Property

On 28 February 2024 Hong Kong did what the market had been waiting eleven years for: it scrapped every surcharge on residential stamp duty. A foreign individual, a BVI company and a local owner of five flats all became liable for exactly the same duty as a Hong Kong permanent resident buying a first home. A HK$10,000,000 flat cost a non-resident HK$3,000,000 in stamp duty before 25 October 2023, HK$1,500,000 between 25 October 2023 and 27 February 2024, and HK$370,000 from 28 February 2024. The bill fell eightfold.

For several years, the UAE property investor visa system remained relatively stable: a two-year visa required at least AED 750,000; a ten-year Golden Visa required at least AED 2 million, of which a minimum of AED 1 million (or 50%) had to be paid upfront. Clear, predictable, but not accessible to everyone.

For a mainland company in Dubai, Ejari registration is a condition for issuing or renewing a trade licence, not a formality that can be postponed.

Any individual engaged in real estate brokerage in Dubai must obtain a Professional Practice Card — an electronic credential issued by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) through its regulatory arm, RERA, and the Trakheesi system.

Income earned by an individual from letting or selling UAE real estate is generally outside the scope of UAE Corporate Tax altogether — regardless of amount. The same property held by a UAE company produces Corporate Tax at 9% on profit above AED 375,000. This is not a computational nuance but a difference in the scope of taxation itself, and it turns on a single test: whether a licence is held or required.

A foreigner may acquire residential property in Kazakhstan only with permanently residing status (a residence permit holder); without that status, the right to housing under Article 9 of the Law of the RK “On the Legal Status of Foreigners” does not extend to a foreign national.