I am getting conflicting info from UAE expats - some say you can obtain the tax residency certificate after 183 days in the country in any year, others say it has to be 183 days in the same fiscal year. What is the correct answer?
Definition of working is receiving a salary and in practice it's really 6 months.
The quality of your set up also helps especially if your sponsor is a "somebody".
some people actually living in Dubai tell me you get it after 6 months, others say 6 months in the same fiscal year, others say after 1 year of living there...I imagine its officially in 1 year but in practice in 6 months...
is there a level of funds that it should be above? obviously if you are sending 100 dollars from the business account to the personal account its not a real salary.
The whole UAE economy is based on the tax free elements.
To take that away would move people away. I don't see it happening for a long time. Plus the law states that your company has a tax free period of 50 years so if you incorporate today you have 50 years.
True When they impose a tax, the UAE economy especially Dubai Economy will finish. But I do not think that they will ever do that. They just increase VAT or Impose a tax on Local company earnings.
If I 1) incorporate a company in UAE, 2) move there in order to get the residency, 3) open both personal and corporate accounts - how much should I transfer from the corporate to the personal account on the regular basis? Is there some minimum? And what about taxation in this case? Logically, I will need to pay tax in my home country, thus I am not a resident in the tax-free country.
AED 10K is about $2700 bare in mind you can recirculate the funds as their is no audit.
As crazy as it sounds cab drivers earn about $800 month, It's all relative really. Downtown Dubai or upmarket Dubai is expensive. But if you live 30 mins from downtown then everything is much cheaper.
If you're single, that amount will cover a decent lifestyle in any Emirate. Obviously, if you choose Ajman, Sharjah or Al-Ain, you will get more for your money, but not necessarily 'value'; it's just that they are way cheaper (for $250k you can purchase a top-of-the-heap 3 bed condo right on the Corniche beach area in Ajman, whereas in Dubai's prime spots you'll be lucky to get a studio).
As @CaptK mentioned, if you move 25-30 mins out of those prime spots, you'll find interesting offers in Dubai, too (less so in Abu Dhabi), for example, 3-4 bed townhouses in︀ Akoya for the same aforementioned $250k. It's all a matter of choice, really, depending on︁ your marital/family situation, what your plans are (eg, education is very (outrageously) expensive for expats'︂ children), and whether you're comfortable with the place in general or not.