UAE or Hong Kong: residency for an entrepreneur

The UAE and Hong Kong offer an entrepreneur different bargains. The Emirates grant long-term status for capital and ask almost nothing about presence. Hong Kong asks you to prove economic benefit and to actually work in the jurisdiction.

We compare them on the same parameters: entry price, what is checked, taxes, presence, and the path to permanent status.

Entry price

UAE. Cabinet Decision 65 of 2022 sets out several routes to golden residency:

• a deposit from AED 2,000,000 in an investment fund or a local bank;
• company capital or a stake in one from AED 2,000,000;
• company tax payments from AED 250,000 a year;
• property from AED 2,000,000;
• your own project: a UAE enterprise with annual revenue from AED 1,000,000, or a previously sold project valued from AED 7,000,000.

The funds must belong to the applicant outright and must not be borrowed.

Hong Kong. There are two different mechanisms. The entrepreneur visa sets no minimum: the Immigration Department looks at whether the investment can sustain the business. The investment scheme requires HKD 30,000,000 — about USD 3.85 million at a rate pegged to the 7.75–7.85 band.

The gap is sevenfold.

What exactly gets checked

The UAE checks the origin and existence of capital. Hong Kong checks the business.

The Immigration Department assesses the economic contribution across six factors, and the list is open-ended: business plan, turnover, financial resources, investment amount, jobs created for local residents, and the introduction of new technology or skills.

Applicants are expected to provide a three-year business plan with market analysis and positioning, plus three-year projections of profit and loss, cash flow and the balance sheet. Education is considered separately: a first degree in a relevant field is usual, though proven qualifications and achievements are also accepted.

There is a separate track for start-ups: an application is viewed favourably if the project is backed by a government programme with strict selection. The examples named are StartmeupHK, the Science Park incubators, the Cyberport programme, the enterprise support scheme and the design incubation programme. The list is open — other government programmes qualify too.

Nationality restrictions

Hong Kong's rules close the door to residents of mainland China and to nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba and North Korea. Russia and Belarus do not appear on those lists — we checked the programme page, the general immigration rules and the applicant guide.

The UAE golden residency rules contain no nationality restrictions.

Locked-up money

Neither jurisdiction advertises this part.

Of the 30 million, at least 27 go into permissible financial assets or property, while 3 million must be placed in the scheme's investment portfolio managed by a government corporation.

Only assets acquired after 1 March 2024, the scheme's launch date, are counted.

Taxes

Hong Kong works on a territorial basis: profit arising in Hong Kong is taxed. The UAE detail is in the breakdown of UAE taxes 2026.

Two traps in Hong Kong tax

First: if a company has connected entities, the two-tier rates apply to only one of them. The choice is made in the return and is irreversible for the year.

Second: since 2023 a foreign-sourced passive income regime applies. Interest, dividends, intellectual property income and gains on disposals of shares received in Hong Kong by a member of a multinational group are taxable if the group fails the economic substance requirements.

Presence and tax residency

UAE: 180 days and tax residency

In the UAE ordinary residency is cancelled after more than 180 days away, but golden visa holders are exempt from obtaining a separate re-entry permit.

The 90-day rule for UAE tax residency does not work for everyone. It is available to UAE nationals, GCC nationals and holders of valid residency — and only with an additional condition: a permanent home, or work or business in the country. For everyone else the threshold is 183 days. A third route is having your centre of personal and financial interests in the UAE, with no day count.

Hong Kong: tax without reference to residency

In Hong Kong the tax liability is not tied to residency at all: tax is paid on profit arising in Hong Kong. A residence certificate for double taxation treaties is issued on 180 days in the year of assessment, or more than 300 days across two consecutive years.

Family and permanent status

UAE. A golden visa holder sponsors a spouse, children of any age and parents for renewable ten-year terms. Domestic staff are allowed within the financial means the authority assesses.

Hong Kong. A path to permanent residency formally exists — seven years of continuous residence. Those seven years are necessary but not sufficient: you have to prove Hong Kong has become your place of permanent residence. The authorities look at housing, whether your spouse and minor children are in the city, your source of income and your tax payments. Long absences break continuity.

The UAE has no equivalent of permanent residency: the golden visa is renewed every ten years on the same terms it was granted.

Which suits whom

Practical steps: in the UAE — free zone company registration from $3,500 and a corporate account; in Hong Kong — company registration and a business bank account.