UAE Golden Visa for License Renewal?

[yngmind]

I recently spoke with my friend who incorporated a company in RAK DAO, a free zone in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, for crypto businesses.

His lawyers told him that they received an offer for a 10-year Golden Visa from the free zone. The condition was that if he prepaid for the business license for 2-3 years, he would be granted the Golden Visa.

Honestly, I have lived in the UAE for three years and have many connections there, but I have never heard of a Golden Visa being offered for free zone license renewal. It's not even mentioned on the official website.

He paid the money, submitted the documents, and waited for more than a month without receiving any updates on his visa status. I feel like he got scammed.

Has anyone here heard about this program?

Toggle signature
I'm not a tax advisor, so please don't consider my posts here as tax advice. Always seek a professional opinion.
___
Business Bank Account for your US LLC Remotely

 

[drillbill]

He used @Fred 's service ?

 

[yngmind]

No, I think Fred‌ is not active anymore, he used some random lawyers.

 

[kislokan]

They are back in business, I was told by IFZA to go‍ back to them for the licence renewals. Although I have only spoken to Dina and⁠ not Fred.

 

[hanoib]

I have never heard of this before.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

I call bulls**t. This is the kind of stuff why I advise everyone to stay far,⁠ far away from the UAE for business.
People will tell you anything to milk you⁤ a bit more.

Of course not. It's not impossible he'll get it, but not linked to︀ his license renewal.

He should just log in using UAE Pass and︃ check his application status himself. Or just go to immigration and speak to them.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Are you sure this wasn't a misunderstanding?
Probably what they meant was "If you renew and⁠ prepay for the license, we will do the Golden Visa application for you for free".⁤
But you could just do the Golden Visa application yourself. It's not difficult.
They cannot⁣ guarantee a Golden Visa in any case, the decision is made by immigration. They can⁢ always reject it, they don't have to give a reason.

 

[yngmind]

It was just an offer from the free zone.

My friend doesn’t qualify for⁢ a Golden Visa by any means, so I’m not sure how that would work. It︀ has already been a month with no updates, but I will let you know if︁ they get it. The lawyer also mentioned that there are risks involved, and it's not︂ 100% guaranteed.

 

[PhantomOf ThePits]

Maybe they meant he can go for Golden Visa⁣ route through his company setup:
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/life-a...-criteria-application-process?botrequest=true

 

[yngmind]

Not really, the offer was from the freezone, RAK‍ DAO.

 

[JimBeam]

Sounds like a scam.

Can he verify that all emails he got were actually from‌ RAK FZ?

Are the bank accounts same as for his previous payments?

 

[yngmind]

Ok, my friend just received his 10 year golden visa from RAK DAO, so it's‌ not a scam.

 

[bwy]

What was the total cost?

 

[yngmind]

It was pretty cheap, RAK‌ DAO incorporation, he paid for the license for 2 years + visa costs, medical test,‍ Emirates ID, and establishment card, around $6-7k.

 

[Davis123]

It must have been from 30k AED‍ salary per month he must have setup this way. It's impossible to get it from⁠ freezone without investment in real estate or bank deposit.

 

[yngmind]

He didn't have any salary, and he didn't invest⁠ in real estate/bank deposits.