Jurisdictions

The right licence, in the right place.

Jurisdiction choice is strategy, not geography. Capital requirements, supervisory culture, timelines and market access differ enormously, so we help you choose deliberately, then execute locally.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

FCA & PRA

The UK remains one of the world's deepest financial markets, and one of its most demanding gatekeepers. FCA authorisation rewards preparation and punishes optimism. We've guided firms through both routine and contested applications.

FCAPRABank of EnglandPayment Systems Regulator
  • EMI and Payment Institution authorisation under the Payment Services and E-Money Regulations
  • FCA investment firm authorisation (MiFID-derived regime)
  • Crypto-asset registration and the evolving UK crypto regime
  • Consumer credit and lending permissions
  • Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) readiness
  • Variations of permission, change in control, and cancellations
🇪🇺 European Union

One licence, 27 markets

Passporting makes home-state selection the single most consequential decision in an EU strategy. Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, France, the Netherlands: each has a distinct supervisory personality, cost base and timeline. We know them first-hand.

CBI (Ireland)BaFin (Germany)Bank of LithuaniaMFSA (Malta)CSSF (Luxembourg)ACPR (France)DNB / AFM (Netherlands)
  • Home-state selection analysis: supervision style, cost, timeline, talent, substance requirements
  • EMI / PI licences under PSD2 (and PSD3 readiness)
  • MiCA authorisation for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs)
  • MiFID II investment firm licences
  • EU passporting notifications and branch establishment
  • DORA operational resilience compliance
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

DIFC, ADGM & mainland

The UAE offers three distinct regulatory universes: the common-law financial free zones of DIFC and ADGM, and the mainland regime under the Central Bank and VARA. Choosing the wrong one costs a year. We map the pathway before you commit.

DFSA (DIFC)FSRA (ADGM)VARA (Dubai)CBUAESCA
  • DFSA and FSRA financial services authorisation across all licence categories
  • VARA virtual asset licences: exchange, broker-dealer, custody, advisory
  • CBUAE payments licensing: stored value facilities and retail payment services
  • Free-zone vs mainland structuring, substance and visa strategy
  • Authorised Individual and senior appointment approvals
  • Regional expansion: using the UAE as a GCC and emerging-markets hub
Cross-border

Multi-jurisdiction by design

Most of our clients don't stop at one licence. We sequence applications so evidence, policies and governance built for the first regulator do double duty with the second and third, cutting months from multi-market programmes.

Where should you be licensed?

Bring us your product and target markets. We'll come back with a jurisdiction comparison and a recommended sequence.

Get a Jurisdiction Assessment