On Your Side: UAE licence is valid for a year in France


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My daughter is taking driving lessons, but is planning to study in France next year. I am hoping that you can tell me if her UAE licence will be valid there, or will she have to take another test when she gets to France? FM, Abu Dhabi

Personal Finance On Your Side

The National's consumer advocate, Keren Bobker, answers your questions on legal and financial matters in the UAE and beyond.

If your daughter is only planning to stay in France for a limited amount of time, she will not need to get a French licence because she will be able to drive on her UAE licence for up to a year. If, however, she becomes a resident of France, then she will be able to simply convert her UAE licence to a French one without having to take another test. Licences can be converted/exchanged at local town halls.

I read a question in your column from a person who would be working in the UK for a couple of weeks and who wanted to know if they would be taxed. You said they wouldn't be, but I have heard there will be changes to the UK's tax laws, which mean that anyone working there would be taxed. I travel to London every few months for business and am concerned it could affect my tax status. SM, Dubai

Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has issued a consultation document (Statutory Definition of Tax Residence: a Consultation), which invited responses from interested parties and is now under review. Currently, if you spend less than 90 days in a tax year in the UK, overseas income is exempt from income tax. But one of the many proposed changes is that anyone who spends more than 20 days working in the UK during a tax year could be taxed on overseas earnings and may even be treated as resident. HMRC has stated that "a working day is any day on which three hours or more of work is carried out". I would stress that these changes are still at the consultation stage and the outcome will not be known until early next year, with the changes likely to be put into practice for the 2012-2013 tax year, which begins on April 6, 2013. This particular proposal could be detrimental to international business, so it is hoped that it will be altered.

I moved to Sharjah three months ago, under the sponsorship of my husband, who is employed here. We hold Indian passports. The initial residence visa granted was for a month and the category on it was "housewife". After getting my medical done, we applied for the residence visa to be stamped on my passport and it has come back stating: "residence visa, housewife - not allowed to work". I am devastated because I had not anticipated this and had already started contacting people about job vacancies. What can we do to change this status? I have friends whose residence visas just say "housewife", unlike mine. Can you throw some light on this because I really need to work? PK, Sharjah

Despite the wording on your visa, you may legally take up employment provided your husband provides you with a No Objection Certificate; essentially a letter addressed to your future employer that permits you to work. This must simply say that he has no objection to you taking up employment and then you are on equal footing with anyone who does not have the same restriction written in their passport. In some circumstances, this may even give you an advantage because your prospective employer will not have to provide you with a residence visa and will only need to organise and pay for your labour card.

I have been in my current job for six years, but I have been offered a job with another company that is more interesting and has a higher salary. Before I give my resignation, I would like confirmation of a few points. First, will I lose any of my gratuity by leaving? Second, I have a car loan; will my bank cause a problem when it finds out I am changing jobs? PG Dubai

Because you have been employed continuously by the same company for more than five years, your end-of-service gratuity will not be reduced even though you will be resigning. Your bank should not have a problem provided you have virtually continuous employment and can demonstrate that you have a new job with evidence of the salary. To avoid having issues with your account being frozen, my advice would be to obtain a letter from your new employer that confirms your new job and salary and that your salary will be paid into your account with your current bank. This is likely to be a condition of your loan. Make sure the company stamp is on the letter. If you do this prior to your final salary payment being made, which should include your gratuity payment, the bank should not freeze your account - something that is often done as a matter of routine if a final salary payment is made. The bank should be amenable because it will be able to see that you will continue to transfer your salary and service your debt.

Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser with Holborn Assets in Dubai. Write to her at keren@holbornassets.com with queries for this column or for advice on any other financial planning matter.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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North Pole stats

Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 0

Terrain: Ice rock

South Pole stats

Distance covered: 130km

Temperature: -50°C

Weight of equipment: 50kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300

Terrain: Flat ice
 

Abu Dhabi card

5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m

6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m

6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m

7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m

7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m

The National selections:

5pm: Valcartier

5.30pm: AF Taraha

6pm: Dhafra

6.30pm: Maqam

7pm: AF Mekhbat

7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi  

MATCH INFO

Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD

* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10

Country-size land deals

US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:

Louisiana Purchase

If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.

Florida Purchase Treaty

The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty. 

Alaska purchase

America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of  Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".

The Philippines

At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million. 

US Virgin Islands

It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.

Gwadar

The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.