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Countries

United Arab EmiratesChecked 18 August 2026

Depends on your industryWork: HighEnforcement: Waking up

In one paragraph: The national privacy law has been in force since January 2022, but the rules that make it work were never written, so almost none of it can be enforced. Meanwhile the industries that matter have hard walls: health records, payment data, insurance data and identity-check reports must stay inside the country. Two financial districts run their own separate privacy systems, and those regulators do issue penalties.
The catch: The relaxed national picture is false the moment you touch health, payments, insurance, credit and identity checks, or government data. The national law expressly does not cover health data, banking data, government data, or companies inside the financial free zones. For most regulated businesses the national law is not the rule that binds them.
Does this apply to me?: Yes. The national privacy law reaches a company with no office in the country, as long as it handles the personal data of people inside the country. There is no revenue or headcount threshold to hide under. But the law carves out huge areas: government bodies, government data, health data, banking and credit data, and companies inside the financial free zones that have their own privacy laws.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?: It depends entirely on your industry. Under the national law data can leave once you have the right paperwork, and in practice nobody is checking. But four industries have real walls. Health records may not be stored or sent abroad at all. Payment data must be stored inside the country. Insurance data must be stored inside the country. And since April 2026 the national identity-check report may not be taken out of the country at all.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: On paper the model is an approved-destinations list. The regulator is supposed to name countries whose protection is good enough, and no list has ever been published. So in practice everyone uses the fallback route: a contract with the recipient promising equivalent protection, or the person's explicit consent, or a narrow necessity exception. No government permission is needed and no filing is made, because the rules that would create those steps were never written.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: On paper the UAE Data Office. In practice it has never enforced anything: it has no public website, it has published no approved-destinations list, and the government decision that would set the fines has not been made. The regulators that really bite are elsewhere — the central bank fined a foreign bank branch about 5.4 million dollars in June 2026, and the data protection commissioner in the Abu Dhabi financial district has issued published penalty notices.Medium confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: The floors are long and they are set by industry, not by the privacy law. Health records must be kept for at least 25 years after the last treatment. Payment data must be kept for 5 years with a separate backup. Identity-check reports must be kept for at least 5 years. There is no working national deletion deadline, because the detailed rules that would set one were never issued.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: There is no national deadline in hours today. The privacy law says you must tell the regulator as soon as you discover a breach, and leaves the actual timing and the wording of the notice to detailed rules that were never issued. So the clocks that really run are the ones set by your own regulator: the central bank for financial firms, and the separate data protection offices in the two financial districts. The national cyber incident reporting service is aimed at government bodies, not at private companies.Medium confidence
What's the trap?: Five things that cost people their weekend. One: the national privacy law does not cover health data, banking data, government data, or companies in the financial free zones, so most regulated firms are not governed by it at all. Two: health data may not leave the country, ever, and the fine is up to about 190 thousand dollars. Three: since April 2026 the national identity-check report may not be sent abroad. Four: a child is anyone under 18, but the parental consent line is drawn at 13. Five: there are two extra legal systems inside the country, and their regulators actually issue penalties.High confidence
What's about to change?: The single biggest thing is a rule that could appear on any Tuesday. When the government finally publishes the detailed rules under the privacy law, every company gets six months to comply and the law switches from decorative to real. Nothing signals when that will happen. In the meantime the new child safety law needs its penalty schedule, and the national identity-check platform is being rolled out across banks.Medium confidence
Hardest industry wall: Health and social care — Federal Law No. (2) of 2019 Concerning the Use of the Information and Communications Technology in Health Fields
Payments — Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation
Insurance — Insurance Authority Board of Directors' Resolution No. (18) of 2020 Concerning the Electronic Insurance Regulations
Banking — Cabinet Resolution No. (55) of 2026 Promulgating the Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. (30) of 2024 Regarding the "Know Your Customer" Digital Platform

UzbekistanChecked 18 August 2026

Yes, with paperworkWork: HighEnforcement: Waking up

In one paragraph: Uzbekistan used to say that data about its citizens had to sit on machines inside the country. In March 2026 it dropped that blanket rule. Most personal data may now be stored abroad if the destination country is on a new government approved list, or you use an approved contract, or you meet international standards. Three kinds of data still cannot leave at all.
The catch: The relaxed headline stops at three walls. Face and fingerprint data, genetic data, and data about customers of telephone and internet companies must be kept inside Uzbekistan. Banks face a separate rule that bans handing the running of their systems to an outside supplier, which blocks most managed cloud arrangements. Detailed maps are handled under state-secrecy rules.
Does this apply to me?: The law is written to cover the handling of personal data whatever tools are used, and it was aimed at foreign online platforms when the storage rules were first tightened in 2021. It does not set a size or revenue threshold, so a small foreign company is treated the same as a large one. We found no clear wording that forces a foreign company to appoint a representative living in Uzbekistan, and no explicit sentence saying the law follows the data outside the country.Medium confidence
Can the data leave the country?: Mostly yes, but only if you can point to one of three permissions. Face and fingerprint data, genetic data, and data about customers of telephone and internet companies must stay in Uzbekistan. Everything else may be stored and processed abroad if the destination country is on the government's approved list, or you sign an approved standard contract or use approved group rules, or you follow recognised international data standards.Medium confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: The model is an approved list. Before ordinary personal data leaves the country you need one of three things: the destination is on the Cabinet of Ministers' list of countries with adequate protection, or you use the standard contract terms or group rules approved by the data authority, or you meet recognised international data standards. The country list was signed on 29 July 2026 and started on 3 August 2026, so it is brand new. We could not read which countries are on it, and no approved standard contract template appears to have been published yet.Medium confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: The data regulator is the State Centre for Personalization, which sits under the Cabinet of Ministers. It keeps the national register of personal data databases and can issue orders that companies and individuals must obey. It is a working government body and the registration service has run since 2020, but we found no published fines or decisions, so treat enforcement as waking up rather than active. Cyber incidents are handled by a different body, the State Security Service, and banks answer separately to the Central Bank.Medium confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: The ceiling is clear: personal data must be destroyed once the purpose is achieved, once consent is withdrawn, once the agreed period ends, or when a court orders it. The floor is thinner. Organisations covered by the cybersecurity law must keep backup copies covering at least the last three months. We did not verify the general tax and accounting minimum keeping periods during this run, so plan on the usual company record rules as well.Medium confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: There are two clocks and they are not the same. The privacy law itself contains no duty to report a data breach to the regulator or to the people affected — we checked the text on 18 August 2026 and found none. The cybersecurity law is where reporting lives: organisations covered by it must tell the State Security Service about cyber incidents. Banks also report to the Central Bank under its security rules. We could not confirm a firm deadline in hours for any of these.Medium confidence
What's the trap?: First, every database of personal data has to be entered in a national register — it is a notification, it is free and it takes five working days, but skipping it is still a breach. Second, breaking the personal data rules can be a crime, not just a fine, so a named person can be prosecuted. Third, the face and fingerprint wall catches ordinary products like fingerprint logins and identity checks, not just spy technology. Fourth, banks are banned from handing the running of their technology and security systems to an outside supplier, which rules out most managed cloud and outsourced security operations. Fifth, the standard contract route for sending data abroad exists on paper but no approved template appears to have been published.Medium confidence
What's about to change?: The big change already happened in March 2026 and the follow-up is still landing. The approved country list started on 3 August 2026 and can be widened or cut by the Cabinet of Ministers at any time. The approved standard contract for sending data abroad is still missing, so watch for it. A new Tashkent International Financial Centre opened its legal regime on 25 July 2026 and its law also touched the privacy law, which may create a separate rulebook inside the centre. A national cybersecurity strategy was signed in March 2026.Medium confidence
Hardest industry wall: All industries — Закон «О персональных данных», статья 27-1, часть 2
Telecoms — Закон «О персональных данных», статья 27-1, часть 2 (данные пользователей услуг операторов телекоммуникаций)
Finance — Кредит бюроларининг ахборот хавфсизлиги ва киберхавфсизлигига доир минимал талаблар тўғрисидаги низом
Mapping and location — Положение о порядке установления ограничительных грифов картографических и геодезических материалов (данных)
Government — О мерах по организации деятельности Центра обработки данных системы «Электронное правительство»

The eight framework questions answered for each selected country
Question	United Arab EmiratesChecked 18 August 2026	UzbekistanChecked 18 August 2026
The three ratings	Depends on your industry Work: High Enforcement: Waking up	Yes, with paperwork Work: High Enforcement: Waking up
In one paragraph	The national privacy law has been in force since January 2022, but the rules that make it work were never written, so almost none of it can be enforced. Meanwhile the industries that matter have hard walls: health records, payment data, insurance data and identity-check reports must stay inside the country. Two financial districts run their own separate privacy systems, and those regulators do issue penalties.	Uzbekistan used to say that data about its citizens had to sit on machines inside the country. In March 2026 it dropped that blanket rule. Most personal data may now be stored abroad if the destination country is on a new government approved list, or you use an approved contract, or you meet international standards. Three kinds of data still cannot leave at all.
The catch	The relaxed national picture is false the moment you touch health, payments, insurance, credit and identity checks, or government data. The national law expressly does not cover health data, banking data, government data, or companies inside the financial free zones. For most regulated businesses the national law is not the rule that binds them.	The relaxed headline stops at three walls. Face and fingerprint data, genetic data, and data about customers of telephone and internet companies must be kept inside Uzbekistan. Banks face a separate rule that bans handing the running of their systems to an outside supplier, which blocks most managed cloud arrangements. Detailed maps are handled under state-secrecy rules.
Does this apply to me?	Yes. The national privacy law reaches a company with no office in the country, as long as it handles the personal data of people inside the country. There is no revenue or headcount threshold to hide under. But the law carves out huge areas: government bodies, government data, health data, banking and credit data, and companies inside the financial free zones that have their own privacy laws.High confidence	The law is written to cover the handling of personal data whatever tools are used, and it was aimed at foreign online platforms when the storage rules were first tightened in 2021. It does not set a size or revenue threshold, so a small foreign company is treated the same as a large one. We found no clear wording that forces a foreign company to appoint a representative living in Uzbekistan, and no explicit sentence saying the law follows the data outside the country.Medium confidence
Can the data leave the country?	It depends entirely on your industry. Under the national law data can leave once you have the right paperwork, and in practice nobody is checking. But four industries have real walls. Health records may not be stored or sent abroad at all. Payment data must be stored inside the country. Insurance data must be stored inside the country. And since April 2026 the national identity-check report may not be taken out of the country at all.High confidence	Mostly yes, but only if you can point to one of three permissions. Face and fingerprint data, genetic data, and data about customers of telephone and internet companies must stay in Uzbekistan. Everything else may be stored and processed abroad if the destination country is on the government's approved list, or you sign an approved standard contract or use approved group rules, or you follow recognised international data standards.Medium confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?	On paper the model is an approved-destinations list. The regulator is supposed to name countries whose protection is good enough, and no list has ever been published. So in practice everyone uses the fallback route: a contract with the recipient promising equivalent protection, or the person's explicit consent, or a narrow necessity exception. No government permission is needed and no filing is made, because the rules that would create those steps were never written.High confidence	The model is an approved list. Before ordinary personal data leaves the country you need one of three things: the destination is on the Cabinet of Ministers' list of countries with adequate protection, or you use the standard contract terms or group rules approved by the data authority, or you meet recognised international data standards. The country list was signed on 29 July 2026 and started on 3 August 2026, so it is brand new. We could not read which countries are on it, and no approved standard contract template appears to have been published yet.Medium confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?	On paper the UAE Data Office. In practice it has never enforced anything: it has no public website, it has published no approved-destinations list, and the government decision that would set the fines has not been made. The regulators that really bite are elsewhere — the central bank fined a foreign bank branch about 5.4 million dollars in June 2026, and the data protection commissioner in the Abu Dhabi financial district has issued published penalty notices.Medium confidence	The data regulator is the State Centre for Personalization, which sits under the Cabinet of Ministers. It keeps the national register of personal data databases and can issue orders that companies and individuals must obey. It is a working government body and the registration service has run since 2020, but we found no published fines or decisions, so treat enforcement as waking up rather than active. Cyber incidents are handled by a different body, the State Security Service, and banks answer separately to the Central Bank.Medium confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?	The floors are long and they are set by industry, not by the privacy law. Health records must be kept for at least 25 years after the last treatment. Payment data must be kept for 5 years with a separate backup. Identity-check reports must be kept for at least 5 years. There is no working national deletion deadline, because the detailed rules that would set one were never issued.High confidence	The ceiling is clear: personal data must be destroyed once the purpose is achieved, once consent is withdrawn, once the agreed period ends, or when a court orders it. The floor is thinner. Organisations covered by the cybersecurity law must keep backup copies covering at least the last three months. We did not verify the general tax and accounting minimum keeping periods during this run, so plan on the usual company record rules as well.Medium confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?	There is no national deadline in hours today. The privacy law says you must tell the regulator as soon as you discover a breach, and leaves the actual timing and the wording of the notice to detailed rules that were never issued. So the clocks that really run are the ones set by your own regulator: the central bank for financial firms, and the separate data protection offices in the two financial districts. The national cyber incident reporting service is aimed at government bodies, not at private companies.Medium confidence	There are two clocks and they are not the same. The privacy law itself contains no duty to report a data breach to the regulator or to the people affected — we checked the text on 18 August 2026 and found none. The cybersecurity law is where reporting lives: organisations covered by it must tell the State Security Service about cyber incidents. Banks also report to the Central Bank under its security rules. We could not confirm a firm deadline in hours for any of these.Medium confidence
What's the trap?	Five things that cost people their weekend. One: the national privacy law does not cover health data, banking data, government data, or companies in the financial free zones, so most regulated firms are not governed by it at all. Two: health data may not leave the country, ever, and the fine is up to about 190 thousand dollars. Three: since April 2026 the national identity-check report may not be sent abroad. Four: a child is anyone under 18, but the parental consent line is drawn at 13. Five: there are two extra legal systems inside the country, and their regulators actually issue penalties.High confidence	First, every database of personal data has to be entered in a national register — it is a notification, it is free and it takes five working days, but skipping it is still a breach. Second, breaking the personal data rules can be a crime, not just a fine, so a named person can be prosecuted. Third, the face and fingerprint wall catches ordinary products like fingerprint logins and identity checks, not just spy technology. Fourth, banks are banned from handing the running of their technology and security systems to an outside supplier, which rules out most managed cloud and outsourced security operations. Fifth, the standard contract route for sending data abroad exists on paper but no approved template appears to have been published.Medium confidence
What's about to change?	The single biggest thing is a rule that could appear on any Tuesday. When the government finally publishes the detailed rules under the privacy law, every company gets six months to comply and the law switches from decorative to real. Nothing signals when that will happen. In the meantime the new child safety law needs its penalty schedule, and the national identity-check platform is being rolled out across banks.Medium confidence	The big change already happened in March 2026 and the follow-up is still landing. The approved country list started on 3 August 2026 and can be widened or cut by the Cabinet of Ministers at any time. The approved standard contract for sending data abroad is still missing, so watch for it. A new Tashkent International Financial Centre opened its legal regime on 25 July 2026 and its law also touched the privacy law, which may create a separate rulebook inside the centre. A national cybersecurity strategy was signed in March 2026.Medium confidence
Hardest industry wall	Health and social care — Federal Law No. (2) of 2019 Concerning the Use of the Information and Communications Technology in Health Fields Payments — Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation Insurance — Insurance Authority Board of Directors' Resolution No. (18) of 2020 Concerning the Electronic Insurance Regulations Banking — Cabinet Resolution No. (55) of 2026 Promulgating the Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. (30) of 2024 Regarding the "Know Your Customer" Digital Platform	All industries — Закон «О персональных данных», статья 27-1, часть 2 Telecoms — Закон «О персональных данных», статья 27-1, часть 2 (данные пользователей услуг операторов телекоммуникаций) Finance — Кредит бюроларининг ахборот хавфсизлиги ва киберхавфсизлигига доир минимал талаблар тўғрисидаги низом Mapping and location — Положение о порядке установления ограничительных грифов картографических и геодезических материалов (данных) Government — О мерах по организации деятельности Центра обработки данных системы «Электронное правительство»