Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)

Abu Dhabi Global Market opened for business in 2015 as the capital's answer to a simple question: where should international money and contracts sit if they want a familiar legal system inside the UAE? The answer was a separate jurisdiction where English common law applies directly, with its own courts, its own company registry and its own financial regulator.

Three bodies do the work. The Registration Authority incorporates companies, partnerships and foundations and issues commercial licences. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) authorises banks, asset managers, brokers, fintechs and virtual asset businesses. ADGM Courts hear civil and commercial disputes with judges drawn from common-law countries, and judgments can be enforced onshore in Abu Dhabi.

The zone used to be one island. In 2023 a Cabinet resolution extended its jurisdiction to Al Reem Island next door, multiplying its area roughly tenfold, and ADGM later reported that more than 1,100 existing Reem businesses had been brought into its framework. For founders this means many more office buildings, shops and clinics now sit inside ADGM rather than under the onshore Abu Dhabi licensing system.

Fees changed sharply on 1 January 2025. ADGM cut the registration and renewal fees for non-financial and retail licences by about half, while fees for regulated financial firms went up and the tech startup fee rose from USD 1,000 to USD 1,500. The result is that a consultancy, trading or holding business can now enter ADGM for far less than a few years ago, but it is still not a budget free zone once office space is added.

The community is heavy on finance: sovereign-linked investors, global banks, private equity, family offices and a fast-growing fintech scene around Hub71 and the ADGM regulatory sandbox. Alongside them you find law firms, corporate service providers, tech companies and, since the Reem expansion, everyday retail and food businesses. If your counterparties are institutions that care about governing law, ADGM speaks their language.

Visas in ADGM follow your space, not your licence. A serviced desk usually supports a small number of visas, often two or three, while a full office supports more on a ratio that consultancies describe as about one visa per 8 to 10 square metres. There is no fixed headline cap, but you must ask for a higher allowance when you grow; it does not rise automatically.

An SPV or holding company with no ADGM premises generally cannot sponsor employees, so if the shareholder wants a residence visa through the structure, plan for an operating company with real space or an investor or golden visa route instead.

Once your establishment card is issued, each visa follows the normal UAE sequence: entry permit or status change, medical test, Emirates ID biometrics and residence stamping. Dependants are sponsored by the employee personally and do not use the company allowance.

ADGM entities tend to have an easier time with UAE banks than very low-cost free zone companies, because the registry runs proper beneficial ownership checks and the jurisdiction has a strong compliance reputation. Large local banks have branches on Al Maryah and Al Reem, and digital banks also accept ADGM companies. Banks will still want to see real activity, a clear source of funds and a UAE link such as a resident director or signatory, so prepare those before you apply. Pure holding companies with no staff can take longer to onboard.

Al Maryah Island is Abu Dhabi's business district, linked by bridges to downtown and to Al Reem Island. The ADGM Square towers, The Galleria mall, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and several hotels sit on the island, so meetings, lunches and client visits happen within walking distance.

Al Reem Island adds dense residential towers, schools and shops right beside it, which helps staff live close to work. Zayed International Airport is roughly a 30 to 40 minute drive, and Dubai is about 90 minutes by road via the E11.