I’d like to add a quick post about residence visas in conjunction with owning property in Dubai.
When properties were first offered for sale in specifically assigned freehold area, the owner would be granted the right to a resident’s visa – being sponsored by the Master Developer i.e. Nakheel or Emaar. This appeared to be the case until recently, when it was stipulated by Nakheel that they are withdrawing the ‘automatic’ visa on purchase of a property. It was not stated why this had changed, one can only assume that it was being abused in some way, for example, a person buying a villa or apartment for their own use, would take the residency visa and then flip the property quickly (this was extremely common during the original property super boom – and continues on some developements.) The property could be sold on at a major profit, and possibly the residency not cancelled at the same time, giving some individuals an easy resident’s visa status.
As it stands now, it has not been confirmed whether any property purchase will come with an ‘instant’ residency visa in Dubai, although the neighbouring Emirate of Ajman (around 45 minutes drive on a good day!) have confirmed that they will indeed grant a resident’s visa on purchase of any property… no doubt to pick up the excess business from any people sitting on the fence, regarding the issuance or non-issuance of a visa, allowing unlimited stay and access to their property.
A residents visa is not the same as an employment visa, and if one wants to work, it will be necessary to obtain a labour card from your employer, or apply for a licence if you are thinking of starting your own company.
Regarding working in a Free Zone; no visa bans are applicable here, so some of the local government rules are not applicable here. It is guaranteed that your company will not pay tax for the next 50 years, even if it is introduced (as expected) at some point in the future. However, in theory, one is only meant to do business with other companies inside the Free Zone, thereby limiting business opportunities. There are, I’m sure, ways around this, but that is the rule of thumb. If you want to trade anywhere in the country, region or indeed the rest of the world, it is best to apply for an LLC licence.
