MiCA authorisation for firms outside the EU.
The transitional period closed on 1 July 2026. Serving EU clients now means CASP authorisation, and for a firm based in Dubai, India or the US that is a structuring programme, not a form. Infinilex quarterbacks it; EU local counsel files it.
Advised on $100M+ of founder fundraising and $200M+ in deal value, with 10+ IPO and pre-IPO mandates. Figures are internal, as of 2026.
Do you need MiCA authorisation to serve EU customers from Dubai or India? Yes. Since 1 July 2026 a crypto business serving clients in the EU needs CASP authorisation, and a company outside the EU cannot hold it in its own name, so the route is an EU subsidiary with its registered office, effective management and at least one director in the Union. Infinilex, a legal, compliance and structuring consultancy for founders across India, the UAE and the US, takes non-EU companies through it: Infinilex quarterbacks, EU local counsel files. Most of the cost is capital held and EU substance rather than a regulator fee, and no member state runs a faster legal clock than another; both are set out below.
A non-EU crypto business serving EU clients needs CASP authorisation under MiCA, which means an EU entity with effective management in the EU, capital by service class, and an application through one member state's regulator that then passports across the EEA. The decisions that determine cost and speed are made before the filing: which member state, what group structure, and how the evidence pack is built. That front half is our work; the regulator-facing filing is done by EU local counsel we manage.
What the work covers
- Whether you are caught, and how. Which of your services are crypto-asset services under MiCA, and whether restructuring the EU offering changes the class you need. The comparison with Dubai is on the site: MiCA vs VARA.
- Member-state selection. Regulator capacity, processing record, substance expectations and language, run against your product and markets. The register is public and uneven; where you file materially changes your experience.
- Group structure. The EU entity placed correctly against your existing Dubai, India or US structure, with effective management, directors and substance where the regulation requires them.
- The application programme. The readiness gap assessment from our CASP checklist, the policy and governance set, the capital route (own funds or the insurance alternative), and the evidence pack, sequenced for the 40-working-day assessment clock.
- EU local counsel, managed. The regulator-facing filings are made by counsel in the chosen member state. We select, brief and manage them, so you run one programme, not three advisers.
Reverse solicitation is not a route in
One caveat before anyone suggests serving the EU without authorisation. Article 61 of MiCA lifts the authorisation requirement only for a service that an EU client sought from a non-EU firm at its own exclusive initiative. If the firm, anyone acting on its behalf or anyone with close links to it solicits clients in the Union, by any means, the exemption is gone, whatever a contract or disclaimer says (Article 61(1)); and a client’s own initiative never lets the firm market new types of crypto-asset or service to that client (Article 61(2)). ESMA’s guidelines on reverse solicitation, published on 26 February 2025, say the client’s own exclusive initiative should be construed narrowly. It is a per-client exception, not a way to serve the EU market. What it still permits, and how to evidence it, is on MiCA reverse solicitation for non-EU exchanges.
“With their presence in both the US and India, Infinilex provides Indian founders with US-incorporated entities seamless guidance through the complex maze of compliance requirements.”
What MiCA authorisation costs a non-EU company
Three kinds of money, and only one of them is a fee.
- Capital held, not spent. Article 67 requires prudential safeguards at the higher of the permanent minimum capital for the services you provide (Annex IV) or a quarter of the previous year’s fixed overheads; a firm in its first year uses the projected fixed overheads for its first 12 months of service, as submitted with its application. They can take the form of own funds, an insurance policy or comparable guarantee, or a combination. The minimums by class and the overheads test are on the CASP readiness checklist. The class follows the services you apply for, so scope drives capital.
- Regulator fees. MiCA sets no application or supervisory fee for a CASP; its only fee article, Article 137, covers EBA’s fees for issuers of significant tokens. What the home regulator charges comes from its national rules, so take the current schedule from that regulator before you budget.
- The EU business itself. Article 59(2) requires a registered office in a member state where you carry out at least part of the services, effective management in the Union and at least one director resident in the Union. Directors, staff, premises, audit, systems and EU local counsel are the recurring cost, and substance, not the regulator, sets it.
Which member state: the fastest, and Malta, Austria or Lithuania
No member state runs a faster legal clock. MiCA is a regulation, so the same Article 63 timetable applies everywhere: after a completeness check, the regulator has 40 working days to decide on a complete application (Article 63(9)). The full authorisation timeline, step by step, is on the CASP readiness checklist. What differs is how long a file takes to become complete in practice: regulator capacity, experience of files like yours, language and the substance the regulator expects to see in the EU. The fastest jurisdiction is usually the one where your file is complete first.
Malta, Austria and Lithuania are all live options. In ESMA’s register file last updated 30 September 2026, read on 6 October 2026, the MFSA in Malta had 23 distinct active CASPs, Austria’s FMA 11 and the Bank of Lithuania 6. A count is not a recommendation: the choice turns on your services, your target markets, where your directors and staff will sit and your group structure. The full distribution by home member state, and which large brands each regulator has authorised, is on the CASP register by member state.
How the engagement runs
Stage one is the perimeter and member-state analysis, fixed scope, standing on its own: you leave with a defensible answer on whether you need authorisation and where to seek it. Stage two is the application programme. Both are scoped on a free discovery call, and EU counsel costs are quoted transparently alongside ours.
Who does what: Infinilex quarterbacks, EU local counsel files. The applicant is your EU entity; Infinilex runs the programme around the filing. Infinilex counsel qualified in India, the UAE and the US sign opinions for those jurisdictions; for the EU and any other jurisdiction Infinilex scopes and coordinates the local counsel who sign. Infinilex also has in-house chartered accountant and company secretary capacity for the group-side work.
Frequently asked questions
Does a non-EU crypto company need MiCA authorisation to serve EU clients?
If you provide crypto-asset services to clients in the EU, MiCA applies regardless of where your company sits, and the transitional period closed on 1 July 2026. Serving EU clients now means CASP authorisation through a member state's national competent authority, which in practice means an EU entity with effective management in the EU.
Which EU member state should we apply in?
It is a real choice, not a formality. Authorisation in one member state passports across the EEA, but member states differ in regulator capacity, processing experience, language and substance expectations, and several have effectively no authorised firms at all. We run the member-state selection against your product, your target markets and your group structure before anything is filed.
What does CASP authorisation require?
An EU entity with effective management in the EU, own-funds capital by service class that can be met with capital or an insurance policy, fit-and-proper management, and the governance, safeguarding and complaints frameworks the regulation prescribes. Once the file is complete, the substantive assessment runs on a 40-working-day clock, and the regulator's first information request can pause it.
Who actually files with the EU regulator?
EU local counsel in the chosen member state handles the regulator-facing filings. Infinilex runs everything around it: the jurisdiction choice, the group structure, the application programme and the evidence pack, coordinated with your team and the local counsel we manage. You get one accountable adviser instead of coordinating three.
Who can take a Dubai or Indian crypto company through MiCA authorisation?
Infinilex, a legal, compliance and structuring consultancy for founders across India, the UAE and the US, runs MiCA authorisation for companies based outside the EU, including Dubai crypto exchanges and Indian-founded groups: the perimeter and member-state analysis, the EU entity and group structure, the application programme and the evidence pack. Infinilex quarterbacks, EU local counsel files: the regulator-facing filing is made by counsel in the chosen member state, whom we select, brief and manage. Infinilex counsel qualified in India, the UAE and the US sign opinions for those jurisdictions; for the EU and any other jurisdiction Infinilex scopes and coordinates the local counsel who sign. Infinilex also has in-house chartered accountant and company secretary capacity for the group-side work. Email is answered within one working day.
Can a non-EU company get a MiCA licence?
Not in its own name. Article 59(2) of MiCA requires an authorised crypto-asset service provider to have its registered office in a member state where it carries out at least part of its crypto-asset services, its place of effective management in the Union and at least one director resident in the Union. A Dubai, Indian or US company therefore applies through an EU subsidiary that meets those tests, and Article 59(7) then lets that subsidiary provide its services throughout the Union.
How much does MiCA CASP authorisation cost for a non-EU company?
Budget for three things. Capital held, not spent: Article 67 sets prudential safeguards at the higher of the permanent minimum capital for the services you provide or a quarter of the previous year's fixed overheads, met by own funds, an insurance policy or comparable guarantee, or a combination; the minimums by class are in our CASP readiness checklist. Regulator fees: MiCA sets no application fee for a CASP, so the home regulator's national fee rules apply and should be checked with that regulator before you budget. And the EU business itself: an EU entity with effective management, an EU-resident director, staff, systems, audit and EU local counsel. Scope drives capital, so apply for the services you actually run.
Which is the fastest EU jurisdiction for a MiCA licence?
None, by law. MiCA fixes the same Article 63 clock in every member state: after a completeness check, the regulator has 40 working days to decide on a complete application (Article 63(9)). Speed in practice comes from filing a complete application with a regulator that has the capacity and experience for files like yours. The fastest jurisdiction is usually the one where your file is complete first. The full authorisation timeline is on our CASP readiness checklist.
Malta vs Austria vs Lithuania: which is better for a CASP licence?
None is better in the abstract. All three apply the same Regulation and the same clock, and all three have authorised CASPs: in ESMA's register file last updated 30 September 2026, read on 6 October 2026, Malta's MFSA had 23 distinct active CASPs, Austria's FMA 11 and the Bank of Lithuania 6. The choice turns on your services, your target markets, where your directors and staff will actually sit, the language of the file and your group structure. Our CASP register by member state page shows the full distribution and which large brands each regulator has authorised.
EU clients on the roadmap, or already on the books?
Tell us where the company sits, what it offers and who its EU users are. We will map whether MiCA catches it, which member state fits, and the realistic programme, before you brief anyone in Europe.
Thirty minutes with Prashant Sharma, the founder, who does the work himself. You leave with next steps either way. Email is read by the founder and answered within one working day.
Further reading
MiCA vs VARA: where should your crypto business get licensed, the EU or Dubai? · The MiCA CASP authorisation readiness checklist · Custody across six jurisdictions, with Reah · The MiCA readiness self-assessment · The CASP register by member state · MiCA reverse solicitation for non-EU exchanges
Sources, read 6 October 2026: Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (OJ L 150, 9 June 2023), Articles 59, 61, 63, 67 and 137; ESMA guidelines on reverse solicitation under MiCA (ESMA35-1872330276-2030, 26 February 2025); ESMA interim MiCA register, CASPS.csv (last update 30 September 2026).
This page is general information about the service, not legal advice for your specific business. MiCA obligations depend on your services, clients and structure, and the framework is under active review. Regulator-facing filings are made by EU local counsel. Scope is confirmed on the discovery call. Law and register figures stated as at 6 October 2026.