Category: News and Media

This applies to both immovable property that is held or used in a business and immovable property that is held for investment purposes

The UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF)has announced the issuance of a cabinet decision on a non-resident person’s Nexus in the UAE for the purposes of corporate tax.

Foreign companies and other non-resident juridical persons will be subject to UAE corporate tax on income derived from real estate and other immovable property located in the UAE and will be required to register in the UAE for corporate tax purposes, the MoF said in a statement.

This applies to both immovable property that is held or used in a business and immovable property that is held for investment purposes in the UAE, it said.

Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the MoF, said: “The Corporate Tax treatment of income derived from UAE real estate and other immovable property by foreign juridical persons is in line with international best practice which stipulates that income derived from immovable property is taxable in the country in which such property is located.”

Real estate investment income earned from UAE immovable property owned by foreign or UAE resident individuals, either directly or through a trust, foundation or other vehicle that is treated as fiscally transparent for UAE corporate tax purposes, would generally not be subject to corporate tax provided it is not a licensed business activity, the statement noted.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and other Qualifying Investment Funds can avail an exemption from corporate tax on income derived from the investment in UAE immovable property, provided that the relevant conditions are met, it said.

The UAE started a 9% corporate tax on Thursday, with relief for SMEs and likely exemptions for export-focused free zone activities.

Dubai Land Department (DLD), through the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), issued a circular confirming the implementation of the new electronic service, Madmoun. Accessible through the Trakheesi System, this service is represented by a quick response code (QR Code) issued for any real estate advertisement permit, as part of DLD’s ongoing efforts to modernize and develop real estate governance procedures and enhance investor confidence.

Effective 24 April, all real estate companies are expected to feature the QR code on their print and audiovisual advertisements. The code enables customers to quickly and easily verify the advertisement’s authenticity and validity, ensuring that it has been approved by RERA. Additionally, customers can access DLD’s website to view the complete advertisement information, including details about the advertising company, the property’s condition, and specifications. The link can be secured to prevent any modification to the data.

His Excellency Eng. Marwan bin Ghalita, CEO of RERA at DLD said: “The service aligns with DLD’s strategy to make Dubai ‘The World leader in Real Estate Investments’ by harnessing technology to develop real estate products according to the directives of the wise leadership. It also supports DLD’s mandate of achieving the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda ‘D33,’ which was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to generate new economic value from digital transformation towards achieving His Highness’ vision of consolidating Dubai’s position as a global capital of the digital economy and a key player in the global digital system.”

 

Bin Ghalita added: “We are constantly keen on enhancing and ensuring transparency in the real estate sector. We will continue to empower the real estate community with proactive and streamlined real estate services and integrated data, based upon a pioneering digital infrastructure and qualified human cadres. This will help achieve sustainability in the development and growth of the real estate sector, keeping pace with best-international practices and standards and positioning Dubai as a pioneering model in this field”.

DLD Customers can scan the QR code on each real estate advertisement to get a glimpse of the property’s authorized details and establish if it has been sold or rented.

Real estate companies can activate the QR code through the Trakheesi system. RERA confirms that real estate companies must adhere to this service to prevent them from being subject to any violation resulting.

As part of its mission to enhance awareness and confidence within the real estate community, DLD strongly advises all customers and investors to only engage with real estate advertisements that feature the QR Code to ensure the protection of their rights and prevent their exposure to any fraudulent or unreliable transactions.

The UAE golden visa is a special residency visa that allows holders to remain in any of the Emirates as residents for up to ten years.

With this type of visa, golden residents are entitled to a number of benefits and perks that aren’t currently available to holders of the standard UAE residency visa.

UAE golden visas are issued to residents who have made outstanding contributions to the country, are highly skilled in certain fields, or work in key industries, investors and even entrepreneurs wishing to set up and work in the Emirates. High-achieving university graduates and high school students are also eligible to receive the UAE golden visa for themselves and their families.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of holding a UAE golden visa.

Extended residency rights

Introduced in 2019, the UAE golden visa offers holders extended residency in the country. Those who have been awarded one can avail of residency for themselves and their dependents for up to ten years, while a standard residency visa requires renewal every two to three years.

This means that residency renewal is not required for up to ten years.

Self-sponsored work or stay

UAE golden visa holders can remain living, working and studying in the country for the entirety of their visa, with or without gaining local or other employment. The holder can work for themselves, or another company (local or otherwise) without the need for individual sponsorship. Unlike the standard residency visa, the UAE golden visa permits holders to remain in the country long-term without employment.

Ability to sponsor dependents and unlimited domestic helpers

The UAE golden visa allows for the individual holder to sponsor their family members, including spouse and children (regardless of dependents’ age). Should the main holder of the UAE golden visa pass away during the term of the ten-year visa, their family members are allowed to remain on said UAE golden visa residency until the time of natural conclusion of the visa.

Holders of this visa type may also employ and support an unlimited number of domestic helpers. The UAE golden visa does not limit the number of employed and sponsored support.

Extended time outside the UAE

It’s possible for UAE golden visa holders to spend extended periods of time outside the UAE without impacting their eligibility or the validity of the visa. On the standard residents’ visa, your visa would be nullified upon spending more than six months outside the jurisdiction.

Exclusive health-care packages

In late July it was announced that UAE golden visa holders would be eligible for special health care and health insurance packages. These exclusive health insurance plans will start from just under Dhs2400. The plans will cover claims of up to Dhs20,000,000. Three levels of cover will be available; Core Silver, Enhanced Gold and Premier. Available to any UAE golden visa holders and their dependents who currently do not have an existing health insurance plan, these health insurance plans will be subject to annual renewal.

Dubai Police Esaad privilege card

In a statement made in late July, it was announced that UAE golden visa holders would now be eligible to avail of the Esaad privilege card issued by the Dubai Police.

The Esaad Card was established in 2017 by Dubai Police to offer holders discounts in shops, education, health, housing, restaurants, theme parks, hotels and more. There are exclusive discounts across 7,237 brands and businesses in the UAE and 92 countries worldwide.

This card entitles holders and UAE golden visa residents to special privileges including up to 40 percent off school fees at the American School of Creative Science, 50 percent off stays at Kempinski Palm Jumeirah, 70 percent off At The Top in the Burj Khalifa, discounts on Fly Dubai flights and many more. Holders will also be able to get up to 30 per cent off study programmes at the Institute for Management Technology. For a full list of discounts available, holders can visit the Esaad website or download the app.

The Rental Disputes Center (RDC), the judicial arm of Dubai Land Department, launched a set of new e- services for the management of the Execution of Judgments Department to continuously develop executive procedures and measure performances through innovative tools and contemporary smart systems, that contribute to improving and enhancing work mechanisms, which positively reflects on the convenience and happiness of customers and reduces the time for completion and closing of files.

The new e-services include linking RDC’s e-system to Dubai Police’s system, electronic enquiries, performing automatic disbursements, appointing experts via the electronic system, updating data automatically, and requesting instalments.

Sultan Lootah, Director of Department Senior – Execution of Judgments Department at RDC, said: “At the department, we are keen to keep pace with the directives of the Dubai government towards digital transformation through a series of innovative e-services that enabled the Execution Department to achieve success. The process of transitioning from traditional work to smart and e-systems enhanced the speed and ease of procedures and eliminated paper transactions.”

Lootah added: “The RDC’s advanced electronic infrastructure helped us accelerate efficient and effective development, which was reflected in the resolution of rental disputes according to a smart and innovative judicial system, characterized by speed and accuracy and sustainability in the provision of services. With advanced services, most of the implementation procedures will be electronic/smart, enhancing the performance of our human cadres, whose role will be limited to supervision and follow-up of the system to ensure effective workflow.”

Link to Dubai Police system and e-inquiry

Regarding the service of linking RDC’s system to Dubai Police’s system, the previous mechanism related to circulars issued against individuals, including seizures and fetch and travel bans, was dispensed with. It was initiated through the center and shared with the investigation officer at Dubai Police, which required a long time due to its manual implementation. With the launch of the new connection service, decisions or circulars can now be issued electronically and linked directly to Dubai Police’s system.

As for the smart query service, the process of enquiring about the property of people against whom decisions are executed electronically was linked and integrated with the relevant government agencies, which include Dubai Land Department (DLD), the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Economy and Tourism Department (DET), and banks represented by the Central Bank. This comes in response to the fact that the service is required to address all government entities and banks in the country, which takes a lot of time and effort.

Automatic exchange and appointment of an expert

The automatic disbursement service is now taking place quickly and in a short time. When the amount is deposited, the system automatically transfers it to the account of the requester instead of the previous procedures that required an employee to see the amount deposited by the person in the Rental Disputes Center system rental, followed by the execution requester submitting a request for disbursement, which, again, requires an employee to manually verify the bank account data when each instalment is due. This automatic update of data also allows the electronic system to send a message to the requester to update their data in the event that the transfer was initiated after the account had been closed or changed. This would allow for the cancellation of the transfer and for the person concerned to update their account information on the system.

In turn, when there are holdings that are difficult to assess by transferring files directly to the electronic system, a relevant expert will be automatically appointed through the list of available experts, which shortened the process from three weeks to one day. Following the procedures, the execution officer would write an eviction report, submit a request, and present the holdings to the execution judge to obtain a decision to transfer the file to the competent expert in this regard.

Automatic data update and instalment request

As for the instalment request service, it made it possible for the e-system to make scheduling and payment plans, in addition to implementing the judge’s decision electronically, as the system automatically implements the decision of the execution judge to schedule the payment plan without human intervention, also allowing for the possibility of more than one payment plan according to the ruling issued, with the ability to update requests and partial payment of amounts and payments through the electronic channels available through the site. This procedure replaced the system that required, after the issuance of the decision, that an employee develop a payment plan and schedule the debt.

Thus, the Rental Disputes Center in Dubai continues to enhance its smart procedures and services to provide a judicial ecosystem competent to consider disputes and adopt a fast and simplified mechanism to achieve stability for the real estate rental sector and ultimately support sustainable development in the real estate sector and Dubai generally.

Approximately 4,000 more millionaires are expected to move to the UAE this year than those who will leave — one of the country’s largest millionaire net inflows on record

The UAE is expected to attract the largest net inflow of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) globally in 2022, according to forecast HNWI figures published in the latest Henley Global Citizens Report.

Approximately 4,000 more millionaires are expected to move to the UAE this year than those who will leave — one of the country’s largest millionaire net inflows on record, according to the report, which tracks private wealth and investment migration trends worldwide.

The report released by investment advisory firm Henley & Partners exclusively features the latest projected 2022 net inflows and outflows of US dollar millionaires – namely, the difference between the number of HNWIs who relocate to and the number who emigrate from a country – by New World Wealth.

The managing partner at Henley & Partners and the head of the firm’s Dubai office, Philippe Amarante, said that more and more clients are showing strong interest in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Amarante added: “The UAE has spearheaded this surge with its competitive, agile approach to adapting regulations and remains a powerful magnet for capital and talent. Investors from all over the world continue to relocate to the country either in a private capacity, with their businesses, or both.

“This seemed to have been a temporary effect due to the UAE leadership’s efficient pandemic management, but roots in the UAE are now becoming a must-have asset in every high-net-worth investor’s portfolio.”

Most of the millionaires come from Russia, India, Africa, and the Middle East. Pre-pandemic, the UAE traditionally attracted net inflows of only around 1,000 millionaires per year.

Millionaire migration boom forecast for UAE 

In terms of projected HNWI growth over the next decade, the Henley Private Wealth Migration Dashboard predicts that the number of dollar millionaires and billionaires will increase by 40 percent in the UAE.

The country already has 92,600 US-dollar millionaires; 4,000 multi-millionaires worth more than $10 million; 251 centi-millionaires (over $100 million), and 14 US-dollar billionaires.

The head of Research at New World Wealth, Andrew Amoils, said: “The country is strong in numerous key sectors including financial services, oil and gas, real estate, travel and tourism, technology, and healthcare, with a first-class healthcare system.

“UAE residents stand to benefit from among the world’s most competitive tax rates, along with the likes of Monaco and Bermuda. In terms of lifestyle, the UAE is a renowned luxury hub, with top-end apartments and villas and world-class shopping malls and restaurants.”

Amoils added: “For those with children, there are excellent international schools, and many beaches with yachting, water sports, and other leisure activities.”

GCC markets increasingly attractive to international investors

Henley & Partners has also seen a significant increase in investor interest in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Amarante added: “Much like the UAE, Bahrain applies a nimble, and therefore highly attractive, approach to private clients wishing to invest in the country’s real estate or industrial sectors.

“The recent start of the construction of the Bahrain–US trade zone as a regional center for manufacturing, logistics, and distribution for American companies in the kingdom, in the GCC markets, and beyond, has increased Bahrain’s attractiveness.”

He adds that economic and social developments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have also made its premium residency initiative look increasingly appealing to the global community of high-net-worth- individuals.

“Research suggests that the education sector in Saudi Arabia benefited from the use of social media during the pandemic, with the result that academics, higher education institutions, and educational

technology application providers are increasingly interested in the opportunities the kingdom offers,” Amarante added.

Commenting in the Henley Global Citizens Report, the chairman of Globaleye, Tim Searle, pointed out that what clients implemented years ago may well no longer be relevant today.

“Clients should also take some responsibility and challenge their advisory and substantiate with other parties that all parameters are being covered. Just as you should never accept one doctor’s opinion regarding your health, the same applies to your wealth,” Searle concluded