Plans to give three year visas for foreigners who buy property in the UAE worth AED 1million or more have been plunged into doubt as authorities admit no date has been set for their introduction.
When asked the Dubai Land Department simply said: “We hope it will be soon” prompting people to speculate the plans might be scrapped entirely.
According to reports from Dubai response to the initial announcement was underwhelming, as many viewed the visa idea as a desperate attempt to rejuvenate the ailing UAW property market.
The plans were first announced back in June by the UAE Government who proposed that three year visas could replace current visas that land owners must renew every six months.
The UAE property market is in dire need of a boost- property purchases have fallen by 44 percent to 1,459 in the last year. This is despite unrest in other parts of the Middle East- some within the UAE believed that turmoil in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia would send property investors into Dubai but this has not been the case.