Dubai
November 15, 2020
With the introduction of new personal and family laws, the UAE has once again exhibited that it’s a people-centric country and shall always be one. The progressive laws seek to harness a unique culture of inclusivity and will allow the 200+ Nationalities to live more confidently and securely on the UAE’s soil.
The UAE has always defied the stereotypes assigned to the Middle Eastern nations by continually striving for liberal reforms, inclusivity and human development. The country transformed itself from a traditional Bedouin society, became a federation when the idea was only a novel concept in the region and today stands tall amongst the most developed and forward-thinking nations of the world. In the current scenario when the world as a whole is juggling with the pandemic, sluggish economic growth and socio-economic crisis, the UAE continues to look ahead and is solving all its significant challenges one day at a time.
With the introduction of new personal and family laws, the UAE has once again exhibited that it’s a people-centric country and shall always be one. The liberal and progressive law promises to harness a unique culture of inclusivity and will allow the 200+ Nationalities to live more confidently and securely on the UAE’s soil.
The laws, reflect progressive measures to improve the living standards and for the UAE to continue to be a destination for foreign direct investment and people from around the world.
The law entails that expats living in Dubai will now be subject to their home country’s rules for family and civil procedures such as divorce, separation, assets division & protection and wills, as opposed to following Sharia law, previously. Until now, assets were divided under Sharia, which expats were not used to.
The asset protection clause in the regulations is highly reassuring to international investors and business owners as now their possessions and resources can be safeguarded and divided as per their country’s law.
Alcohol consumption and suicide have also been decriminalised, and courts would ensure vulnerable people receive mental-health support.
Safeguarding women by eliminating “honour crimes” is one of the major welcome steps. There will be stricter punishments for men who subject women to harassment of any kind, which is thought to cover street harassment or stalking.
However, these laws are only the icing on the cake, the reasons the UAE is called the land of opportunities and has the highest migrant net rate (88.52%) are:
The Good Quality of Life
Dubai is one of the rare countries that focuses on people’s happiness quotient as seriously as its economy, infrastructure, finance and business development. The quality of life and the services offered by the United Arab Emirates is non-comparable. The nation ranks among the top 10 destinations with regards to the quality of life and services offered. It is voted as one the best places on the planet for expats to live, work, and settle. The UAE has continually tried to enhance its attraction as a destination where individuals can build a good career and settle with their families for the longer haul. Be it financial, professional, personal or a combination of all these traits.
Ease Of Doing Business
The UAE is also seen as a prime launch-pad for countries wishing to access markets around the world and presents a solid proposition for investors and companies through a robust legal structure, pro-business regulatory environment, and strong corporate governance. Its laws and regulations are transparent, agile and designed to preserve the rights of organisations and individuals. The UAE was ranked 16th in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing business out of 190 global economies in 2020 is testament to the government’s determinations to drive the country’s growth by bolstering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A business in Dubai can be set up in as quickly as a week. The government has put forth several reforms like making starting of business less expensive by reducing the fees for business incorporation, easier construction permits by using a risk-based approach to reduce the number of inspections, improving minority investor protection, ease of paying taxes and making trading across borders easier by reducing the time to export by fully digitising certificates of origin and the cost to import by issuing certificates of conformity that cover multiple shipments.
Market Accessibility
Dubai was ranked third in the world in terms of market accessibility; the country sits at the junction between Europe, Africa, and the Far East, making it the meeting point of the world. The government has strong bilateral relation with almost all its neighbouring countries and enjoys political stability enabling business activities to grow. The city has emerged as a global hub for financial services, logistics, hospitality and trade and is steadily increasing in other sectors including healthcare, technology and clean energy, nourishing a diverse and robust knowledge base and community of trained professionals that make it the ideal location for association conferences, corporate meetings and business events. As the business hub of the Middle East, Dubai has continued to invest in strategic infrastructure and transportation projects to support the growing service sectors and ensure a stable economic future.
Leading-Edge Infrastructure
Dubai is well on track for becoming ‘A smart and sustainable city’, focused on building fully-connected and integrated infrastructure which ensures optimum mobility and easy access to all economic centres and social services, in line with the world’s best cities.
The business infrastructure of the city is second to none, sophisticated telecommunication and unparalleled connectivity, that serves multinational corporations to start-ups and SME’s. While the vast majority of business may be conducted remotely via email or telephone, Dubai’s transport network serves as a link between Europe and Asia, making corporeal meetings easy.
Transport Hub
Dubai is the third largest re-export hub in the world and home to Jebel Ali Port, one of the top ten busiest worldwide. The country’s strategic location and developed infrastructure makes it a good supply and re-distribution gateway and offer tremendous growth potential to logistics companies in the country. Owing to its location at the centre of international trade, over one-third of the world’s population lives within a 4-hour flight, and two-thirds of the world’s population lives within an 8-hour flight.
The UAE is well positioned globally to be amongst the top logistics hotspots as it is emerging as a central trans-shipment hub, ranked 1st in emerging market infrastructure, operating one of the top busiest airports globally, and is well suited for multi-modal transport.
About The Author
Lorenzo Jooris is the CEO of Creative Zone, a Dubai based business advisory firm. Mr Jooris holds an extensive and diverse experience in the Middle Eastern and South Asian business markets and retains an expert opinion on the regions’ SMEs and startup culture. He was the founder of One World Communications, a full-fledged multi-media powerhouse advising governments around the world in branding and communication strategies. He also started LEADERS Middle East Magazine in the UAE, and formulated ‘Leaders without Borders’, an initiative that promotes the development of young social entrepreneurs. He is the author of “Recipes for a Better World” and an advisor to the James Michel Foundation.
About Creative Zone
Creative Zone is Dubai’s largest and most trusted business setup advisory firm having helped over 39,000 entrepreneurs during their 10-year lifespan. Creative Zone’s registration professionals have helped thousands of SMEs grow their businesses in the UAE since its launch by Mahesh Dalamal and Steve Mayne in 2010. The company was created with a simple yet revolutionary model for the UAE marketplace; to serve as a one-stop-shop, with flexible payment plans, for easy company incorporation. Creative Zone has now evolved to provide added business support services to create an ecosystem that helps entrepreneurs and SMEs to set up, sustain, and grow their businesses and contribute to the UAE’s position as the global location of choice for company setup.
