Both Indian Ocean centres legislated this year to record more about the people behind companies, partnerships and trusts. The first deadline falls on 31 December.
In August, within days of each other, the parliaments of Mauritius and the Seychelles passed laws that change what the registers must hold about the people behind entities registered there. Taken one at a time, neither change is dramatic. Read together, they close a period in which the identity of a nominee director's principal, or a beneficial owner's date of birth, could simply be left off the record.
Both countries face mutual evaluations by ESAAMLG, the regional body of the FATF network, over the next two years. The Seychelles does not hide the connection: the explanatory memorandum to its amending bill cites FATF Recommendation 24, on the transparency of legal persons.
Singapore pulled further ahead, Hong Kong fell back and the UAE's inflows rose again. UNCTAD's latest figures put the hubs we cover side by side.
Since 20 July 2026, RAKEZ has required a Good Conduct Certificate from new employment and investor visa applicants from Ghana, Lebanon, Lithuania, Morocco, Mozambique, Pakistan, Senegal, Syria, Tonga and Zambia. The change follows an update from the federal identity and customs authority.
What to do: RAKEZ companies and founders should build the certificate and its embassy attestation into hiring and shareholder timelines for applicants from the twenty-four listed countries, and have it in hand before the visa application is filed.
On 30 September 2026 the Financial Services Commission (FSC) launched a Register of Trusts, which is not open to the public. Qualified Trustees must load basic and beneficial ownership information for every trust they administer by 15 January 2027, and must report any change within five working days.
What to do: Qualified Trustees should register for the portal now and plan to load every trust they administer, foreign trusts included, by 15 January 2027, with a process in place for reporting changes within five working days.
Since 17 August 2026, the Companies Registry has accepted a company's annual return (Form NAR1) and notice of change of registered office (Form NR1) from holders of iAM Smart+, the government's digital identity, without their first registering for e-filing.
What to do: If a director or the company secretary of your Hong Kong company holds iAM Smart+, consider using the new route for the next annual return, and diarise the 42-day filing window that follows the incorporation anniversary.
On 9 October 2026 the Council of the EU removed Panama and Viet Nam from Annex I, its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, and moved both to Annex II. Annex I now names eight jurisdictions, American Samoa, Anguilla, Guam, Palau, Russia, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu.
What to do: Before the next revision in February 2027, update counterparty, payment and intermediary risk policies that refer to the EU list, and check with EU group companies how and when their national defensive measures cease to apply to Panama and Viet Nam.
At its plenary ending on 30 October 2026, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) removed Bulgaria, Monaco, Côte d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo from its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, and added none. Vietnam stays on the list, and the FATF has said it will consider next steps if progress is not made before the next plenary. The list of high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action is unchanged, with Iran and Myanmar named in press reports of the outcome.
What to do: Once you have read the FATF's own statements, update the counterparty, onboarding and correspondent-banking risk lists that refer to the FATF grey list, and check whether your bank applies the change at once or with a lag.
A layered ownership chain, walked from the founder down, and what each layer now records about the people behind it.
New Zealand has tightened the rules on how investors may borrow and move money for its residence-by-investment visa, and from December 2026 it will let Growth category applicants use approved Build to Rent funds. The headline amounts have not changed.
Spain has not accepted new applications for residence through investment since 3 April 2025. Existing holders keep their rights, and newcomers have to look at other routes. This is what the official texts say.
A registered will settles who inherits, but it does not move a single asset. For a non-Muslim family relying on a will held by the DIFC Courts, that happens only once the executor has obtained a Probate Order and, for most Dubai assets, had it executed through the Dubai Courts. This piece follows the officially published process, with what it costs and where it tends to stall.
The ESAAMLG calendar gives possible dates for the next mutual evaluations of both Indian Ocean centres. The Seychelles goes first: an onsite visit in June or July 2027, then a plenary discussion in March or April 2028. Mauritius follows, with an onsite visit in January or February 2028 and a plenary in August or September 2028.
The Mauritius Budget Speech 2026-2027 talks of "full readiness for the 2027 Mutual Evaluation". The calendar says 2028. That matters less than it looks. Assessors judge how the rules work in practice over the period before the visit, so the year before the onsite is the year the evidence gets made.
On the ground, expect more questions in 2027 from administrators, banks and registered agents: who owns this, where the money came from, what each entity is for. The legislation passed this year is the script they will work from.
What it is used for. Regional headquarters, trading and service companies, family offices, funds and, more and more, regulated financial and virtual asset businesses. Mainland companies sell into the domestic market. Free zone companies serve international clients and, where their licence allows, the region.
The regulators. At federal level, the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Authority handle tax, the Central Bank handles banking and payments, and the Capital Market Authority handles securities. The DIFC and ADGM each have their own financial regulator, the DFSA and the FSRA respectively, and their own common law courts. In Dubai outside the DIFC, VARA regulates virtual assets.
Tax. Corporate tax is 9 per cent on taxable income above AED 375,000. A Qualifying Free Zone Person can pay 0 per cent on qualifying income if it meets the conditions. Withholding tax is 0 per cent. VAT has applied at 5 per cent since 1 January 2018. For financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025, a Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax lifts large multinational groups, those with revenue of EUR 750 million or more, to a 15 per cent effective rate. Low tax, then, with conditions attached.
Treaties. The UAE has concluded 137 double taxation agreements, on the Ministry of Finance's count.
Transparency. Legal persons keep a register of real beneficiaries at a 25 per cent threshold and file it with their registrar under Cabinet Resolution No. 109 of 2023. The FATF took the UAE off its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring in February 2024.
Currency. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar at AED 3.6725.
What to watch. E-invoicing for businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more, from 1 January 2027; the end of the one-year period to align with the Capital Market Authority law; new Central Bank rules on operational risk and on SME customer protection; and tighter VARA requirements on client reserve assets.
| Date | Jurisdiction | What falls due | Who it affects | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 November 2026 | ADGM | Consultations close on the FSRA fees and general rulebook revisions (CP 6/2026) and a framework for business centres (CP 7/2026) | ADGM firms and business-centre operators wishing to comment | Confirmed |
| 16 November 2026 | United Arab Emirates | Excise tax return and payment due | Excise tax registrants | Confirmed |
| 16 November 2026 | Hong Kong | Profits tax returns for 2025/26 due, accounting date code M (year ends 1 January to 31 March 2026), under the block extension scheme | Companies filing through tax representatives | Confirmed |
| 30 November 2026 | Singapore | Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) and Form C due for Year of Assessment 2026 | Companies tax resident or operating in Singapore | Confirmed |
| 30 November 2026 | Mauritius | Corporate tax return and tax due for years ended May 2026; advance payment statement for the quarter to 31 August 2026 | Companies, including Global Business Companies | Confirmed |
| 30 November 2026 | United Arab Emirates | Corporate tax return and payment due for tax periods ended 28 February 2026 (nine months after the period end) | Corporate tax registrants with a February year end | Confirmed |
| 30 November 2026 | ADGM | Consultation closes on FSRA guidance on DeFi risk management (CP 5/2026) | Virtual asset and DeFi firms in or entering ADGM | Confirmed |
| 30 November 2026 | United Arab Emirates | Top-up Tax registration deadline for in-scope entities whose fiscal year ended before 30 April 2026 (FTA Decision No. 12 of 2026, Art. 2(2)); AED 10,000 penalty for late registration | UAE entities of multinational groups with EUR 750 million or more in revenue, or their Domestic Designated Filing Entity | Confirmed |
| 29 December 2026 | Mauritius | Corporate tax return and tax due for years ended June 2026; advance payment statement for the quarter to 30 September 2026 | Companies, including Global Business Companies | Confirmed |
| 31 December 2026 | Seychelles | Register of directors must record the nominee status of any director and the nominator's details | International Business Companies | Confirmed |
| 31 December 2026 | Mauritius | Audited financial statements due to the FSC for licensees with a June 2026 year end (six months after the year end) | Global Business Companies and other FSC licensees | Confirmed |
| 31 December 2026 | United Arab Emirates | Corporate tax return and payment due for tax periods ended 31 March 2026 | Corporate tax registrants with a March year end | Confirmed |
| 1 January 2027 | United Arab Emirates | E-invoicing becomes mandatory for businesses with annual revenue of AED 50 million or more | VAT and corporate taxpayers above the threshold | Confirmed |
| 1 January 2027 | Seychelles | Filings must carry the names and appointment dates of a company's current directors | International Business Companies and their registered agents | Confirmed |
| 1 January 2027 | Singapore | Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework regulations enter into force; reporting service providers begin collecting data | Crypto-asset service providers with a Singapore nexus | Confirmed |
| 1 January 2027 | DIFC | Revised conflict-of-interest rules for credit rating agencies apply | DFSA-authorised credit rating agencies | Confirmed |
| 1 January 2027 | United Arab Emirates | One-year period for firms to bring their status into line with the new Capital Market Authority law ends, unless extended by the CMA Board | Firms carrying on financial or virtual asset activities within the CMA's scope | To confirm |
| 15 January 2027 | Mauritius | Initial population of the FSC Register of Trusts must be complete | Qualified Trustees and management companies administering trusts | Confirmed |
| 15 January 2027 | Mauritius | Nil and loss returns due for years ended June 2026 | Companies with no chargeable income for the year | Confirmed |
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