Abu Dhabi eases rent contract

Abu Dhabi appears to have relaxed rules stipulating expatriates seeking to bring in their families must submit a tenancy contract in their name.

Some expatriates who applied this week for residence and visit visas for their families presented tenancy contracts in other names but they were accompanied by the original tenant for verification.

A Syrian man who applied for a residence visa for his wife and two children was first asked to submit a tenancy contract in his name. But he told immigration officials that he has just rented an apartment temporarily for three months and that the contract was not in his name.

They then asked him to bring that contract and the tenant who rented his flat out to verify that the applicant would be staying in that apartment during that period.

“The tenant came with me and told the immigration employee that I have rented his apartment for three months…he showed them the contract in his name and signed a paper…the application then went through,” Maher Rushdi said.

Abu Dhabi began last week enforcing new rules requiring foreigners to present a tenancy contract or utility bills in order to be able to get residence or visit visa for their families. A legislation covering bachelors was suspended temporarily early this month to allow for smooth implementation, including the need to attest the rent contract at the Municipality to prevent cheating or manipulation.

Immigration officials said the suspension has triggered a rush by hundreds of expatriates seeking to skip that rule before it is enforced again.

“I went to the immigration department yesterday and applied for a visit visa for my wife and her father…I was turned away and asked to bring a rent contract,” said Imad Zaatari, an Abu Dhabi-based mobile phone salesman.

“I went back and gave them a contract in the name of my friend, who I am sharing his accommodation…my friend went with me and confirmed that I live with him…one employee rejected the application but I went to the officer in charge and it was accepted…but I was told that next time I have to submit a tenancy contract in my name.”

India does not start levying proposed service tax on remittance fee

Money exchange centres and Indian banks in UAE have not received any official note

The Government of India has not started levying the proposed 12.36 per cent service tax on the fee paid by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) for sending money back home, which was supposed to come into force yesterday (Sunday, July 1).

Money exchange centres and prominent Indian banks operating in the UAE told Gulf News yesterday that they had not received any official communication about the proposed tax. Some of them also hinted that the Government of India might have put the move on hold due to widespread protests from politicians and NRI organizations across the globe.

Vayalar Ravi, the minister of Indian Overseas Affairs, told Gulf News on Thursday that he was concerned about the proposed tax as it would affect millions of low-income Indian expatriates. He has approached the Prime Minister of India, who is in charge of the Ministry of Finance, to get clarification about the proposed tax.

An official at the Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group - UAE, a common platform of money exchange centres in the country, told Gulf News yesterday that its members had not received any official communication from Indian banks about the proposed tax.

“Since the money exchange centres working in the UAE do not come under the jurisdiction of the Indian tax regulations, we don’t expect any official communication from the Government of India but from the corresponding banks,” said the official who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

K.V. Rama Murthy, the CEO of GCC operations of Bank of Baroda, the only Indian bank having retail operations in the UAE, told Gulf News yesterday his bank did not have any official communication about the proposed tax. The executives of other prominent Indian banks operating in the UAE also said the same.

India’s Ministry of Finance which is responsible for taxes did not make any official announcement about the proposed tax. But a prominent Indian financial consultant based in Mumbai who is closely following government’s financial rules and regulations had told Gulf News that government introduced the service tax on remittance fee indirectly in a budgetary proposal and the parliament passed it in May. But it is not clear how the government is going to collect the tax — whether from abroad or through banks in India, said Sachin Menon, partner and the National Head of Indirect Taxes at KPMG, a prominent financial advisory in India. “But many technical issues are involved in it and we have to wait and watch,” he said.

Registration of tenancy contract obligatory in Dubai from July

Dubai Registration of rental contracts with the Dubai Land Department (DLD) is a prerequisite to accessing other government services starting July 1st, according to a top property regulator.

The Land Department and its regulatory body — the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) — has been trying to implement the system through a registration portal — Ejari.ae.

Marwan Bin Galaita, CEO of the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) said: “Registration of residential and commercial lease contracts through Ejari is mandatory and failure to comply may lead to delay in government transactions. A Dh160 fee is chargeable to register a lease agreement with Ejari. The fee is payable by the tenants.”

“The move will help the government to monitor the property market and offer better insights through its rental index while ensuring all tenants pay their housing fees regularly.”

The Ejari registration will be mandatory to obtain utility services. If the contract is not registered, transactions could be delayed at several government departments, principally the Dubai Economic Department and the Residence and Foreign Affairs Department.

Dubai tenants can register their contracts online or through 47 typing service offices .

A total of 199,663 leased properties in Dubai are registered in Ejari and expecting to the number to get bigger.

Tenancy contract mandatory for Dubai visit visa

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, Dubai, has confirmed that tenancy contract and Dewa bill is mandatory even when applying for a visit visa.

“Please be informed that as per the new rules implemented recently, the tenancy contract and last Dewa bill is mandatory for visit visa,” DNRD said in an email statement.

When contacted over phone, an official at the DNRD’s Jebel Ali branch said there was no need of a tenancy contract when applying for a visit visa.

On the issue why Jebel Ali branch was not seeking a tenancy contract, the DNRD call centre said that main office had told them to advise people to bring tenancy contract.

However, residents, who received a document list from DNRD on Tuesday (June 19), said it did not state anything on tenancy contract.

“I got an email from AMER (toll free info service) contact centre team of DNRD which had no mention of tenancy contract,” Akash Jain, who was planning to bring his parents on visit to Dubai, said.

“We need to get the correct info so we go prepared when applying for a visit visa.”

On June 19, we reported that it is mandatory to provide an attested tenancy contract even if one was applying for a visit visa.

“It’s a new rule. You have to provide us with a tenancy contract. It should be attested by the Land Department if you are staying in Dubai, or from the respective municipality if you are staying in any other emirate,” a DNRD call centre executive had said.

Expat-sponsored maids must renew UAE ID cards every year

Housemaids sponsored by expatriates in the UAE will receive identity cards with one-year validity, according to a top official.

Dr. Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, Director-General, Emirates Identity Authority (Eida), said ID cards must be renewed every time residency visas expire.

While employees of federal institutions get a three-year visa, private sector staff get only two-year visas. And their ID cards will also hold respective expiry dates, he said.

Explaining ID card validity terms for domestic helps, Al Khouri said housemaids working for Emirati sponsors will get a visa for two years and, therefore, their ID cards will need to be renewed every two years at a cost of Dh200.

However, housemaids sponsored by expatriates will get a visa for one year and their ID cards must be renewed each year at a fee of Dh100.

When reminded about the added cost to sponsors, Al Khouri said: "The operational cost of one ID card is more than Dh200. Plus the cost of staff, building and state-of-the-art techniques involved in the process...all these are borne by the government."

Speaking of the benefits of ID cards, Al Khouri said residents will realise its importance in the coming months.

According to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Abu Dhabi, currently five per cent of the total population comprise housemaids.

And 80 per cent of them are Filipinas and Indonesians.