Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore to Dubai.

Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), an Indian resident individual can remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year for permitted purposes (including property purchase overseas). You can combine LRS limits across family members — husband, wife, children above 18 all have separate USD 250k allowances, so a family of four can collectively remit USD 1 million per year. TCS at 20% applies on LRS remittances above INR 7 lakh (claimable back on India tax return).

Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) under FEMA 2000, now governed by the OI Rules 2022. An Indian resident company can invest overseas up to 400% of its net worth (or USD 1bn, whichever is higher) through the Automatic Route, in bona fide business activities. Form FC filed through the AD bank. UAE is a well-trodden destination. We handle the UAE side; your Indian tax or CA firm handles the Form FC. Common structure: Indian HoldCo → UAE Free Zone sub.

Place of Effective Management (POEM) is India’s test for determining tax residency of a foreign company. If an Indian promoter runs a UAE company but all strategic decisions are taken in India (board meetings in India, CEO based in India, key decisions made in Mumbai etc.), the UAE company may be deemed Indian-tax-resident under POEM — taxed on worldwide income in India at 25-30%, defeating the entire UAE setup. We structure UAE substance to pass the POEM test from day one.

The India-UAE Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (1992, amended) is one of the most favourable DTAAs India has signed. Key features: Business profits taxed only in the state of residence (Article 7); Dividends 10% WHT (vs 20% domestic); Interest 12.5% WHT; Royalties 10% WHT; Capital gains on shares taxed in state of residence (Art 13), making UAE a historically attractive route for Indian investment holding structures. Treaty benefit requires UAE Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) and may be challenged by India GAAR — we handle both ends.

Depends on what you’re doing. GIFT IFSC (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) has grown significantly — 10-year tax holiday, lower setup cost, Indian regulatory familiarity, visa-free for Indians. BUT it’s still India (subject to Indian regulatory oversight, FEMA, RBI/SEBI), limited global brand recognition, and your personal life stays in India. Dubai (DIFC / ADGM) offers true offshore structure, 0% UAE personal tax, Golden Visa, international client credibility, and physical distance. Many Indian firms use both — GIFT for India-facing products, DIFC/ADGM for global. We can scope both sides.

Three main routes popular with Indians. (1) Property: AED 2m (~INR 4.5 crore) UAE property investment gets a 10-year renewable Golden Visa. (2) Business investor: AED 2m business investment or being an entrepreneur in a UAE Free Zone. (3) Specialist categories: executives, doctors, scientists, Olympians, published creatives. Golden Visa is independent of a UAE job and lets you reside, open a bank account, and get a UAE Tax Residency Certificate. We handle the tax-side planning; our immigration partners handle the paperwork.

Pre-exit relocation of Indian founders is a specialist engagement. Order matters. (1) Residency planning: when do you break Indian tax residency (182-day rule, 120-day rule for high-income Indian citizens). (2) UAE structure design: UAE HoldCo for post-exit proceeds, QFZP qualifying income analysis. (3) Pre-exit India tax position: Indian CGT on sale, DTAA interaction. (4) UAE Golden Visa and TRC. Usually a 6-12 month timeline before actual exit. Start with our Entry Roadmap engagement.

Always — and we insist on it. Your Indian CA firm has your historical returns, understands your Indian group, has filed your returns and has the India relationship. We don’t replace that. We take the UAE-side scope cleanly — entity, visa, CT, VAT, bookkeeping, DTAA/TRC — and coordinate directly with your Indian CA on anything they lead on (Form FC, India CGT, Indian return filing).

6-12 months before actual move, planning typically starts. 4-8 weeks for the UAE entity setup once you’re engaged with us. Golden Visa (property route) typically 4-8 weeks from property purchase. UAE residence visa and Emirates ID 2-3 weeks. UAE bank account 4-6 weeks. Full relocation (schools, housing, car) 3-6 months. India exit (residency break, Indian CGT, portfolio reorganisation) 6-12 months. We provide a dated timeline during Entry Roadmap engagement.

Investment income by Indian HNW individuals personally held in the UAE is generally not within scope of UAE CT — investment holding by individuals in a non-business capacity is excluded. If investments are held through a UAE company, the company’s income is in CT scope, and QFZP analysis applies if Free Zone. If investments are in UAE real estate, held personally, personal CGT is 0%. We walk through your specific portfolio structure in the Entry Roadmap engagement. See the UAE Corporate Tax service for the technical detail.