Indians seeking Dubai residency visa to avoid black money law

Thousands of wealthy Indians are seeking Dubai residency visa to avoid the black money law.

Economic and commercial cooperation with the UAE is a key aspect of overall bilateral relationship.

According to reports, many wealthy Indians have moved to the United Arab Emirates in the past decade in search of work and opportunity.

Indians have emerged as important investors within the UAE and India as an important export destination for the UAE manufactured goods.

Remittances from overseas Indians amounted to USD71 billion last year, according to the World Bank, more than any other country in the world, CNN reported.

According to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), Indian citizens employed abroad are considered non-residents; while according to the income tax law such persons are required to stay out of India for at least 182 days in a financial year to claim non-resident status.

A non-resident Indian does not have to disclose the foreign assets to Indian tax authorities.

FEMA is a regulatory mechanism that enables the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Government to pass regulations and rules relating to foreign exchange in tune with the Foreign Trade policy of India.

India-UAE trade, which valued at USD180 million per annum in the 1970s is today around USD 60 billion making UAE, India's third largest trading partner for the year 2014-15 after China and the US.

In addition, UAE was the second largest export destination of India with an amount of over USD 33 billion for the year 2014-15.