From its offices in Toronto and Abu Dhabi, Fauri Law advises Canadians with shareholdings, companies, partners or family interests in the UAE, and UAE companies, families and investors with interests in Canada, on the corporate, commercial, financing and regulatory matters that involve both jurisdictions, under Canadian and UAE law.
Most matters begin with a document prepared by another party under a legal system the client was not trained in. The firm reviews it under both.
Shares held, or offered, in a mainland or free-zone company. What the position protects, what must be reported in Canada, and the consequences if the relationship among the shareholders changes.
View Shareholder AgreementsA Canadian company forming a joint venture with a UAE group, a UAE partner investing in a Canadian business, or co-founders with one on each side. Structure, governance, contributions, exit and the governing law, settled before the term sheet.
View Governance & StructuringA Canadian company opening in the UAE, a UAE group entering Canada, or capital and operations moving in either direction, with the two corporate structures designed to work together rather than in parallel.
View Advisory & TransactionsA shareholders’ agreement, a share transfer or a commercial contract drafted under a civil-law system, reviewed for what it provides under that system before it is signed, not for what a Canadian equivalent would have provided.
View Commercial TransactionsLicensing, foreign-ownership rules, sector regulation and compliance in either market, including regulated financial activities. The relevant regulator, the required licence, and the structure needed to obtain and keep it.
View Advisory & TransactionsAn acquisition, a sale or a reorganization with a Canadian party on one side and a UAE party on the other: the structure, diligence in both registers, the purchase agreement and closing under the law chosen.
View M&AA Canadian company raising from Gulf investors, or a UAE company raising from Canada: the investor documents on the company side, and the investment structured to qualify for the protection the Canada–UAE investment agreement offers.
View Venture FinancingSupply, distribution, agency, franchise, licensing and services agreements between Canadian and UAE parties, with the governing law and the forum chosen deliberately, and the consequences of a registered UAE agency understood before signature.
View Commercial TransactionsA document signed under pressure, a partner acting without authority, a transfer that was not agreed. The client’s position under both systems, the steps short of court, and arbitration in the UAE where the agreement provides for it.
View Disputes & ArbitrationFauri Law practises from Toronto and Abu Dhabi. A matter with a Canadian side and a UAE side is handled by one firm across both, rather than divided between two.
A consultation on the matter and the documents involved. Scope is confirmed after conflict review in both jurisdictions and set out in an engagement letter before any work begins.
Discuss a Canada–UAE MatterSubmitting an intake does not create a lawyer-client relationship; work begins after conflict review, scope confirmation and written engagement terms. The firm does not appear before the courts of either jurisdiction; shareholder and commercial disputes are handled by negotiation and, where the agreement provides for it, by arbitration in the UAE, and litigation counsel is coordinated where a court is unavoidable. Canadian and UAE tax advice is given by the client’s accountants, with whom the firm works directly.
Two bilateral agreements now apply to business between Canada and the UAE. One protects investment and is in effect; the other opens trade and is not yet in force. The distinction is material to any agreement signed this year.
Canadian merchandise exports to the UAE reached $2.8 billion in 2025, with a further $445 million in commercial services, and approximately 60,000 Canadians live in the UAE. The agreements formalize a relationship in which the UAE was already Canada’s largest export market in the Middle East.
Global Affairs Canada, 24 July 2026Sources: Global Affairs Canada, news release, 24 July 2026; Government of Canada, Canada–United Arab Emirates relations, updated June 2026. Figures are the governments’ own, accessed 2 September 2026. The agreements are described in general terms and not as advice on any specific investment or transaction.
Not for a matter handled by the firm. Fauri Law practises in both Canada and the United Arab Emirates from its offices in Toronto and Abu Dhabi, with counsel trained in common law and in civil law, so the Canadian and UAE sides of a matter are reviewed together by one firm. Where a matter requires advice outside the firm’s practice, such as tax or immigration, the firm retains and coordinates it rather than referring the client to a second firm.
Yes. The firm advises on UAE corporate, commercial and regulatory law from its Abu Dhabi office. The practice is corporate and commercial; a dispute is handled by negotiation and, where the agreement provides for it, by arbitration in the UAE. The firm does not appear before the courts of either jurisdiction.
Two things, at different stages. The investment protection agreement has been in force since 19 May 2026; whether an investment qualifies depends on how it is structured and held. The trade agreement was concluded on 24 July 2026 but is not yet in force; it proceeds through legal review, signature and ratification first. New investments should be structured to qualify now, and contracts signed this year should not assume that the trade terms already apply.
The governing law and the forum. The transfer provisions and exit rights. The reserved matters, and where control of decisions lies. The consequences of death, incapacity or departure. And the interaction between the agreement and the memorandum and articles registered with the free zone or the economic department, because in the UAE the registered documents can carry more weight than the agreement. A Canadian reader’s expectations will be correct on some of these points and incorrect on others.
Free zones, among them ADGM, DIFC and DMCC, are separate licensing authorities with their own company regulations and registers; ADGM and DIFC also have their own common-law courts. Mainland companies are licensed by the emirate’s economic department under the federal Commercial Companies Law. Foreign-ownership rules, share transfers, filings and the form of the documents differ between them. The firm first establishes which of these the shares are held in.
In general terms, a Canadian resident holding foreign property above a cost threshold files Form T1135, and an interest in a foreign corporation may make it a foreign affiliate with its own reporting and tax consequences. These are matters for the client’s accountant. The firm’s role is to ensure that the corporate documents and the tax reporting describe the same thing, and it works directly with the accountant to that end.
Yes. The firm acts for clients on both sides of the corridor from its offices in Toronto and Abu Dhabi: a UAE company with a Canadian shareholder or partner, a group or investor entering Canada, a founder raising from Canadian investors, or an advisor with a client to refer. The Abu Dhabi office page has the local details, and the office can be reached by WhatsApp.
The documents and a summary of the matter are sufficient to begin. Every inquiry receives a reply within one business day.