Insights: General
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Oman mulls opening housing market to expats
Oman is reportedly considering opening up more areas of its housing market to expatriates. Times of Oman cited a Ministry of Housing official as saying Oman Real Estate Association is pushing for reforms to make more areas of the country available for sale to people of all nationalities. Under current laws, foreigners can only buy
Saudi Arabia: Economic vision contains immigration-related proposals
What does the change mean? Among the proposals related to immigration, the government would introduce sector-based special zones, including a financial special zone with visa exemptions, and would build a more robust tourism sector with improved visa procedures for visitors. The deputy crown prince has also publicly announced that a residency permit systemsimilar to the
United Arab Emirates: Consular Process to be Required for Some Employment Visa Applicants
Employment visa (entry permit) applicants from certain countries will soon have to process their immigration applications through designated UAE consular service centers in their home country before entering the UAE, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) and the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). Applications for
EU gives green light to pursue air traffic deals with UAE, Qatar
EU member states gave the green light on Tuesday for the European Commission to pursue air traffic agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey and countries in southeast Asia to try to support its airlines. Europe’s aviation industry, which contributes 110 billion euros ($123 billion) to EU gross domestic product, has been hit by
Dubai house prices hit plateau
House prices in Dubai are reaching a plateau as the city’s real estate market shows more signs of bottoming out, a new report shows. The May 2016 ValuStrat Price Index (VPI) showed that there’s a “clear trend of a plateau” in Dubai’s residential prices, as forecasted in previous reports since last year. The Dubai Land
June 8, 2016
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Saudi Arabia Considers Tax on Expat Workers
Saudi Arabia is considering a plan to tax millions of foreign residents to raise revenue from non-oil sources. Bloomberg’s Claudia Maedler reports on “Bloomberg Markets Middle East.” Source
Dubai’s biggest bank offers free Uber rides during Ramadan
Dubai’s biggest bank on Tuesday announced a collaboration with Uber, the US-based taxi-hailing service, which will offer customers free rides during Ramadan. Emirates NBD said in a statement that cardholders will get free rides during the holy month as part of it efforts to offer its growing number of mobile-savvy customers meaningful benefits. Emirates NBD
Dubai’s Phanes eyes Africa for new solar power projects
Dubai-based solar energy developer, investment manager and asset manager, Phanes Group, has announced the launch of an office in Johannesburg, South Africa, its first African office. The company said in a statement that the office will act as a hub for the firm’s activities both in South Africa and across Sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, Phanes Group’s
Oman deports 286 expat workers for violating labour law
Oman has taken legal actions against 437 expat workers and deported 286 of them for violating its labour law, reported local media. Officials detected the violations from May 29 to June 4, when a weekly report and inspection took place, according to the Ministry of Manpower. Oman’s Al Batinah saw the largest number of violating
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