Dubai: The UAE federal government is reviewing the issue of freehold property visas linked to foreigners' ownership of properties in different emirates, a top Dubai Government official told the media on Saturday.
"The Advisory Council [of Dubai Government] has submitted a proposal to the Federal Government on the issue of property-linked visas to review," Nasser Bin Hassan Al Shaikh, director-general of Dubai Government's Department of Finance, said at a media briefing on the sidelines of the government's 2009 budget announcement.
"Since a number of emirates have developed their own freehold visa arrangements, there are thoughts at the federal level to streamline the process and announce a unified guideline for all the emirates."
Dubai Government created the Advisory Council in October last year, to assess the impact of the global financial crisis on Dubai's economy, which has been hit due to an outflow of capital, estimated to be well above Dh200 billion.
He said there could be a new law guiding this soon, without giving any timeframe. When asked if he expects a positive resolution, he replied, "Yes, I hope so."
The freehold visa issue has come to light in recent months when major master developers Nakheel and Emaar - who have been helping foreign buyers of freehold properties to get three-year renewable residence visas - had stopped facilitating them last year, prompting investor outcry.
Experts have welcomed the move, saying the country needed a unified regulation on this and a streamlined procedure to restore investor confidence.
"It is reassuring. It is positive news and will bring a lot of faith and confidence in the market," Sudhir Kumar, managing director of Realtor's International, a property consultancy.
"The matter of freehold visas has been an issue of major concern for real estate investors. This addresses the concern. With this, the government is showing its strength and resilience in the time of crisis."
Dubai's master-developers have, since 2002, been pledging "freehold visas" to attract foreign investors to the emirate's real estate sector, in the absence of a proper rule to dictate this.
Since then, they have facilitated this to lots of buyers having a special arrangement with the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency department. Subsequently, a number of master-developers in Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah followed suit, attracting massive investment into their real estate sector.
Five out of the UAE's seven emirates now have designated areas where foreign nationals can buy and own properties on a freehold and leasehold basis. Sharjah does not allow non-Arabs to own properties on a freehold basis.
Abu Dhabi allows foreigner to own what it calls "surface property" and not the land on designated areas. However, there is no federal law to regulate the freehold property market and visa issuance linked to property ownership to foreigners.
As per the UAE constitution, land of each emirate belongs to Rulers and they decide the ownership, usage and allocation of the land..
Do you think the unified freehold visa would boost investor confidence? What else could be done to reassure investors? Fill in the form bellow to send your comments.
Your comments
This would definitely help. It would show that UAE has the vision needed to do what is required in this time of global recession. That UAE is truly a progressive country and a place where foreigners can invest feeling safe. This would certainly help bring foreign investment back, in all areas especially real estate, which needs it very badly. Also, it would be good for the future of UAE going into the era beyond the global recession
Aisha Dada
Davenport,USA
Posted: January 11, 2009, 19:34
We need this law as early as possible as it will give a major booster to investors.
K. Sharma
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 19:25
It's a very good law. If the UAE government approved this law, it will be helpful to the investors and will boost up the market, too.
Tom J Abraham
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 18:36
Yes, this rule may help boost the investor confidence but I guess at this time many more possitive steps are needed to boost the investor confidence and there is a need to look into the problem of investors and developers who are facing default payments due to sudden halt in buying and selling of properties and the current liquidity crunch in the market.
S.N. Saxena
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 18:27
It is very good, but there should be a rule that ensure minimum property area/value for the owner in order to qualify him for a aisa, as there is no point to grant visa for an owner who bought only one studio apartment of 400 square feet.
Ahmed Fathy
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 18:04
I propose residence visa for investors(holding title deeds) should be sponsored by RERA. Such action will convince investors to return to the UAE markets and will build the trust.
Abdulrahman Altawil
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 17:31
Certainly a positive move if it goes through. End user confidence can be further boosted if banks starts lending a minimum of 90% to assist recovery of the Property market/Economy and save job losses during these hard times.
Shivanand R. C.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 16:06
In the light of current economic slow-down at the global front, streamlining of Federal Regulation on Residency and Naturalisation in conjunction of Property Ownership is indeed a remarkable step. At the macro level it would help developers and property sellers to help them improve their sales. Concomitantly, the proposed legislation would also provide stabalised benefits of current and prospective investors in properties acorss the UAE.
Iqbal Azim
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 15:46
The unified visa will definitely make a difference to investors. It will create a new boom that might just help UAE weather the global financial crisis.
Imad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 15:13
A unified freehold visa is a good idea to boost the confidence of investors. With this you can attract a lot of investors who might be looking at other European countries.
Syed Nayeem
Dubai,India
Posted: January 11, 2009, 15:02
It will be a big step, if the freehold visa issue is resolved, as most of the investors would bring additional trading/tourism and shopping benefits to the economy.
Zoher
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 14:15
I believe this is a long awaited decision by the authorities and will not only give a sense of stability to the expatriates living in the country but will also help boost the investor?s confidence in UAE as a real estate market.
Syed Naved Murtaza
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 12:24
If UAE provides residence visa for the purchase a flat, villa or land it might bring the property situation back to normal. They can also extend the duration of this visa instead of a renewable visa for three years.
Khurshid uz Zaman Khan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 12:15
Yes, it will definitely boost investor confidence and minimise capital outflow. We have already seen the effect of the suspension of residence visa.
Ali Halliyeh
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 12:01
Yes. A freehold visa will surely support investor confidence in the market and attract more cash in flow, especially when it is processed by the government at the federal level instead of the property developers.
Tarek Serageldin
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 12:00
Freehold visa is the main issue for a lot of investors and there is no doubt that it will boost investor confidence. It will help to boost sales, too.
Yelena
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 11:59
This is a great move. I do hope that the law will apply to all the investors who have already purchased a property, too. Overall, it will boost the confidence of investors and the end users. The unified freehold visa will boost investors' confidence. It will attract and encourage foreign investors to invest in the property market. It will also save the property market in Dubai from deteriorating.
Shohreh
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 11:42
This is a good way to boost the number of property buyers.
Zohaib
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 11:41
Yes. But at the same time this should be monitored by the government.
Saleel
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 11:37
It could help return some investor confidence, but not all as some of them are just looking for the profits, not the visa. Another step that could encourage both investors and end users is if developers revise property prices even for sold units. This is because the cost of building materials is lower now. Otherwise, the investor will end up being the big loser.
Ramin
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 11:36
Yes, restoration of freehold visa will boost investor confidence. However, there should be consistency in the regulations.
Waqar
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 11:35
The freehold properties and visa have contributed greatly to Dubai's development. Most property investors come to Dubai for the visa.
Mohammad R
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 11:18
The market needs confidence building measures, especially at this juncture of financial and credit crisis and global economic downturn. If the plan of a unified freehold visa law is passed, the UAE market, which is a dream destination for many, will get the boost, not only for realty, but for a host of other industries as well and it will have a positive impact on investor confidence and the stock markets. The progress and gains made by UAE as a favourite destination for business, tourism, investment and financial centre should be developed and consolidated further.
Jerome Quadros
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 10:57
Yes, I think this is a great step in bringing confidence back to foreign investors. Dubai's real estate sector is very promising and a resurrection of the real estate sector in Dubai seems to be very imminent. One more step that I think would revive the realty sector is if banks increase the loan to value ratio to at least 85 per cent.
Nasser
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 11, 2009, 10:18
