As COVID-19 spreads through societies worldwide, the disruption to international and local travel has led to a set of unique challenges for businesses, both in how they offer services to their clients, and how they manage their operations internally.

The conduct, execution and delivery of business in the UAE is largely dependent on the appointment and availability of authorised signatories in the UAE. With the UAE government suspension from Thursday 19 March of entry of all valid visa holders who are currently outside of the UAE, it is possible that an authorised signatory may be unavailable for an indefinite period to conduct business on behalf of the company. For those businesses who require local legal presence in order to win work, or who require a person or persons with legal authority to represent their interests locally whilst travel remains an impossibility it can be challenging to know what, if any, options remain available to you. This challenge is further compounded by the fact that many Embassies globally have closed their attestation departments and therefore, production of documents giving legal authority to represent businesses or individuals, is not currently possible.

This article therefore explores the options available to business at this time:

• Option 1:
  Wait. If your ongoing process, contract or requirement is not mission critical, you may be better served by waiting to see how the events of the next few weeks unfold. PRO Partner Group are issuing daily updates as and when information from the various Ministries and Government authorities becomes available, subscribing to our social media feeds will ensure you stay up-to-date with the latest development across the UAE, Qatar and Oman. Do follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram for full details or email us at info@ppg.ae to subscribe to our UAE market update newsletter and alterts.
  
• Option 2:
  Appoint a temporary shareholder. If your business urgently requires to expand in to the UAE in order to meet contract deadlines or to offer products or services which may assist in the current situation, you will not currently be able to prepare appropriate documents overseas which will give legal validity to the decision to incorporate. In such a scenario you may wish to explore appointing a proxy shareholder – this could be a member of senior management within the organisation (as long as that person has previously visited UAE), or a service such as PRO Partner Group’s nominee shareholding service which is widely recognised in the market, could be invaluable in such cases. We have all the requisite approvals to ensure we can conduct this work quickly and efficiently at local level, and ensure all rights and entitlements are retained by you and your company.
  
• Option 3:
  Appoint a temporary Attorney. If your executive team is currently outside of UAE and there is a requirement for documentation to be signed/submitted locally, it may be beneficial to appoint an individual or group of individuals, to represent your interests locally. Again, this could be a trusted staff member or a professional nominee such as PRO Partner Group, by virtue of a Power of Attorney executed in front of a Notary Public in UAE. This document can be adjusted to meet the precise requirements of your business and may also be revoked at any time once it is no longer required.

Can I currently execute POAs and Resolutions at the Notary in UAE?

As mentioned above there is currently no option to execute Resolutions and POAs overseas to facilitate business continuance locally; however the Notaries Public in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are both offering remote execution programmes at present. The team at PRO Partner Group have executed a number of document signings and notarisations by video conference already in the UAE and the process is working well. Should your business require assistance to coordinate these notary signings or to appoint a nominee for the reasons outlines above, PPG can help with the below elements:

• Nominee selection: PPG can offer either individual or corporate nominee packages, depending on the precise nature of your business needs. Please contact us for further advice on how we may best support you here
• Document preparation: we can work with you or alongside your engaged legal counsel to ensure the document(s) prepared are suitable for intended purpose and in a format which will be acceptable to the Notary – including arranging legal translation to Arabic
• Document execution: we can coordinate with the relevant parties to ensure that online signings take place smoothly and efficiently and that every party is aware of their role and responsibility, to ensure a successful outcome
• Document usage: In the case that you have appointed PPG to act as nominee in any capacity, the work will be carried out to your specification and under your direct instruction, to ensure you have full oversight and control of the process/processes required

If you would like to discuss the options and suggestions detailed above please do reach out to us on +971 (0)4 456 1761 for Dubai or +971 (0)2 448 5120 for Abu Dhabi, email us at info@ppg.ae or complete the contact form below and we will be delighted to assist with meeting your needs at this time.