United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)
ADGM is Abu Dhabi's international financial centre, a financial free zone on Al Maryah and Al Reem Islands with its own regulator, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA). It is known for asset management, wholesale banking and one of the earliest comprehensive virtual asset frameworks, and FSRA fees and capital are set in US dollars.
Risk flagStandard
FATFNot listed
EU AML high-risk listNot listed
EU tax listNot listed
Licence regimes7
CurrencyAED
S&P ratingAA
Next electionOctober 2027
The UAE left the FATF grey list on 23 February 2024 and is not on the FATF lists after the 17 to 19 June 2026 plenary; it was removed from the EU high-risk list by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1184 (it had been added by 2023/410) and is not on EU tax Annex I as updated 17 February 2026. Checked 7 October 2026.
Government and politics
Government
Federal elective constitutional monarchy (federation of seven emirates)
President
Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan · since May 2022
Prime Minister and Vice President
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Governing parties
No political parties in government
Last election
Federal National Council (electoral college vote), 7 October 2023
Next election
Federal National Council, October 2027. The Federal Supreme Council's five-yearly election of the President is also due in 2027; political parties are banned
Legislature
Federal National Council (unicameral, advisory; 40 seats: 20 indirectly elected, 20 appointed); the Federal Supreme Council of the seven emirate rulers is the highest constitutional authority
Legal system
English common law applied directly (ADGM Courts) within the UAE civil law system
Economy and finance
Population
11.5m (2025)
GDP
USD 571.6bn (2025)
GDP per person
USD 50,232 (2025)
Currency
UAE dirham (AED), pegged to USD at 3.6725 per dollar
Central bank
Central Bank of the UAE
Credit rating
S&P AA (stable) · Moody's Aa2 (stable) · Fitch AA- (stable) (as of June 2026)
Abu Dhabi Global Market on Al Maryah Island is a financial free zone where English common law applies directly through the ADGM Courts and financial services are regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA).
Bank
Financial Services Permission for Accepting Deposits (Category 1, or Category 5 for an Islamic Financial Institution managing a PSIAu)
Minimum capitalUSD 10m
TimelineNot published
AuthorityFSRA
USD 10 million Base Capital Requirement for Category 1 and Category 5, plus credit, market, operational and CVA risk capital requirements
Law
Financial Services and Markets Regulations 2015 (FSMR); FSRA Prudential Rules (PRU) 1.3 and 3.3.2
Fees
Application fee USD 70,000 and annual supervision fee USD 100,000 for Accepting Deposits; each additional Regulated Activity applied for at the same time adds the lesser of USD 10,000 or its own fee; Islamic Financial Business adds USD 5,000 application and USD 5,000 supervision.
Passporting
No passport. A Financial Services Permission covers Regulated Activities in or from ADGM only.
Key requirements
Controlled Functions: Senior Executive Officer, Finance Officer, Compliance Officer and MLRO; SEO, Compliance Officer and MLRO must be UAE resident; directors of ADGM-incorporated firms need approval as Licensed Directors (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Physical presence in ADGM on Al Maryah Island or Al Reem Island (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Pre-application meetings, full application via FSRA Connect, In-Principle Approval with conditions, then Financial Services Permission (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Islamic banks managing an unrestricted PSIA fall in Category 5 with a Displaced Commercial Risk Capital Requirement
Financial Services Permission for Dealing in Investments as Principal or Providing Credit (Category 2)
Minimum capitalUSD 2m
TimelineNot published
AuthorityFSRA
USD 2 million Base Capital Requirement plus risk-based capital requirements
Law
FSMR; FSRA PRU 1.3 and 3.3.2
Fees
Dealing in Investments as Principal: USD 40,000 application, USD 50,000 annual supervision; Providing Credit: USD 70,000 application, USD 100,000 annual supervision. OTC leveraged products with Retail Clients add USD 40,000 application and USD 40,000 supervision.
Passporting
No passport. A Financial Services Permission covers Regulated Activities in or from ADGM only.
Key requirements
Controlled Functions: Senior Executive Officer, Finance Officer, Compliance Officer and MLRO; SEO, Compliance Officer and MLRO must be UAE resident; directors of ADGM-incorporated firms need approval as Licensed Directors (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Physical presence in ADGM on Al Maryah Island or Al Reem Island (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Pre-application meetings, full application via FSRA Connect, In-Principle Approval with conditions, then Financial Services Permission (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Financial Services Permission for Dealing in Investments as Agent or as Matched Principal (Category 3A)
Minimum capitalUSD 500k
TimelineNot published
AuthorityFSRA
USD 500,000 Base Capital Requirement; USD 2 million for firms dealing as Matched Principal in OTC leveraged products or derivatives with Retail Clients
Law
FSMR; FSRA PRU 1.3 and 3.3.2
Fees
Dealing in Investments as Agent or as Matched Principal: USD 25,000 application, USD 25,000 annual supervision.
Passporting
No passport. A Financial Services Permission covers Regulated Activities in or from ADGM only.
Key requirements
Controlled Functions: Senior Executive Officer, Finance Officer, Compliance Officer and MLRO; SEO, Compliance Officer and MLRO must be UAE resident; directors of ADGM-incorporated firms need approval as Licensed Directors (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Physical presence in ADGM on Al Maryah Island or Al Reem Island (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Pre-application meetings, full application via FSRA Connect, In-Principle Approval with conditions, then Financial Services Permission (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Financial Services Permission for Managing Assets or Managing a Collective Investment Fund (Category 3C)
Minimum capitalUSD 250k
TimelineNot published
AuthorityFSRA
USD 250,000 Base Capital Requirement for Category 3C; if the only activity is fund management, USD 150,000 for Public or retail funds and USD 50,000 for other funds; expenditure-based capital minimum of 13/52 or 18/52 of annual audited expenditure also applies
Law
FSMR; FSRA PRU 1.3 and 3.3.2; Fund Rules (FUND)
Fees
Managing Assets: USD 25,000 application and supervision; Managing a Collective Investment Fund: USD 10,000 application and supervision.
Passporting
No passport. A Financial Services Permission covers Regulated Activities in or from ADGM only.
Key requirements
Controlled Functions: Senior Executive Officer, Finance Officer, Compliance Officer and MLRO; SEO, Compliance Officer and MLRO must be UAE resident; directors of ADGM-incorporated firms need approval as Licensed Directors (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Physical presence in ADGM on Al Maryah Island or Al Reem Island (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Pre-application meetings, full application via FSRA Connect, In-Principle Approval with conditions, then Financial Services Permission (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Lower capital requirements available to qualifying digital investment managers (robo-advisers) under FSRA supplementary guidance
Minimum capitalCategory 3C: capital requirement is the higher of the PRU 3.3 Base Capital Requirement and an activity-based measure: expenditure-based minimum for currency exchange, EBCM plus Variable Capital Requirement for remitters, VCR under PRU 3.6A.4 for payment services or 3.6A.6 for stored value providers
TimelineNot published
AuthorityFSRA
Category 3C: capital requirement is the higher of the PRU 3.3 Base Capital Requirement and an activity-based measure: expenditure-based minimum for currency exchange, EBCM plus Variable Capital Requirement for remitters, VCR under PRU 3.6A.4 for payment services or 3.6A.6 for stored value providers
Law
FSMR; FSRA PRU 3.3 and 3.6A (Variable Capital Requirement)
Fees
Application and annual supervision fees: USD 25,000 each for payment services; USD 15,000 each for money remittance; USD 15,000 each for currency exchange.
Passporting
No passport. A Financial Services Permission covers Regulated Activities in or from ADGM only.
Key requirements
Controlled Functions: Senior Executive Officer, Finance Officer, Compliance Officer and MLRO; SEO, Compliance Officer and MLRO must be UAE resident; directors of ADGM-incorporated firms need approval as Licensed Directors (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Physical presence in ADGM on Al Maryah Island or Al Reem Island (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Pre-application meetings, full application via FSRA Connect, In-Principle Approval with conditions, then Financial Services Permission (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Variable Capital Requirement scales with payment or stored value volumes (PRU 3.6A)
Regulated Activities in relation to Virtual Assets (Virtual Asset framework, COBS Chapter 17)
Minimum capitalGenerally the PRU capital for the same activity in traditional assets. Virtual asset custody: higher of USD 250,000 or six months' annual audited expenditure. MTF using virtual assets: six months' operational expenses plus a buffer of up to six further months, held in fiat (MIR 3.2)
TimelineNot published
AuthorityFSRA
Generally the PRU capital for the same activity in traditional assets. Virtual asset custody: higher of USD 250,000 or six months' annual audited expenditure. MTF using virtual assets: six months' operational expenses plus a buffer of up to six further months, held in fiat (MIR 3.2)
Law
FSMR; FSRA Conduct of Business Rulebook (COBS) Chapter 17; Market Infrastructure Rulebook (MIR) Rule 3.2; FEES Rule 3.17
Fees
Virtual asset add-on fee of USD 20,000 application and USD 15,000 annual supervision on top of the fees for the underlying Regulated Activities; a virtual asset MTF pays USD 125,000 application and USD 60,000 supervision plus a monthly trading levy (FEES Rule 3.18).
Passporting
No passport. A Financial Services Permission covers Regulated Activities in or from ADGM only.
Key requirements
Only Accepted Virtual Assets may be used; acceptance process streamlined in June 2025
Privacy Tokens and Algorithmic Stablecoins are prohibited for any Regulated Activity
Multiple pre-application meetings and technology demonstrations, a detailed launch plan, and operational launch testing before go-live
Controlled Functions: Senior Executive Officer, Finance Officer, Compliance Officer and MLRO; SEO, Compliance Officer and MLRO must be UAE resident; directors of ADGM-incorporated firms need approval as Licensed Directors (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Physical presence in ADGM on Al Maryah Island or Al Reem Island (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Financial Services Permission for Issuing a Fiat-Referenced Token
Minimum capitalUSD 2m
TimelineNot published
AuthorityFSRA
USD 2 million Base Capital Requirement (Category 3C), with an expenditure-based minimum of one year's annual audited expenditure
Law
FSMR; FSRA PRU 3.3.2
Fees
USD 70,000 application and USD 70,000 annual supervision.
Passporting
No passport. A Financial Services Permission covers Regulated Activities in or from ADGM only.
Key requirements
Controlled Functions: Senior Executive Officer, Finance Officer, Compliance Officer and MLRO; SEO, Compliance Officer and MLRO must be UAE resident; directors of ADGM-incorporated firms need approval as Licensed Directors (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Physical presence in ADGM on Al Maryah Island or Al Reem Island (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Pre-application meetings, full application via FSRA Connect, In-Principle Approval with conditions, then Financial Services Permission (FSRA Getting Started Guide)
Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market (FSRA) · websitebanks, E-money institutions, Payment service providers, Investment firms, Virtual asset service providers (VASPs), Insurance, Funds, Trust companies
Capital and fee figures come from the FSRA's own Getting Started Guide (2025) and FSRA consultation and guidance documents because the ADGM rulebook site returned HTTP 403 to our fetcher; the PRU 3.3.2 text itself could not be opened directly. Lower-risk firm amendments took effect on 19 August 2025: Category 4 base capital is USD 50,000 (USD 150,000 for Private Financing Platforms holding client assets), Category 4 firms without client assets no longer face the expenditure-based minimum, and base capital for Providing Custody for a non-public Fund fell to USD 250,000 (the Getting Started Guide still shows USD 4 million for Category 3B). PII minimum standards apply to renewals from 1 January 2026. The FSRA does not publish a statutory licensing timeline that we could verify, so timeline_months is null. FSRA consulted in 2025 on a framework for staking of virtual assets (CP 10 of 2025); check the current status before relying on it. Gaming: no online gaming licence regime in ADGM. Fees are in USD; the national currency is the UAE dirham (AED).
General information
About United Arab Emirates
Natural Earth boundaries. Map is indicative.
Status
Financial free zone in the UAE (Abu Dhabi)
Capital
Abu Dhabi
Largest city
Dubai
Area
83,600 km²
Official languages
Arabic
Time zone
UTC+04:00
Main exports
crude petroleum
refined petroleum
gold
broadcasting equipment
natural gas
Main export partners
China
India
Japan
Iraq
Thailand
Sources for the country information(13)
Country information checked 9 October 2026. Licensing data updated 7 October 2026. Information only, not legal advice; requirements change. Regulatory notice.
