Correction: UAE Mainland vs Free Zone: Key Differences
Corrected by Emir Baycan · Full-Stack Developer, Mobile App Builder and Web Platform Founder with expertise in SEO, automation, SaaS, AI visibility, DevOps and scalable digital products
Emir Baycan found something wrong, outdated, or unsupported on this page and proposed a fix. The publisher accepted the correction.
The exact change
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.
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.
Suggested change
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.
Why this is better
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.
How this record is verified
- The contribution is tied to a real, identified contributor, not an anonymous byline.
- It counts only because the publisher, Corpy, accepted it. Self-claimed work earns nothing.
- It is recorded against a specific page and cannot be bought or edited after the fact.