Updated 19.08.2026
Legal structures · Foundations
A DIFC Foundation in Dubai a common-lawfoundation in the Dubai financial centre
A DIFC Foundation is a legal person in its own right under the DIFC Foundations Law No. 3 of 2018. It is established in the Dubai financial centre with English common law, its own courts and an ownership structure banks can follow: the foundation itself holds company shareholdings, real estate and investment assets in the interests of the beneficiaries.
- A separate legal person under the DIFC Foundations Law No. 3 of 2018
- English common law and the DIFC’s own courts
- We check whether the structure will pass a bank before it is established
The cost in this jurisdiction is calculated case by case: the scope of work depends on the assets, the foundation’s organs and the bank’s requirements.
Applicability
Is UAE · DIFC the right structure for your task
01 Main purpose
02 Assets
03 Beneficiaries
04 Bank account needed
The selector does not give a legal opinion: applicability is confirmed after the analysis of assets, family and tax residence.
The structure
What a DIFC Foundation is
DIFC is the Dubai financial centre with legislation of its own based on English common law. A foundation here is not a contractual construction like a trust but a person in its own right: it has a registration number, a charter and governing bodies, it owns the assets itself and answers for its own obligations.
The Charter — the foundation’s constitution, filed with the registrar — and the By-laws, the internal rules on beneficiaries and distributions.
Company shareholdings, real estate, portfolios and other assets belong to the foundation rather than to the founder personally.
The regulation, the register and the courts of DIFC work in the logic of common law, familiar to international banks and advisers.
The foundation can be the top level of a structure with UAE and foreign companies beneath it.
Fit
Applying the structure: when it fits and when it does not
A DIFC foundation is taken for long-term ownership and management of family capital, not for a one-off transaction.
- Family capital with assets in the UAE and beyond
- Holding the shareholdings of the group’s operating companies
- Succession planning with a clear order of distributions
- A structure that has to be explained to an international bank
- A task in which the common-law environment and dedicated courts matter
- An attempt to close off claims by creditors that already exist
- Counting on anonymity: the registrar and the bank know the parties to the structure
- A one-off transaction without long-term ownership of assets
- Expecting the foundation by itself to cancel tax in the founder’s country of residence
Roles
The legal structure and the governing bodies
The roles are set by the foundation’s documents: who establishes it, who manages it, who controls it and in whose interests it acts.
Establishes the foundation and transfers the initial assets; the powers retained are fixed by the documents and must not turn the foundation into a formality.
The foundation’s governing body: it takes decisions on the assets and the distributions within the charter and the by-laws.
The controlling figure; for foundations established for purposes it is provided for by the law, and otherwise it is introduced by decision of the structure.
The persons or classes of persons in whose interests the foundation may make distributions.
The foundation must have a registered office in DIFC; the administration is handled by a licensed service provider.
Protection
The legal limits of using the structure
A foundation sets the order of ownership and succession, but it does not make assets untouchable.
Transferring assets into the foundation does not end obligations that have already arisen and can be challenged.
Excessive powers retained by the founder are the main argument against the structure in a dispute.
Obligations in the parties’ places of tax residence remain.
The registrar, the administrator and the bank all check the founder, the council, the guardian and the beneficiaries.
A DIFC Foundation is not used to conceal assets from existing lawful claims and does not cancel the tax obligations of the parties to the structure.
Prices
The options for the structure and the cost
The scope of work is assembled for the task: the foundation alone, the foundation with a corporate level, or a full family structure.
calculated after the review
Annual upkeep: calculated after the review
Establishing the foundation as an ownership structure in its own right
Included
- The architecture of the structure and governance
- The Charter and the by-laws
- Registration in DIFC
- The registered office and the administrator for the first year
- A calendar of the annual obligations
calculated after the review
Annual upkeep: calculated after the review
The foundation owns a holding or an operating company
Included
- Everything in the Foundation package
- A corporate level to hold the assets
- The transfer of the company’s shares to the foundation
- Preparing the structure’s banking profile
calculated after the review
Annual upkeep: calculated after the review
Several assets, countries and generations of beneficiaries
Included
- Everything in the previous package
- The architecture for real estate and investment assets
- The order of distributions and succession
- Support of the bank onboarding
- The file on the origin of the capital
We publish figures for this jurisdiction only once the price list has been approved: there are no «approximate» guides on the page.
What drives the quote
The factors that affect the cost of the project
The range comes not from the registrar’s fees but from the architecture of the structure and the bank’s requirements.
Companies, real estate, portfolios and digital assets each call for different preparation.
The council, the guardian and the circle of beneficiaries affect the volume of compliance.
A holding company or an SPV to hold the assets is counted separately.
Preparing the file and supporting the onboarding depend on the bank and on the profile of the operations.
The quotation is fixed before the agreement, once the assets and the parties to the structure have been reviewed.
Cost of ownership
The cost of the structure over three years
For a family structure the annual upkeep matters more than the initial amount.
- Establishing the foundation
- The Charter and the by-laws
- The registered office and the administrator
- KYC and the origin of the capital
- The bank onboarding
- The transfer of assets
- Administration
- The registered office
- Reporting
- The KYC refresh
- Bank compliance
- Administration
- The registered office
- Reporting
- A governance review
- Bank compliance
We put the three-year calculation together with the quotation for the establishment.
Tax
Taxation, reporting and disclosure
The tax outcome is determined not only by the foundation’s jurisdiction but also by the parties’ residence, the nature of the assets and the character of the distributions.
The UAE corporate tax regime applies in the light of the structure’s activity and has to be checked separately as at the date of the project.
The CFC rules and the taxation of distributions are determined by their countries of residence.
The Charter is filed with the registrar; the internal rules on the beneficiaries remain a document of the structure.
The structure’s status under CRS and FATCA is determined by the applicable reporting rules and confirmed by the administrator and the bank.
We check the tax model of the structure together with a specialist before the foundation is established.
Banking
The banking infrastructure of the foundation
Establishing the foundation does not guarantee an account: the bank assesses the structure, the parties and the origin of the capital.
Who the founder and the council are, who the beneficiaries are, which assets and operations are planned.
Source of Funds and Source of Wealth for the assets being transferred into the foundation.
The countries of the assets, the counterparties and the expected settlements.
Checked for every party to the structure before filing with the bank.
We design the banking model before the foundation is established, not after the registration.
Documents
Documents and information for the establishment
The pack depends on the parties and the assets; the basic set is the same for every project.
- 01Passports of the founder, the council members, the guardian and the beneficiaries
- 02Proof of address for the parties to the structure
- 03A description of the assets being transferred to the foundation
- 04Documents on the companies and the real estate in the structure
- 05Material on the origin of the capital
- 06Wishes on distributions and the order of succession
The exact list is fixed once the task has been reviewed: it depends on the assets and on the requirements of the administrator and the bank.
Comparison
Compare UAE · DIFC with other structures
| UAE · DIFC | |
|---|---|
| Setup | calculated after the review |
| Annual | calculated after the review |
| Timing | — |
| Typical use | Family capital with assets in the UAE and beyond |
Select up to two jurisdictions above. A detailed legal comparison is prepared for the specific task.
Process
The stages of establishing the structure
The work begins with an analysis of the assets and the family, not with filing documents at the registrar.
The assets, the family, the beneficiaries, the parties’ residence and the long-term purpose of the structure.
We check whether a DIFC Foundation fits or whether the task is better solved by another form of ownership.
The council, the guardian, the order of distributions and the founder’s powers.
Compliance on the parties and evidence of the sources of the assets.
The Charter and the by-laws for the agreed architecture.
Filing the documents with the DIFC registrar and obtaining the foundation’s registration details.
Preparing the file and supporting the onboarding.
Company shareholdings, funds and other assets pass to the foundation.
The office, the administrator, the reporting, the KYC refresh and governance.
Comparison
Forms of ownership compared on the same criteria
The DIFC foundation alongside other structures that solve similar tasks.
| DIFC Foundation | ADGM Foundation | RAK ICC Foundation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal nature | A legal person under DIFC law | A legal person under ADGM law | A legal person under RAK ICC law |
| Legal system | English common law | English common law | RAK ICC common law |
| Minimum assets | from $100 | from $100 | under the jurisdiction’s regulations |
| The controlling figure | Guardian | Guardian | Guardian |
| Cost | calculated after the review | calculated after the review | from $9,500 |
The comparison covers the key criteria of choice; a full legal comparison is prepared for the particular task.
FAQ
Questions and answers
A legal person in its own right, established under the DIFC Foundations Law No. 3 of 2018 in the Dubai financial centre. The foundation owns the assets itself and is managed by a council within the charter and the internal rules.
An individual or a legal entity that transfers the initial assets to the foundation. The powers retained are fixed by the documents of the structure.
For foundations established for purposes a guardian is provided for by the law; in other cases the figure is introduced by decision of the structure.
Company shareholdings, funds, investment portfolios, real estate and other assets — subject to the law of the country where the asset is located and to the bank’s requirements.
The charter is filed with the registrar, while the internal rules on the beneficiaries remain a document of the structure. The administrator and the bank do know the parties and check them.
The cost in this jurisdiction is calculated case by case and fixed before the agreement: it depends on the assets, the foundation’s organs and the banking task.
No. Obligations in the places of tax residence of the founder and the beneficiaries remain and are checked separately.
No. The decision is taken by the bank once it has checked the structure, the parties and the origin of the capital.
Related
Related areas of practice
Calculation
Structure and budget: UAE · DIFC
Describe the assets, the family and the task. We will come back with the applicable structure, the setup budget and the annual upkeep.
A structure does not cancel existing creditor claims or the tax obligations of the settlor. Where the task cannot be solved lawfully, we say so before the engagement.