UAE extends visa for property investors to 3 years

Decision taken at Federal Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.The UAE federal government has extended visa for real estate investors from six months to three years.

This decision was taken by the Federal Cabinet on Tuesday.“The government took a raft of measures as part of its efforts to underpin economic growth within its strategic plan 2011-2013, including extension of visa for real estate investors to three years instead of six months,” Wam said.

The government also gave instructions for drafting a federal law regarding competition and another bill for reviewing provisions of federal law 6 of 2007 regarding the establishment of the Federal Insurance Authority and its mandate

Analysts said the decision will boost the property sector in the country as will impact on the growth of the overall economy.

End of service benefit should be calculated basis of total salary -Dubai Court

A worker’s end of service benefit should be calculated with respect to his total salary and not just the basic payment, according to a new ruling by the Dubai Court of Cassation.The decision comes in a case where an employee sought dues of up to Dh159,000 from his employer, which was rejected by the Court of First Instance and later overturned another court.

However, there was no indication from the court whether this was a precedent or only a ruling for this particular case.
Accusing the company of his arbitrary suspension, the employee in his lawsuit demands three months’ salary as compensation for sacking him without notice, Dh11,000 as salary of the last month he worked, Dh22,000 as leave allowance and ticket to his home country and Dh82,000 as his end of service gratuity.
The plaintiff also claimed in the lawsuit that he worked in the company as a Director of Advertising and Editor of a magazine owned by the company.
However, Court of First Instance in its judgment rejected his lawsuit and ordered the employer to pay a total amount of Dh54,000 to the employee.
The employee appealed against the verdict to the Court of Appeal which ordered the employer to pay the value of a return ticket to the complainant’s home country in addition to the amount ordered by the earlier court.
The prosecution also appealed against the ruling on the basis that the end of service benefit of the employee was calculated only on according to the basic salary of worker, which it said was against the labour law.
The Court of Cassation accepted the appeal and directed the case to the Court of Appeal asking for a new panel judges to look into the case.
The Court of Cassation observed: "The pay in accordance with the provisions of Article I of the Labor Law includes all that a worker receives as emolument, whether in cash or in kind, hence the gratuity should be calculated according to the entire amount received by a worker, including his monthly commission.”

The most annoying bank fee in the UAE and how to avoid it

One of the less obvious side-effects of the economic slowdown is the increase in the number of bank services that were earlier offered for free but are now being charged for by the country’s banks.

Readers who’ve been around for more than a few years will remember when banks would actually honour their “free-for-life” credit card pledge and not charge customers an annual fee for such cards.

Nowadays, however, a free-for-life card comes preloaded with monthly maintenance fees, contradicting the very essence of the term “free” although we’re sure legally and technically, the banks are always right.

Also, there was a time when it used to be a customer’s privilege to have a documented proof of your bank transactions and account balance delivered to your doorstep every month – without an additional charge. Now, more often than not, you’ll have to shell out loose change every month to receive a copy, or settle for an emailed statement if you’re not inclined to dole out extra dirhams every month.

For bankers that want to give us the “green” logic: please stop bundling additional brochures and unwanted marketing material along with our bank statements and that will go a long way in going green.

A recent poll run by Emirates 24|7 shows that a majority of respondents believe that UAE banks are finding ingenious ways of relieving us of our extra dirhams, any which way they can get them off us.

The poll shows that the most annoying fees that customers in the UAE have had to pay include monthly statement charges and to get a ‘no dues’ letter after the end of a loan with the bank. Close to a third (29 per cent) of respondents branded their monthly statement charges as the most annoying bank fee they’ve had to pay while an equal number of people said paying money to get a ‘no dues’ letter after having repaid the loan with all the interest and charges was the most annoying fee for them.

“I was a good customer of my bank and prepaid my personal loan – for which my bank charged me an early settlement fee, by the way – and then asked them to give me a no liability letter. They charged me Dh200 for it. I found it ridiculous, but I’s rather pay to have the letter and be safe than not have it and be sorry,” said a respondent.

“The banks are now masters in the science of nickel-and-diming consumers with fees that start from the second you open an account to the moment you close it. I’ve moved from one bank to another and found out that it’s the same fees under different names,” said another upset respondent.

Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of respondents found paying money to close a bank account as the most annoying bank fee ever levied on them while 10 per cent said paying to talk to a human teller was the most annoying for them. “Suddenly, the once toll-free numbers have all become paid now,” a customer quipped. Another 7 per cent said that money being charged for issuing a replacement credit card was the most annoying.

lists below some tips that you can follow to avoid having to pay some of the most annoying fees charged by banks:

1. Minimum Balance Fees. While this fee is not new, some banks have now started levying this fee on even salary accounts, which were earlier exempt from it. If you find it hard to maintain a certain balance in your account and you happen to mind this fee, then your best bet is to go with banks that don’t yet have a “minimum balance required” clause, although there’s no guarantee that they wouldn’t commence this practice in the future.

2. Ubiquitous ATM Fees. These ATM fees are everywhere. You use a UAE Switch ATM machine and before you know it, you’re out Dh2 per transaction. If you use these ATMs abroad, be prepared to pay Dh15 or even more per transaction. To cut down on these costs, use debit/credit cards where possible and regularly stock up on cash at you own bank’s ATM for bills you can’t pay by cards – petrol, for instance.

3. Paper Statement Fees. Emailed statements are indeed the ‘green’ way of doing things – and more efficient too, considering the number of times I’ve lost my paper statements in the past. Online banking is much more convenient and hassle-free. But remember, once you switch to emailed statements, some UAE banks charge you a one-time fee of up to Dh100 to switch back to paper statements. So if you think that you might need to switch back to paper statements – for whatever reason – in the near future, you may be better off paying a nominal monthly fee for paper statements instead of a hefty switch-back charge.

UAE loses 13,500 millionaires to recession: Wealth report

The number of UAE’s high net worth individuals (those with $1 million or more in financial assets, not including the house in which they live) declined by 3.5 per cent to 52,600 in 2010, on top of an 18.8 per cent decline in 2009, according to the 15th annual World Wealth Report, released yesterday by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini.
The population of UAE millionaires fell from over 66,000 in 2008 due to a decline in the market capitalization of firms listed on the stock markets, coupled with the falling values of property in the country, which saw 1,900 UAE millionaires lose the coveted status in 2010 along with over 11,600 less millionaires in 2009, taking the total tally of UAE individuals losing the 'millionaire' status to more than 13,500 in two years since the onset of the global economic slowdown.
Elsewhere in the region, the number of millionaires in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain grew in 2010. Saudi Arabia had 113,300 millionaires in 2010, an increase of 8.2 per cent from 2009. In Bahrain, there were 6,700 millionaires in 2010, up 24 per cent from 2009.
Overall, the number of world’s high net worth individuals and the wealth they possess expanded in 2010, surpassing 2007 pre-crisis levels in nearly every region.
The Middle East had the second highest global growth rate in the number of millionaires, after Africa, with the number of regional rich rising by 10.4 per cent to 440,000, the report said, adding that the combined wealth of regional millionaires increased by 12.5 per cent to $1.7 trillion in 2010.
Globally, the number of millionaires grew 8.3 per cent in 2010 to 10.9 million, and their wealth increased by 9.7 per cent to reach $42.7 trillion (compared with growth rates of 17.1 and 18.9 per cent, respectively, in 2009). The global population of ultra-rich (those with more than $30 million in financial wealth), grew by 10.2 per cent in 2010 and their wealth by 11.5 per cent.
“The past few years have seen great fluctuations in [the millionaires’] wealth and population,” said Tamer Rashad, Head of Middle East, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. “In 2010, we saw growth rates slow down from the higher double-digit levels of 2009 when many markets were quickly returning from significant crisis-related losses.”
The global millionaire population remained highly concentrated in the US, Japan and Germany, which together accounted for 53 per cent of the world’s millionaires. The US is still home to the single largest rich individuals segment in the world, with its 3.1 million millionaires accounting for 28.6 per cent of the global millionaire population.
“While over half of the global [millionaire] population still resides in the top three countries, the concentration of [millionaires] is fragmenting very gradually over time,” said Karthikeyan Rajendran, Sales Director, Middle East, Global Financial Services, Capgemini.
“The concentration of [millionaires] among these areas will continue to erode if the [millionaire] populations of emerging and developing markets continue to grow faster than those of developed markets,” said Rajendran.
Asia-Pacific beats Europe for the first time
Asia-Pacific posted the strongest regional rate of millionaire population growth in 2010 among the top three markets. While millionaire wealth had already overtaken Europe in 2009, Asia-Pacific has now surpassed Europe in terms of millionaire population, expanding 9.7 per cent to 3.3 million, while Europe grew 6.3 per cent to 3.1 million.
Asia-Pacific millionaires’ wealth gained 12.1 per cent to $10.8 trillion, exceeding European millionaires’ wealth of $10.2 trillion, an increase was 7.2 per cent in 2010. Asia-Pacific is now the second largest region for both millionaire wealth and population, second only to North America.
Also of note in the Asia-Pacific region, India’s millionaire population became the world’s twelfth largest in 2010, entering the top 12 for the first time.

Investor Visa in UAE

 For investor visa ,expats in a commercial license in UAE will be required to pay AED 10,000 as security deposit if his shareholding is equal to Dh 70,000 or more. If his shareholding is less than Dh70,000 he will be required to pay Dh 20,000 as security deposit.

A partner in a professional license will be required to pay Dh20,000 as security deposit, from which a partner holding a bachelor degree in the same field of his license business will be exempted.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED :

• Passport copy
• One Photograph (white background) for Visa application
• Copy of Memorandum of Association
• Trade Licence Copy
• Partners List
• Immigration computer card copy
• Last three month's Bank Statement (if the company is old)
• Two Photographs for Medical
• Two Photographs for visa stamping
• 10,000 Deposit receipt original + copy
• Original Medical Certificate

INVESTOR/PARTNER VISA EXPENSE

DESCRIPTION AMOUNT in AED NOTE INVESTOR VISA APPLICATION 220 DEPOSIT (L.L.C. Partner) 10020 20020 for professional licence partner/investor GET VISA INSIDE THE COUNTRY 530 If the applicant is inside UAE VISA POSITION AMENDMENT 530 If the applicant is inside UAE MEDICAL 300 charge varies according to hospital VISA STAMPING 370 100 extra for Urgent submission TOTAL 11980 Typing charge extra

Renewal of a partner's/Investor's residence Visa

Required Documents:

• Prepaid e-form application

• Applicant's original passport

• 2 photographs of the sponsored partner

• Original medical certificate

• Copy of valid commercial license

• Copy of the partnership contract attested by Notary Public

• Copy of receipt proving payment of the partner's security deposit:

Fees & Collection

Dh 370 for 3 years  (Typing charge extra).

Dh100 extra for urgent delivery.

Dh 15 for ordinary delivery by Empost.

Special Notes:

All fees for Residence permits shall be paid at the typing offices, while all securities shall be paid in cash to the bank at the Section hall. Fines for overstaying 17 days or less shall be paid in cash to the Fines Collection staff at the Section hall, while fines for overstaying longer than seventeen (17) days shall be paid cash to the bank at the Section hall.