You should know about non-Muslim wills in UAE

If you are a non-Muslim expat or an overseas investor with assets in Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah but residing in your home country, you better get a will done to ensure smooth inheritance to your chosen beneficiaries. Without a will, chances are that your assets will be passed on to specific blood relatives as per the local inheritance law that follows Sharia principles of pre-determined allocation.

“In the absence of registering a will, then you will be looking at Sharia that will distribute that property to specific blood relatives in a predetermined proportion,” says Sean Hird, director of DIFC Wills Service Centre (WSC).

Established in 2015, the DIFC Wills Service Centre provides a system whereby non-Muslims can register a will at the DIFC Courts, Dubai’s international English language commercial courts.

Many expats who live in the regional Islamic countries and often outnumber the locals may not be aware that they are governed by Sharia when it comes to inheritance, although their home countries may have a different set of laws. However, in an effort to enhance Dubai as a destination for foreign investment, the government, through a federal law, has allowed non-Muslims to opt out of Sharia and chose their home country law in the matter of heritance.

“It’s a government initiative that’s responding to the needs of those investing and living in Dubai and RAK. It is an initiative that provides freedom of choice and certainty of outcome in terms of distribution that you get,” says Hird, adding that this makes Dubai even more competitive and attractive as an international property investment destination, as it creates a level playing field in respect to inheritance. To make things easier for people who are non-residents and can’t visit in person to register a will, the WSC also offers first-of-its-kind virtual registry options whereby everything — right from creation and registration to witnessing — can be done online using video-link, and identity verification offered through VFS Global centres spread across 129 countries.

Here are five things you should know about non-Muslim wills and why you must invest in it:

1. Dubai, being a Muslim country, follows Sharia under which inheritance arrangements are pre-determined — specific blood relatives are given predetermined allocations, with no discretion.

2. But non-Muslim residents and non-residents with assets in Dubai and RAK have the option of opting out of Sharia through a will and chose their home country laws for inheritance arrangements.

3. Wills can be made using freely available will templates on the WSC website after paying relevant registration fees, which range from Dh5,000 to Dh7,500 depending on the template used. Wills can be registered with the DIFC Court from anywhere in the world using a virtual registry facility via video-link, using mobiles, laptops or computers.

4. There are currently five types of DIFC wills: guardianship will, the property will, free zone company will, financial assets will and the full will. Except for the full will and the guardianship will, all other wills can be registered online at the moment.

5. There is no restriction on what types of the asset can be covered by the DIFC Will, as all moveable and immovable assets from apartments, land and cars to company shares and monies in bank accounts can be included.

Dubai announces major changes to justice system

Dubai Courts

Dubai is to overhaul its court's system to cut the time a case takes from up to 300 days to 30 days.

Dubai Courts on Monday said it would merge the three courts - first instance, appeal and cassation - into one to improve efficiency and cut costs.

This means three judges will hear each case at the same time under the new 'C3' system.

Previously, the three courts each heard entire trials and issued their own judgments on cases typically spanning months or longer.

It is not expected that judges would physically sit together in the same hearings - but that the whole process would run concurrently and be completed in one month.

Tarash Al Mansoori, director-general of Dubai Courts, said: "The courts' project will merge the three levels of litigation into a single court consisting of three judges, each representing a level of litigation - first instance, appeal and cassation."

He said the move will shorten litigation time, simplify procedures, reduce costs and end prolonged judicial proceedings.

At present, the court said cases take up to 305 days between the filing of the complaint or charge and a judgment.

A case is seen by up to 11 judges and three clerks and Dubai Courts currently handle about 60,000 criminal and civil cases per year. Under the new system, it aims to cut that to three judges and one clerk.

Al Mansoori told The National that the intention is not to prevent a convicted person from appealing.

There would be the ability to file a petition for a judgment to be reconsidered - but not a retrial.

He said a new law is being looked at within a time frame of two years set by out by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the Crown Prince of Dubai.

“Within these two years, the new law should be drafted and approved and the C3 court should begin working," he said.

Passport clearance cut to 10 seconds at Dubai Airports

Clearing passport control will take as little as 10 seconds instead of minutes waiting for passport clearance thanks to the system developed by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai.

A high-ranking official at the GDRFA told that by the end of the year, the system will be fully operational in all Dubai Airports at the arrival and departure terminals.

Brigadier Talal Ahmad Al Shanqeti, the general director assistant of Airport Immigration Department at GDRFA-Dubai, said the ‘Next Generation Borders’ system collects details of passengers 48 hours before they board an aircraft.

The system starts to collect the data when a passenger buys an airline ticket.

“We had an agreement with Emirates airlines to update the system with passengers’ details 48 hours before the flight. The system makes necessary checks on passengers to issue clearance and send the details to the passport control officer who will need only 10 seconds to stamp the passport rather than three minutes in the past,” Brigadier Al Shanqeti told

The system has already been fully implemented at Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport while Terminal 1, 2 and Al Maktoum International Airport are expected to be 100 percent ready by end of the year.

“We have 65 employees working in a command room to check the passengers’ details and send clearance to the passport control officer so he only needs to identify the passenger in front of him before stamping his passport. The system works on arrival and departures.”

The passport officer in the past used to take a longer time to identify passengers in situations where a name was similar to someone on the watch list but the new system will reduce waiting time because the passenger had already been securely identified.

“In the past, the officer used to take a minute or more to clear a passenger but the new system helps the officer to clear four passengers in a minute,” Brigadier Al Shanqeti added.

He said that even if the passenger makes a last minute booking, his details will be in the system an hour before the flight timing.

“There has been an increase of seven to nine percent in a number of passengers travelling through Dubai airport and the new system will help decrease clearance time for passengers and make them happy,” he said.

The GDRFA Dubai has 1,600 passport control officers working round the clock. “In Dubai, a passport control officer clears 55,000 passengers per year on an average while globally the ratio is 17,000 passengers. With the new system in place, better results will be achieved.”

Brigadier Al Shanqeti praised the officers’ work at a ceremony held to recognise their efforts.

Last year, an officer topped the list for clearing 133,000 passengers in a year.

RTA Dubai diverts 8 licensing services to smart channels

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is intending to divert several licensing services to smart channels starting from the end of this month. The step is part of a strategy to gradually divert all services in line with our government’s policy to limit the number of clients at service centres and make the Smart City initiative a reality.

“As of the end of this April, customers seeking 8 licensing services will be prompted to use smart channels (RTA Website (www.rta.ae), Dubai Drive App, Service Kiosks, and the Call Center (8009090). The services will be gradually phased out at service centres such that they will cease by the end of June,” said Abdullah Yousef Al Ali, CEO of Licensing Agency, RTA.

“The services that will go online are: renewal of registration of individually-owned vehicles that need testing, list of registered vehicles, return from tourist trips, registration of the first owner, vehicle(s) ownership certificate, re-insurance certificate, replacement of lost/damaged ownership certificate, and clearance certificate,” he added.

“The RTA is planning to divert more services by the end of September this year, namely: payment of fines, renewal of vehicle ownership with a different number plate, and the changing of the number plate. Accordingly, the processing of these services will be channelled through the said electronic and smart platforms.

“RTA’s policy of migrating licensing services and others to electronic channels is in response to leadership directives to reduce the number of visitors at service centres and enable clients to process their transactions smoothly at their own convenience. The policy saves customers time & effort, concurs with the Smart City initiative and supports RTA’s first and third strategic goals: Smart Dubai, and People Happiness, respectively,” concluded Al Ali.

UAE economy returning to growth

The UAE has been resilient to the impact of the prolonged oil price slump. Following the recent rise in oil prices to over $60 (Dh220) per barrel, there is a sense that the worst is behind the UAE’s economy and confidence is gradually returning, according to Institute of International Finance (IIF).

“We expect non-oil growth to pick up to 2.7 percent in 2018 and 3 percent in 2019, driven by private consumption and non-oil exports, as fiscal consolidation eases and global trade improves. The deceleration in headline growth last year was due to the oil production decline,” said Garbis Iradian, Chief Economist, Mena, IIF.

The UAE possesses large financial buffers estimated at around $800 billion (Dh2.6 trillion), safe-haven status, excellent infrastructure, and a relatively diversified business-friendly economy, which will help the country cope with lower oil prices. Further progress in diversification into non-hydro-carbon trade and financial services is expected to mitigate the adverse impact of lower oil prices. Non-hydrocarbon GDP accounts for only 30 percent of total GDP, and oil exports for slightly less than 40 percent of total exports.

The UAE has continued to improve the business environment and competitiveness, even from an already high global ranking by the World Bank and the World Economic Forum. “We expect the UAE to be one of the best performers among Mena economies over the next five years. Solid growth will continue to be driven by trade and tourism,” Iradian said.

Firmer oil prices

Overall growth has decelerated to around 1 percent in 2017 due to oil production cuts under the extended Opec agreement and fiscal consolidation. However, sentiment has improved with firmer oil prices. The PMI remained relatively high at 54.8 percent in March 2018 despite the introduction of the VAT in early 2018.

“We see a gradual recovery in economic growth this year and next with improvement in global trade and the expected easing pace of fiscal adjustment in Abu Dhabi. Preparations for Expo 2020 and key projects will support activity in the UAE,” said Boban Markovic, Research Analyst at IIF.

Several high-frequency economic indicators, including retail sales and number of tourist arrivals over the past few months, suggest improvement in sentiment and private sector activity. Non-oil activity in Abu Dhabi is improving after a challenging two years during which deep government spending cuts slowed activity. Key projects, such as the construction of nuclear plants and airport expansion, are progressing, albeit with delays.

Dubai has performed relatively well due to its diversified economy and is projected to do well in the current year. “We expect growth in Dubai to remain slightly above 3 percent. However, economic activity in Dubai continues to be dependent on regional prospects, particularly Saudi Arabia and Iran. The volume of property transactions has declined and residential prices have continued to soften,” said Iradian