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Property Visa Law on the Way in March

ABU DHABI — New laws to grant six-month residency visas to individuals who buy freehold properties will be ready next month, a top Ministry of Interior official said on Tuesday.

The ministry is also studying the possibility of granting residency visas to the families of property owners.

The move comes amid a 20 per cent decline in property prices and a predicted fall of up to 50 per cent in some areas by the end of the year.

“We are working on this draft to unify and streamline the procedures of issuance of residency visas for expatriates who purchase properties such as flats, offices, and shops,” said Brigadier Nassir Al Awadi Al Menhali, Acting Director-General of the Federal Naturalisation and Residency Department.

“They will get a six-month visa which can be renewed.”

Al Menhali said that details of the law, such as how much the renewal would cost, have not yet been worked out.

“It couldn’t come at a better time for the market,” said Vincent Easton, head of sales at Sherwoods, a property consultant firm. “I’m just confused about why it is only six months. It seems more like a visit visa.”

Previously, developers in Dubai had tried to entice prospective buyers from Pakistan and Iran by saying they could sponsor them for a three-year visa. However, problems arose when the application for residency was rejected by the Naturalisation and Residency Department (NRD).

In Abu Dhabi, a few developers had offered sponsorship to homebuyers.

Al Menhali said that there is no codified law which automatically grants expatriates residency if they purchase properties. He added that it is better to standardise the procedure across the entire country rather than some emirates applying different rules.

“It is not acceptable that every emirate has its own law or regulation because there is a federal law of naturalisation and residency that should be followed by all NRDs countrywide.”

B. R. Shetty, head of the NMC Group of companies, welcomed the decision to introduce a unified property law, and to grant visas to property owners irrespective of their employment status.

“These are timely decisions. Both these steps will boost investor confidence, and will remove uncertainties in the property market. People across the globe who have come here will now be tempted to make the UAE their second home as this is also a zero-tax country. They will now be encouraged to stay here even after their retirement to start business or consultations or any such activities,’’ Shetty said.

Surjit Singh, another prominent Indian industrialist, who also owns property in the UAE, said the unified property law would help narrow property price discrepancies across the emirates.

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