Two good moves

I seem to have been writing things which people find controversial and as that's raised their stress levels I'd better stop doing it for a while.



So this post is on a couple of things I've banged on about several times in the past and which have popped up in the news over the past couple of days, paying bills and property-linked visas.

I've been suggesting that the simplest, quickest way to get money flowing through the economy would be for the government-linked major companies to bring their payments up to date.

Extra funding for them from the $10 billion raised by the Dubai government would allow them to pay any outstanding invoices from their contractors and through them the money would go all the way down the food chain, boosting the economy in general.

On Friday the DG of the Department of Finance was quoted as saying: Dubai government-linked companies should settle all overdue payments within a month as they use funds from a $10 billion state support facility.

That really is excellent news because the amounts involved are obviously very large indeed - a lot of people are hurting because their employers aren't being paid.

Then this morning the promised UAE-wide property-linked visa has been announced.

Tidying up the confusion over the issue was essential, having a federal law is better than having different laws for each emirate. Various real estate people have welcomed the move, but I'm not so sure that what's been announced is entirely the best way to go.

There's also a lack of clarity and detail.

It will not actually be a residency visa but a six-month multiple-entry visa. At the end of six months the holder has to go on a visa run. It does not, of course, allow the holder to be employed in the UAE, that's still subject to the separate labour card system.

The property must be completed and fit accommodation for a family, wholly owned by the individual who must have a title deed, should be worth at least Dh1 million and the applicant must have a regular income of at least Dh10,000 a month whether inside or outside the UAE.

There's a lot to commend it but things I'm not so sure about include:
- it's not really a residency visa and I don't like the visa run aspect of it.
- the minimum value of Dh1 million, which could cut out, say, owners of studio apartments in International City or in the cheaper northern emirates.

WAM reports that the move: underlines the government commitment to serve interests of all persons who view the country as an oasis of stability and peace, therefore possessing properties in it. On that basis I'd have thought that it would be more appropriate for a normal residency visa and for it to apply to all property owners.

Missing detail includes:
- how and when the valuation is made, by whom and on what basis. The price you paid, the current value? If the latter, who is authorised to give the valuation?
- what's the requirement to prove regular income? What paperwork is required?
- no fees are mentioned.

Dubai firms to pay dues in one month.

Property owner visa.