorporated in the UAE and have operated for at least one financial year. Offshore companies (like JAFZA Offshore or RAK ICC) generally can't get a treaty TRC because most double tax treaties exclude them — this is where people slip up. Free zone and mainland entities are fine.^[1]

One more thing. There are actually two types of TRC now: one for double tax treaty purposes (needs a specific treaty country) and one for domestic purposes. Pick the right one at application, or you'll pay twice.

Documents you'll need

For individuals applying for a TRC certificate:

• Passport and Emirates ID copies
• UAE residence visa copy
• Certified entry/exit report from the ICP (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security) or GDRFA
• Six months of UAE bank statements, stamped
• Proof of income (salary certificate, employment contract, or trade licence)
• Certified tenancy contract or title deed (Ejari for Dubai residents)

For companies:

• Trade licence (valid, at least one year old)
• Memorandum of Association
• Passport, Emirates ID and residence visa of the manager/director/shareholders
• Certified audited financial statements for the requested year
• Certified copy of the lease agreement
• Six months of company bank statements
• Organisational structure (for groups)

The audit report catches people out. It has to be a signed, stamped audit — not management accounts, not a bookkeeper's summary.^[1]

Fees, timeline and how to apply

Apply through EmaraTax at tax.gov.ae. The FTA absorbed the TRC function from the Ministry of Finance in November 2020, so ignore any older guide pointing you to the MoF portal.^[2]

TRC certificate fees (2024)

• Submission/review fee: AED 50
• Application fee (all applicants): AED 500
• Certificate fee — tax registrant: AED 500
• Certificate fee — natural person, non-registrant: AED 1,000
• Certificate fee — juridical person, non-registrant: AED 1,750
• Printed hard copy (optional): AED 250

Fees are paid via the EmaraTax portal. Non-refundable if your application is rejected.^[2]

Timeline: expect 3 working days for the FTA to review your submission, then around 5 to 15 working days to issue the certificate once approved. Delays almost always trace back to missing entry/exit reports or an unstamped bank statement.

If you need the TRC for a specific treaty country — say India, the UK, or Germany — select that country during the application. The certificate is issued naming that jurisdiction. You can request multiple certificates for different countries, but each is a separate paid application.

Common reasons TRCs get rejected

Frankly, most rejections are avoidable:

• Individual with under 183 days and no supporting ties. The 90-day route needs proof of a permanent home, employment, or business. Just holding a visa isn't enough.
• Company under 12 months old. No exceptions. Wait until you cross the one-year mark from incorporation.
• Offshore entity applying for a treaty TRC. Won't work for most treaties.
• Bank statements not stamped by the bank. PDFs downloaded from the app get rejected. Get them stamped at a branch or via the bank's official certification service.
• Entry/exit report from the wrong authority. Dubai residents often need GDRFA; others use ICP. Check which applies to your emirate of residence.

If you're rejected, the fees paid so far are gone. You reapply from scratch.

When you actually need a TRC

Not everyone needs one. You need a TRC certificate when:

• A foreign tax authority is withholding tax on dividends, interest, royalties or service fees paid to you or your UAE company, and the UAE has a double tax treaty with that country (the UAE has 140+ treaties).
• You're being asked by a foreign bank or tax office to prove UAE tax residency under CRS (Common Reporting Standard).
• You're claiming exemption from foreign capital gains or inheritance tax based on UAE residency.

You do NOT need a TRC just to prove you live in the UAE for general purposes — your Emirates ID and residence visa do that. And with UAE Corporate Tax now in force from June 2023 under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, companies also get a domestic tax residency framework separate from the treaty TRC.^[4]

For more on how UAE corporate tax interacts with residency, see the tax category.

Validity and renewal

A TRC certificate is valid for one financial year — the specific year you nominated in the application. If you need it for 2024 and 2025, that's two applications, two sets of fees, two sets of documents.

You can apply for a TRC covering a past year (up to about five years back) if you have the documentation for that period. Useful when a foreign tax audit lands on an old year.

Keep the PDF the FTA issues. It carries a QR code and verification number that foreign tax authorities scan to confirm authenticity. If you need an attested/apostilled hard copy for a country outside the Apostille Convention, you'll go through MoFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) attestation separately after issuance.

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