slydoguk

Hi,

I was awarded a project back in Europe, which means I'd have to leave Dubai for some time, up to 1-1.5 years.

My wife will stay in Dubai to continue her career, and to save her all the hassle, I would like to ask for your thoughts on the following:

-can I leave my HSBC bank account open (at least my "current/debit" account)?
-the flat is rented under my name until 31st Jan 2016. Is it OK that the flat stays under my name, despite me being out of the country/without a valid UAE residence visa?
-can I leave my DEWA and Du accounts open without a valid UAE residence visa?

What is the best way to move out, but at the same time, leave everything "as is" for my wife, without her having to worry about all the paperwork?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Millhouse

Assuming it is the same employer - don't cancel the visa, come back every few months to keep it active. presto.

slydoguk

This is not the case, unfortunately.

According to my property agent + Du + DEWA, it is OK to keep everything under my name, but only until the contract expires end January 2016.

After that, I'd have to return to shut down DU & DEWA accounts, while tenancy contract renewal would have to be under my wife's name.

HSBC have yet to get back to me with a few solutions regarding my account. Would assume I'd be able to keep my current/debit account, but my credit accounts would have to be shut down (fair enough).

archie159

As you cannot legally live in the UAE (rent property, licence a car etc) without a visa, I don't see how your wife could stay unless she gets a job which earns its own visa?

You say "continue her career" - can't she get her own visa? If she has a visa, then HSBC should be OK to leave the account open as long as it is a joint account and one of you has a visa.

slydoguk

My wife has her own residence visa, sponsored by her employer, which I failed to mention.

She will remain in the flat under my name till the contract expires. After that, all will be changed.

mentalist

My DEWA bills have for the last nine years been under the name of the previous owner of the company I work for, the villa being in the company's name. So long as the bills are paid, I see no problem. Once you cancel your visa, I suspect that your bank accounts will be automatically closed.

archie159

I'm not sure this need be the case as long as you have made the accounts joint, registered your wife's visa, and maybe provided the bank with a salary certificate proving she has sufficient income. Once you have done that, notify them when your job finishes, but ensure they understand that she is remaining here and continuing to work - then there should be no reason why they shut it down, or even freeze it. Of course there is every likelihood they do freeze it, being as incompetent as every other bank, so be ready to pay them an urgent visit, and try to avoid having any cheques due payment at that particular time...

Irishbeekeeper

- from what little I know your current account will be up and running as long as your visa / EID hasnt expired. They will send you a reminder before they are due to expire. Having said that, why wait till when you have left the country to do that? It is fairly simple for people with non-resident visas to open a bank account here, they are just not given any cheque books (online banking option is still available I am told). So just go to your bank and ask them to change your current account to one for a person without a resident visa. There will be a couple of forms etc but I am sure they wont say no to your money.
- lease agreement : you can leave it in your name and leave the country, as long as your family is living there and they do not sublet it etc. But, and I feel this is a strong 'but', since you wont be here the land lord wont 'renew' the lease contract in your name i.e. instead of a small rent increment which comes with a renewal, he might turn around and say this is a new agreement in your wife's name and hence according to RERA rules blah blah you will have to pay a higher rent. So either clear it up with the landlord before you leave or if you feel he is a bit of a D then just tell your wife to start looking for another place by the end of Jan 2016.
- dewa and du : dewa can go on indefinitely in your name as long as the bills are paid on time but once you leave the apartment / villa, your wife will need the 'final bill' from Dewa to show to the land lord to get back the deposit (good luck with getting back the deposit btw). Plus the 1000 aed security deposit that you made with dewa can also be collected by her as long as she has a letter by you authorizing her to do so or if you have gone to your 'typing' and just made out a 'power of attorney' for her. Although now that I think about it, maybe that power of attorney can be used for your lease agreement as well, but I think a good property guy can advice you better on that.
Du - I think they have tightened up their sim registrations quite a bit now, so I reckon the sim will work till they time they send you a message asking you to bring in your EID to prove you are the one using the sim etc etc. Could be soon, could be never, so just let it run till it does you know.

just make sure all your credit cards are canceled before you leave to avoid her any hassles and invest in that power of attorney paper

hope everthing works out for you mate
cheers