Property developers relieved by new visa rule

Dubai: Foreigners investing in freehold properties in the UAE will be granted a multiple-entry visit visa under certain conditions that will allow them to stay up to six months in the country, according to a latest cabinet decision.

"The move is in line with a ministerial resolution issued by Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Interior Minister, with the aim of enhancing the local economic environment and providing all fundamentals that help ensure economic growth and prosperity in the country," WAM reported yesterday.

Property developers, who have been struggling with falling sales to manage the construction and meet delivery schedules in recent months, expressed a sigh of relief with the landmark decision.

"This is a welcome move and a very timely decision," Abed Junaid, executive director of ETA Star, told Gulf News on Saturday. "It will boost investor confidence in the market and help the real estate sector to take off earlier than anticipated."

J.R. Gangaramani, chairman of Al Fara'a Properties, said: "This is exactly what the market needed. A strong move that will help the market to recover earlier than expected."

The UAE's real estate boom has been driven by Dubai when its government opened up the emirate's land and property sector to foreign ownership in 2002 - at a time when an estimated $1 trillion in repatriated Arab capital, prompted by the September 11 attacks, was looking for fertile ground for investment in the Gulf. The Dubai Government's landmark decision then opened a new world of opportunities.

Within the next six years, developers had raced against time to create thousands of new homes in neighbourhoods in various parts of Dubai.

Suddenly, the master developers began to transform sandscapes into master-planned landscaped communities - Dubai Marina, Emirates Lakes, Emirates Hills, International City, Discovery Gardens, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Burj Dubai district and the Palm trilogy.

More than 40,000 families have already moved in to their freehold homes in Dubai and other emirates, since then, turning dreams into realities.

In the absence of a federal law regulating the real estate sector, each emirate has been formulating its own property guidelines, following the Dubai Government's real estate law of 2006 and the subsequent creation of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera).

Developers say the latest decision will resolve this confusion and help revive investor confidence.

Wazir Ali Daredia, managing director of Trident International Holdings, which is developing the 120-storey Pentominium - the world's tallest penthouse collection, said: "This is a very positive step, although we expect a clearer guideline on how this will work."

The move is part of the UAE government's efforts to introduce adequate legislation that stimulates and boosts the economy and provides support to ensure the highest growth and prosperity as per the vision of the leadership.

To qualify for a visa article No 34 stipulates that the value of the unit should be not less than Dh1 million. The unit should be fit for accommodation and for members of the family. The immigration and naturalisation departments are to verify that the premises are fit for family living.

Article No 34 also stipulates that owners should have a fixed income of not less than Dh10,000 or equivalent in foreign currencies whether inside or outside the country, although the visa doesn't give the owner of the property the right to work in the country.