Legal Guide for Foreign Investors in Dubai

Hi, my name is GG Benitez. I'm a licensed realtor in California and a certified International property specialist connecting the United States with the incredible real estate opportunities here in Dubai. And I have one of the most exciting guests with me today to explain so many of the questions that my investors back home have, an attorney by the name of Michael Cawi, yeah Cawi. And I am so excited to introduce him to you all today. So stay tuned. You're watching The Dubai Connect. Michael, thank you so much. First of all, I want to thank you because we have actually been working together now since I started my whole journey of real estate connecting Dubai and California in the United States. And you've been incredibly responsive of understanding the questions that Americans and Canadians have. And there are a series of questions that come up over and over again that I'd like to address today as you are the expert. So may you share a little bit about your background and what brought you here? Yeah, so thank you, thanks for the introduction. So I've been in Dubai since 2004, so almost 19, 20 years. And when I first came, it was the start of the Dubai Freehold property ownership. Please explain what a freehold is. So in the past, before 2004, foreigners, i.e., non-UAE nationals and non-GCC nationals were not allowed to own property in Dubai. And in 2004, Dubai had just launched and just opened the door for non-UAE nationals and non-GCC nationals to own freehold property in Dubai. So it was very exciting times. We started. I remember when I first came, we had my first client was called Dubai Sports City. That was Mr. K.H. Zaroni launching a mega development in what is in Dubai Land called Dubai Sports City, bringing in football academy and golf academy and building villas and town houses and so on. And when we did the launch in Emirates Towers in the beginning of 2004, they sold the whole project overnight. And it was one of the first projects. And this was in 2004, sold overnight. And they sold it overnight. You know, Americans don't believe this when I tell them that. And that was the first one. And the prices, if I tell you how much the villas were selling for, you will not believe it. But I remember we went to that launch in Emirates Towers, my partner and I, and we looked at the villas and we're like, 800,000 dirhams, 800,000 for a villa. Not sure that people will buy, because back then we had just started our career. We were young. For us, it was a lot of money. But people in Dubai have money and people who live in Dubai can afford this. So he sold the whole project overnight. And when we woke up, my partner and I called him two years ago. Said K.H., we want to buy a villa. He said, Michael, the villas are now 3 million dirhams, 3 million on the secondary market. And I have nothing left. And that was the first experience, the first real estate project that we did in Dubai. And then the Palm happened. Emaar build Palm. And then Amar started building downtown. And then other developers came. And then Dubai started to get built up incredibly. And then to go back about the freehold a little bit more. One of the questions is because that's freehold is not a commonly used name in the United States. So it's where you own it outright, opposite of a leasehold, and you own it forever. True. So there are three types of foreign ownership in Dubai. There's freehold, leasehold, and there's something called Mulk. Mulk is an Arabic term that means owning anything that's above the ground. So I own the land and you own what's built on it. That's rarely used. What's very common is freehold. So everything that you see in these big mega projects with the tier one developers, it's all freehold, it's all freehold, and maybe 5 to 10% is leasehold. Leasehold means I'm leasing to you the property for 100 or a hundred years. And then I get it back. But in reality, there's a lot of freehold, which means that you own it forever with full title. You register it, it's in your name, you get a title deed. You can sell it, you can lease it, you can do what you want. Exactly. Perfect. So thank you for sharing that. And foreigners have the same rights for freehold as if somebody local were to purchase that same property? Absolutely, in designated areas. So Dubai is divided into freehold and non-freehold. Freehold is open ownership for everybody. And non-freehold is restricted to UAE and GCC nationals. And obviously, as for real estate agents, we're only selling to foreigners a freehold. So a client would know this is a freehold property. Otherwise I wouldn't have the right to sell it. Yes. And he will see the paper trail from the master developer that can be Emaar or Dubai Properties who owns the land and has given it directly to the end user. Or has given it to a sub-developer to sell it. And we can see the paper trail all the way to the land department where we can issue a title deed registered in the name of the buyer. That's actually something that brings another really interesting point, that is a differentiator between the market here in Dubai and the market I'm familiar with in California. And that is the significant transparency of the real estate market, where you said you can track the paper trail right? And you can see it all. You have online portals such as Property Finder where you will see and you can share a little bit more about how you can easily track the original owner, right? And the price I should say throughout of a property. And anyone has access to that. True, it's all transparent, yes. And this was built in 2008 when they started the land department. And when they decided to organize all the freehold into ownership and gather all that data to have as much transparency about the market. So then you have websites that can give you an indication of how much the price was, say, in 2012 versus how much it is today. This way, knowing what sort of deal you're getting and if it's a good investment or not. But the very interesting thing about Dubai is, when you ask yourself why Dubai, why Dubai? And it's very simple. I'm going to tell you why Dubai, because first of all, Dubai is the gateway to the region. But it's not only a gateway to the Arabic region. It's a gateway to India, to the whole East. It's a gateway to China because of all the Chinese who are here. And it's definitely a gateway to the rest of the GCC. Yes, the GCC is rich. They have a lot of oil. And all the business of the GCC has set up in Dubai. Everyone does business from Dubai. Dubai is the business center of the region. And that's why global businesses are here. Exactly. I believe it's like 75% of Fortune 500 companies now have headquarters set up in Dubai. And we'll get to that a little bit later because I'm definitely going to ask you about setting up businesses here and what's attracting so many different, including American businesses, to set up here. But to keep it right now just about the real estate, share with me a little bit about what happened from your first experience in 2004 to the market crash in 2008. And what Dubai learned? And what they put in place afterwards to ensure that something like that doesn't take place again? So if I go back in time to the crazy days between 2004 and 2008, as I told you, we had a lot of people making a lot of money from real estate. A lot of people giving buy-back guarantees, buying properties and then selling them after two weeks and doubling their money. It was very, very, very fluctuant, very alive. There was a lot of money being made, but it wasn't organized. So we used to have deals for 100 million dirhams, which is 20 to 30 million dollars, based on a document of two pages signed between the developer and the buyer. And no third neutral party, nobody, no land department, no one. Just a signature and the stamp and a handshake. Why? Because this is the Middle East. They like to do business this way. But then when the crash happened in 2008, Dubai realized the impact of the real estate market on Dubai and on Dubai's image. And they decided to organize it the same way as they organize everything. Because as you can see, the infrastructure here, the state-of-the-art, everything works perfectly. So they decided to bring that level of regulation to real estate. And they created the land department. Whereby they imposed an escrow agreement on every developer. So you're a developer. You launch the project. You cannot take the money and buy another piece of land and start a new project. You have to use the money that you've gotten from selling the property to finish the property. And that's by law. And you cannot touch that money unless the land department approves it and in stages. So that's organized. You have registration of your title deed. Now you have a title deed issued in your name as a foreigner. You have the ability to sell the property even before completion. That's a huge, huge benefit. I don't know if you're aware that you can't do that in the United States. Well, first of all, different markets are either familiar or not familiar with off-plan. So California is not huge with off-plan. But if we compare Miami, which is probably the most apples-to-apples comparison, if you place your deposit down for your off-plan project, you can't sell that until the project is completed, whereas in Dubai you can. Yeah. Now, now also though, and please correct me if I'm wrong because you're the expert, there is regulation of when you can, so that it's not too much of a flippers market creating that bubble, right? So may you share about how that's also still regulated? So depending on the developer, they will allow you to sell it based on percentages of completion and how much you've paid. And depending on where that property is and who the developer is, they will have different stipulations in the agreement that they've signed with you. But this is all regulated and this is all transparent. So know from day one when you're making that commercial decision as to whether you want to invest in that property, when you can flip it, because maybe you buy it today and you can afford it and something happens and you can no longer afford it, you want to sell it. Maybe you're trying to get finance and you cannot get finance. Because also, what we need to tell the US market is that it is possible for you to finance your property purchase in Dubai. There are banks who do it. And that gives you an advantage because sometimes you're just doing it to make that profit. And the best thing about Dubai, and this is something very few people know, is that there is no property gain tax. If you flip your property and you make 100% profit, you're going to keep 100% in Dubai. In Dubai, in Dubai. And no property taxes, no property taxes. So, wow, amazing. In addition to the return that you're making on your property, which can be 6 to 8%, you're getting to keep all the upside that you take. If the property goes up in price, in France and in Europe, you pay a tax on capital gains. I'm sure in the US you do it as well. Here, there are no taxes because it's a different jurisdiction, because the government does things differently. Yes, beautiful. We love that. Okay, so now I have my property and I sell it. How quickly do I get my money back in the US? So, again, to put aside all the ideas that people have about the Middle East, why, because they mix different countries with different legal concepts. So for instance, in Morocco, you cannot transfer money outside of Morocco. In Egypt as well, there are capital restrictions on sending money outside in hard currency. Okay, so say you have $100,000 in Egypt. You cannot send them to the US. In Dubai, it's a free market. And this is why Dubai works. So that brings me back to why Dubai, because of the free economy, the fact that there are no taxes, and the safety. So you know that if you sell your property and you have your money in a Dubai account or in an escrow account with the developer or the lawyer, the moment the lawyer or the developer or you give an instruction to send it back to the US, you're going to receive it immediately, not in 24 hours. It's going to take you three days because of the bank transfers, but you're going to receive your money. Yes, so you can receive it. Now, as an attorney, tell me about the ramifications if a developer were to fail on something. I know there's a little bit of leeway. For example, for delivering on time, tier one developers have a better reputation for delivering on time, but you always kind of have to assume maybe three to six months. Some have a reputation for delivering before. But let's just say it goes beyond the 12-month mark. Do I, as a foreign investor, have rights? And how can you protect me? So let's not fool ourselves. Developers always give themselves time to complete. And sometimes they don't complete on time on purpose because they want to regulate the market somewhat. And they want to give themselves time for the market to breathe. And that's in the advantage of the investor. Why? Because the more the market breathes, the more scarcity there is, the more value there is, right? Imagine if they were launching real estate and finishing it and flooding the market over supply, your investment will get affected. So they regulate. This is one of the advantages. I don't see this as an inconvenience. However, they cannot delay indefinitely. Okay, under the agreements, usually they have a delivery date and then they have a grace period of 12 months after that. After that, you can terminate and get your money back. Or you start to penalize them, okay? So on the last installment that you owe them, which is usually 20 to 30%, you pay less. Okay, but they never get reached that point. I mean, they used to pre-2008, but now, that's it. It's all regulated. And now that the reputation of Dubai needs to be safeguarded, they deliver on time. Yes, that's, you know, that takes me to another topic we were talking about before our interview a little bit. The reputation of Dubai. Would you say it's a correct statement to say that Dubai really operates like a business? Yeah, Dubai, you know, everyone calls it Dubai Inc, right? Oh, is that what it's called? I didn't know that. So Dubai is of course it's a business. It's a brand. It's a brand that the government has worked very hard to create and maintain. And that brand has pillars: safety, security, delivering on their words, openness. Melting pot for all cultures, protecting everyone's rights. Absolutely. And I can tell you a story of how Dubai started. Dubai used to be the place where you come if you are an employee of a multinational and you want to earn a tax-free salary. Okay, but then it changed. Now Dubai attracts the family that owns that business who used to send the CEO to Dubai, the employer, the capital. So the person who owns the business, the family who owns that company, that used to do business in the region, now wants to move there with his family. Because obviously of taxes, but because of good schools, good lifestyle, safety, and stability and safety. I really want you to share with the American and Canadian investors in really detailed about safety of their investment. We already know safety of being low crime and the safety as a woman or children and theft and so on, but safety and how is my investment specifically my real estate investment protected? So listen, Dubai is a new city. It's very hard to get your bearing if you just landed and you don't know anyone and you don't speak the language. It's very, very important to get the right information from the right people. Obviously, if you are not cautious and if you don't read what you're signing and if you don't know who you're doing business with, mistakes can happen. But in general, if you do the minimum, if you consult with the right people, if you hire a lawyer or someone to review the property that you're purchasing and make sure that all the documents are in place, if you look at the ownership trail and make sure that what you're buying is real and exists, and if you verify the price and make sure it's in line with the market, and if you know that if you verify the reputation of the developer, then it's really, really very safe. And nothing can go wrong. And again, the lessons that they took from the 2008 crash is that the government will always be there for you, even if it goes wrong. And they did deliver on their word. So even when Nakheel cancelled some of their projects in 2008, they gave the money back. Yes. And even when they stopped the projects in 2008 because of the worldwide crash, they started them again. So now everything is regulated to the T. If you're buying, you get title, you get registration, you can see the escrow documents of the developer you're buying from. More importantly, you can see the registration of the agent who's selling you because he's regulated as well. And this didn't used to be the case. He needs a license. He needs to do training. He needs to have a registration number. And he needs to abide by certain rules and regulations that make sure that he's protecting your interest, like in any mature jurisdiction. So of course, in Dubai, there is no need, like in other foreign jurisdictions, to use a solicitor to complete the purchase or to use a notary to do it through him. You can do it directly with the agent. And you can do it directly with the land department. But this does not mean that you should not be cautious. Just because the law does not impose it on you, we still advise you to seek advice, to read the documents that you're signing, and to make sure you're aware of the delivery date, the payment schedule, the reputation of the developer, and more importantly, the size and specifications of what you're buying. Okay, so these are all valuable advice. But it's not rocket science. And as long as the jurisdiction is organized, things don't go wrong. Okay? Love to know that a lot of what I focus on is off-plan. So it is really straightforward. So the process, really, as you said, you work directly with the developer. The client could absolutely come and hire you to overlook the contract. And it's done through the agent. I'm a certified International property specialist, but I also partner with a local real estate agent that has their registration number. Yeah, when we get into the secondary and, well, to go back with the off-plan, the client doesn't actually have to be here. But once we go to mortgaging and we go into the secondary, walk me through the steps of the mortgaging and the role you would play. And then in the secondary market and the role you play for, let's say, power of attorney, etc. So it's very common here. And a lot of people get shocked by this at the beginning. It's very common for us to ask for powers of attorney that allows you to buy and sell and do what you want. Which gives you a lot of powers that you probably will not give an attorney in the US right, but over here it's common. And I have folders of POAs. Why? Because people like to fly into Dubai for 5 days, okay? Give a POA and then leave so that we can complete setting up a company for them or buying a real estate or leasing the real estate once it's done and so on. What we cannot do is we cannot, even with a POA, manage their bank accounts. So we need them to directly be there. And we introduce them to the banks while they're here. They signed the bank forms. Then they have online access, which works very well. And we continue managing the property or the agent continues managing it based on the POA. Okay, the POA, what you need to know about it is it's revocable, okay? If tomorrow you don't like, you send me a message and I didn't reply and you're very, you're having a bad day, you can just send me a message, say you revoke it, finished. It's finished. And by law, I will no longer be able to represent you. It's a breach of trust. I'll be in trouble and I will lose my license as a lawyer. But if the POA is valid and if you allow me, because I'm not going to act on the POA out of the blue, I need your instruction, I can go and sell you the property that you bought on off-plan on the secondary market. So then they don't need to come here for that. They need to be here for that. That's the, the POA, sorry, the property for you. Okay? Can receive the rent amount and send it to you in the US. We can pay the service fees. We can do whatever you want. Another question that a lot of my foreign investors have are about their rights as owners compared to when they have their tenants and renters. There's a nightmare story happening right now in California that's pretty much gone viral on the news of an Airbnb guest. And I don't know all the specifics right now because I've been here for a few weeks. But she's not leaving. So how does that work? If I'm in the United States, I've purchased the property here, I'm renting it out, whether it be short-term or long-term, and my tenant doesn't abide by the laws or the rules, how is that handled? So we have in Dubai some courts specialized for landlords and tenant affairs. And it regulates renting the property and how it's being used. And in Dubai, there is no protection for the rentals. If you want your property back, you give them one year notice, 12 months, okay? And you get your property back, no matter what. Because you can say, I want to use it personally, and I want it back. That's for long term. That's for what about short term? And you can say, I want to sell it, and I want it back, okay? Now, obviously, that's 12 months notice. But you need to give it at the beginning or at the end of the lease. Or during the lease, it does not matter. If there's a breach, then it's a different story. If you're not being paid the rent, if you're damaging the property, if you are using it for something other than what it's meant for, then you can terminate, okay? You can give them notice, terminate on the spot, and get your property back. And the courts are speedy and work well in that respect. Great, great. Do I have to come here to handle that? Or can you? No, like you can assign the lawyer or the real estate agent can help you, okay? Great. But now what about short-term rentals? Like, this is 12 months notice. But if a short-term, if I'm doing Airbnb for a few days, tenant doesn't leave. So Airbnb in Dubai is regulated also, okay? It's regulated by the RTA, okay? And by Dubai Economic Affairs Department. You cannot do Airbnb without having the proper infrastructure and license that goes with it. And if you have it, then it's very easy to access your property again, okay? It's very easy, protected. It's regulated. Okay, it's regulated. It only became recently regulated, okay? Because it's important, right? If you're all the way across in the United States or Canada, you want to know that if things go wrong, you are protected as the owner. Because it's not easy to just hop on a plane, no, absolutely, 14 hours flight, there's a time difference. But there are many people on the ground who can help you be it lawyers or property managers who can help you make the most of your property in the most efficient manner. Great. That's why I love that I'm connected with you. One final question: what about if I own a project off-plan, I take the keys, I've had it past the year or two-year warranty? And something goes really wrong. God forbid. I noticed that property insurance isn't really a huge thing out here, whereas it's mandatory in California. How is that handled? What are the rights? Yeah, you're right. People are not very into insurance. Yes, it's not a thing. It's not a thing. People do insurance, but no one really bothers. In reality, if you have a structural problem with the property, I had a client in Abu Dhabi who had bought from one of the big developers in Abu Dhabi, okay? And some of the villas were built in the wrong way, in the wrong area. And I can tell you that for a fact. This is not a story I'm making up, okay? They relocated them to a five-star hotel for eight months and they rebuilt the property from scratch. But is that legal? Is that legally protected, or is that just how it went in this case? It's, it goes, I mean, this is how it went in this case, okay? Because again, what matters most for the government of Abu Dhabi is the reputation of the government of Abu Dhabi. And also, the fact that people are happy because here there's this motto, this operandum, that do no harm to no one and make sure everyone's happy, yes. And they have enough resources to do that, yes. So in this particular case, he was very happy. They rebuilt the property. He sold it. He made some money. There are other scenarios in Dubai with smaller developers where we had to go to court and we had to claim damages. I have a client they build, last minute, they did last minute structure change, and that affected his department directly. We had to sue, okay? We got damages, okay? So the courts are here. Hopefully, none of these things will happen if you're dealing with the right developers, right? But if it happens, then there's recourse. And that's why it is important to deal with the right developers. Going back to that. And also, a broker or a real estate agent that really understands who to work with and which developers to work with. So with more and more Fortune 500 companies and American companies that you even work with that are setting up headquarters here in Dubai, share with us what makes Dubai attractive for the corporations. You touched upon it a little bit, but let's dig in a little bit deeper. With how easy is it to set up a corporation and business here as a foreigner? And what are the positives for that? So Dubai is the business center for the region. All the companies doing business in the region have their headquarters in Dubai. And I've incorporated so many publicly listed companies from the US and from Europe and from other places who wanted to have their headquarters relocated to Dubai to be able to do business from Dubai, okay? Obviously, the ease of doing business, the free capital flow, the fact that you can make money and not be taxed for it, and this used to be the case. Now there's 9% profit tax. But it's still very moderate, and that's only for corporations. Only for individuals. And the fact that you have access to these new markets. But most importantly, the fact that you can have fun in Dubai because it's fine. You, going, you want to be with your employees relocating from Europe or the US somewhere boring where you cannot go at night and have a drink or you cannot go have dinner at a nice restaurant and you cannot take your family to the beach on the weekend. No one wants to do that. You want to have the best of both worlds. You want to be in a tax jurisdiction, but you also want to have the good weather. You want to have the amazing beaches. And you want to have, most importantly, an amazing service that comes with it. Yes, and the level of service in Dubai, it's unmatched, unmatched. I have never seen this, never. It is incredible. It does remind me, so I living in San Diego, I'm very close to Mexico. And Mexico has incredible service and the politeness and the warmth and the just bending over backwards to make you feel taken care of. And that is multiplied significantly here to Dubai. It's like anything you want at your fingertips in Dubai. There's no no is not an answer here, right? Absolutely. I mean, there are rules to abide by, to respect. You know, that you're in someone else's city, which is part of what makes it work with so many different nationalities. 85% of Dubai are expats, right? Yes, absolutely. And it works. And it works. And the rules are very simple. The dos and don'ts are very simple. So obviously, Dubai is there are no drugs in Dubai. Dubai is drug free. And that's very good. I have three kids. I want to know that they are in a drug-free environment. You have to understand and respect the culture, yes. But that does not mean that you have to, you cannot be who you are. Be who you are. You can be who you are. But you just have to respect others. Because there are so many religions that are free and allowed to do what they want in Dubai. And you have to understand and respect the cultural environment in which you are. You should never drink and drive, of course. But that's obvious. And you can't even do that in the west. And you do have to be careful with your driving because I've gotten a couple of tickets that I didn't even know about with the cameras. That I didn't do my signal signaling with the lane change. And I tell you what happened to my wife last week. And that's something unique to Dubai. She's driving alone in her 4x4 on Sheikh Zayed Road. And she has a flat tire. She's a woman on her own. The police comes because they have to stop the cars. And they change her tire. Yeah, she stays in the car. Two policemen help her change her tire. This is the level of service that Dubai has created. A new standard for. I had a flat tire in France. I almost got killed. Of course, get a flat tire in New York or California, they stop the traffic. They changed her tire, which is unheard of. And they made sure she comes back home safely. This is the level of standard. The level of welcome that Dubai wants to set as a standard for everyone who comes here. I feel it in my soul when I'm here. And you were talking about the diversity. I'm a Christian Arab. But I'm in a Muslim country. No one ever asks me what my religion is here. No, it's not even a conversation that's had here. And I know that, for example, we have the Abraham House, right? Which is in Abu Dhabi, right? True. And I haven't visited yet. But that's where there's a mosque, a synagogue, and a church in the same building. There are so many languages that I hear spoken when I walk around. I know English is the most commonly used language. And I love practicing my Arabic when I can. But you see culture and experience in a peaceful, calm, open, and welcoming and warm way. And it is absolutely not what I had imagined that it would be. And just, it's such an inviting and safe feeling that it has won my heart. And I want more and more people to understand how amazing it is. Absolutely. You know, a lot of people are surprised because they have all these preconceived ideas about Dubai and about the GCC and about Muslim countries. All negative things that they see on the news. But it's not like this. And Dubai is unique. But Dubai has always been welcoming. What has happened in the past 5 years is that Dubai has become not only welcoming but also sophisticated. Culturally, okay. Dubai has attracted the best minds. Yes, they have now the best restaurants in the world. It has become somewhat the restaurant capital definitely of Asia and maybe of even Latin America, South America, any type of cuisine that I am craving, I know that when I go to the restaurant here, it is going to be the best Peruvian food, the best Chinese food, the best Arabic, Lebanese, Turkish, Lebanese, only. So yeah, you have that standard also. That's very important. Which has put Dubai on the map as a big city. It's no longer a small city. It's a big city that's always alive, that's always buzzing. You go to the DFC at night, any day of the week, it's full. The restaurants are full. People are having fun. They're enjoying their time. But also, they have managed and Dubai has managed to attract the best of the best on every level. So, actually, and yes, agreed completely with the restaurants, the hotels. I love your whole thing about the lobbies of the hotels here and how that's a part of your social life. And one lobby is more beautiful than the other lobby. But let's go into the business. I believe that it was last year that Dubai got ranked as the number one city for the migration of ultra high net worth individuals placing their money here. And the attraction of the best of the business minds, right? Even I attended the international property show conference. And on the stage were some of the most educated and elite real estate professionals from around the world that are converging upon Dubai that are constantly talking about how to make this the center of the world on a global business. We used to say maybe New York, London, Hong Kong. But it's happening here. And then you have the economic plan for the next decade, you're planning on doubling your economy in the next decade. So as amazing as it already is right now, tell me a little bit about how it's even going to grow more. So Dubai now is very successful and very attractive. Especially now, especially after COVID, because the government handled COVID so well. They made everyone, all the expats, but they made every expat feel that this is, that they're at home, that they're going to get taken care of, yes. And that they're, and nothing bad is going to happen to them. And after that, I have a lot of clients best art dealer in London. He came here for a holiday, okay? Because he had no other place to go during COVID. So he came here with his family on holiday. And it was his first time to Dubai. He was negative about Dubai, okay? So then after he came here and he spent two months living here in the hotel with his wife, he's like, this place is amazing. I can do business here. I'm going to open my gallery in Dubai. And this is one example of many people who have discovered Dubai during COVID and decided to move here and set up their business. And the fun part about Dubai is that you come here for leisure. But then you discover that you have access to this whole new world. And you can do business. And if you're a business person, if you know how to make money, you will feel it. You will feel that there's an opportunity here. And you cannot ignore it. So you will want to do business. So you start by buying real estate or setting up a company to have a residency. And then you end up actually using it to explore new opportunities in new markets in India, rest of the GCC, or anywhere close. So let's talk about that. Let's go in on that more because that's great. Tell me about how the Golden Visa program works here. So the Golden Visa is something they launched a little bit before COVID. And you have to be eligible to get it. And it serves you as a valid residency permit for 10 years, okay? And the eligibility is discretionary on Dubai government. But also follows certain criteria such as how much money you've invested, what are your qualifications? Are you a PhD holder? You'll get it. Are you a medical doctor? You will get it. Are you an artist? They like artists. You will get it. Okay? In general, in general, out of all the people that we have applied for, we've rarely had a rejection because again, people who come here are quality people. They want to attract them. And they want to give them a reason to come to Dubai and feel at home here. So it gives you this 10-year hassle-free residency. And without the residency in Dubai, there's not much you can do. You cannot rent a house, okay? You cannot rent a car. You can buy a car. You cannot open a resident bank account, which you need, etc. So that's a step that you need to have in order to start a business. And health as well, right? You get healthcare with that, okay? So then once you do that, or you could actually start your business as your step of gaining your Golden Visa as well. So you don't have to first have a Golden Visa in order to create a business. I can say, Michael, I'd like to come. I'd like to create a company for you. That's easy, straightforward, does not cost much. And that company will give you the right to have a visa. It will not be a Golden Visa, but it will give you a three-year visa where you can sponsor your family and you can start your life here. May you share with me what is the investment? The steps for the three-year or two-year renewable? And Golden through real estate investments? So in order to get a normal visa, you can just incorporate a company or buy real estate for less than 2.5 million dirhams paid. And if you want to have access to the Golden Visa, you need to prove to the immigration department that you've invested and paid more than 2.5 million in real estate, okay? So you have to already have paid that amount. So what if I'm investing in an off-plan project and I don't have title yet? If I've paid that 2.5 million at that point, even if I don't have title, you still get it? I still get it. Great. That's a great thing to know. So that's important. And then how hard would it be for me to open a restaurant here, a coffee shop here, a clothing boutique? What does that look like? Very, very easy. So it used to be the case that any business in Dubai used to have 51% local ownership, a sponsor, basically, right? Sponsor, okay. And that was a big, it was very hard for us to sell this to foreigners, especially from the US, to tell me, okay, why am I going to give 51% of my shares to a person I don't know? So the Dubai government, the UAE government, being very wise and very adaptable to change, removed that requirement in 2020. And they said, no more 51%. All businesses are free, apart from certain vital sectors, which are only three: insurance, banking, and oil and gas. Anything else, you can own 100% of your business, be it retail, be it FMB, whatever you want. And you can dispose of these shares any way you want. And you're free to do the business in any manner you see fit. They have added corporate tax. But guess what, the corporate tax only starts if you're making a net profit a year that exceeds 250,000 dirhams. Okay? And you only pay 9% on that, okay? So, in closing, yeah, let's say top five. Why Dubai in your opinion? And I know we touched upon it a little bit. But let's just do the top five in your opinion. So why Dubai? Dubai for many reasons. Because Dubai has built itself as a brand and as a business center for the whole region. Dubai is very attractive because it's a combination of business and fun. You can do business, you can make money, but you can also have fun, meet interesting people, and have the time of your life. Real estate returns are huge. I don't know anywhere else in the world where you can get net 6 to 8% tax-free. And where you can get appreciations of up to 100% in two years. It just doesn't exist. Doesn't exist. Dubai is the new world. Yes. Therefore, it's a human experiment. You come here to meet new people and to do things that you cannot do elsewhere. And finally, because it is in reality very open. And it's a very nice place to be. And people enjoy it. And that's very, very important. So not only you're not investing your money in somewhere where you don't want I don't want to ever hear about it again. You have the best airline in the world. The best five-star service in the world from the time you bought the plane ticket to the time you land in Dubai. And that experience continues. The hotels that they have and the five-star palaces that they have and the restaurants and the food and the lifestyle. And your money is making money while you're doing it all. Exactly, exactly. So why not, why not, why not? I love it. Well, thank you so much. Thank you, Gigi. I am so glad to be able to work with you, to have your legal advice, to be able to tap into your expertise and your knowledge that you've been here so long. And you've been through the ups and downs. And you understand the viewpoint of foreign investors. And I appreciate your sharing your knowledge and time with us today. Thank you. And hopefully next time we'll do it in the US. Yes, inshallah, inshallah. So remember to please like, subscribe, and share.