Corporate mobility between the United Kingdom (UK) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is on the rise. As private clients broaden their personal and family relocation plans to include holding companies, family offices, and operating entities, determining the residence and tax exposure of these structures has become one of the most complex issues advisers face.

Setting up a company in Dubai might seem like a way to avoid UK taxes, but the real test of corporate residence is not where the company is registered, but where decisions are genuinely made (where control rests). For groups and entrepreneurs moving between the two jurisdictions, the challenge is twofold namely avoiding double taxation while ensuring their structures meet the increasingly strict substance and transparency standards imposed by both tax authorities.

• EU: European Union.

• HMRC: His Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

• OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

• MAP: Mutual agreement procedure.

• PoEM: Place of effective management.

• PE: Permanent establishment.

• UAE: United Arab Emirates.

• UK: United Kingdom.