Wealthy Chinese Leaving Singapore for the UAE... "Easier to Obtain Residency"

Interest Shifts to Dubai Amid Stricter Immigration Regulations

Wealthy Chinese individuals seeking investment immigration are increasingly turning their attention from Singapore to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

On November 9 (local time), the British daily Financial Times (FT) reported that while Singapore, with its large ethnic Chinese population, has long been a preferred destination for Chinese high-net-worth individuals seeking investment immigration, recent tightening of immigration regulations has shifted their interest toward the UAE.

Citing private bankers and wealth management experts who serve wealthy clients in Singapore and elsewhere, the outlet noted that over the past year, there has been a significant increase in inquiries from Chinese nationals seeking to establish "family offices" in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to transfer their assets and obtain residency status. A "family office" is a private investment company established to manage the wealth of ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Setting up such an entity in a particular country can make it easier to obtain permanent residency or citizenship there.

In particular, the UAE operates a "Golden Visa" program that allows investors and professionals to reside in the country for up to 10 years. According to the most recently released figures, the number of Golden Visas issued in the UAE surged from 47,000 in 2021 to 80,000 in 2022.

Dubai. Pixabay

Prashant Tandon, Managing Director of the UAE division at Lighthouse Canton, a Singapore-based wealth management service provider, stated that the recent increase in Chinese clients has made it difficult to find finance professionals fluent in Chinese. He added, "Among wealthy Chinese, it is the 'mid-tier'-those with assets between 50 million and 200 million dollars (approximately 72.7 billion to 290.7 billion won)-who are moving to the UAE the most." He continued, "These individuals tend to have strong entrepreneurial tendencies and may feel pressured conducting business in mainland China or Hong Kong."

There are also a considerable number of wealthy Chinese who are transferring their assets from Singapore to the UAE. According to immigration consultants, obtaining residency in Singapore is not easy, with the approval rate for permanent residency and citizenship just above 8%. Recently, the screening process for immigrants has become stricter due to a money laundering case involving a criminal organization from China's Fujian Province. As a result, Chinese high-net-worth individuals are seeking to move their assets to the UAE, where it is easier to obtain citizenship and the tax regulations are more favorable.

Cryptocurrency policies are also encouraging wealthy Chinese to move to the UAE. Singapore began cracking down on unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges this summer. On this, Kevin Teng, CEO of the Singapore-based wealth management firm Rise Private, said, "Chinese clients in the virtual and digital asset sector are closely observing how friendly local regulators are, and increasingly, they are heading to the Middle East."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.