Meet Dubai-based Stake: the company helping Pakistanis get golden visas through diversified property investments

Since being founded in 2020, real estate investment firm Stake has worked with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to help 22 people get golden visas by allowing them to invest in multiple properties on its platform rather than just one.

Given the interest of Pakistanis in both golden visas and Dubai real estate, it is no surprise the last three visa recipients have been from the South Asian country.

The minimum investment required to qualify for the coveted golden visa via the property route is AED 2 million. However, Stake allows you to use this money to buy parts of several properties - which will yield you a variety of rental incomes and diversify risk as well - and ultimately qualify for the visa.

“DIFC is helping us get these investors a golden visa,” explained Stake senior relationship manager Muhammad Burhan in an interview with Business Recorder.

According to him, “it’s a very simple, straightforward process. You invest AED 2 million on the platform. Once that is done, we take care of the entire process.”

“There’s a small nominal fee that one has to pay for the golden visa, which is taken by the UAE government. But then we take care of the rest. You let us know when it’s comfortable for you to come to the country. We go through a process and within about two weeks time, you have your golden visa in your hand.”

However, he explains some of the intricacies of the process: Stake is a regulated platform and all its investors are by default classified as retail investors, which means they are only allowed to invest $50,000 a year.

If you want to invest more than this, you have to be classified as a professional investor, and then there is no limit to how much you can invest.

For this “you need to prove that your net worth is more than a million dollars. This could be done either via property assets which are outside of your primary residence or by showing a portfolio of assets anywhere around the world,” said Burhan.

Stake believes it stands out because it allows users to put their money in different properties.

“The whole idea is to diversify your investment. Instead of investing, let’s say, a million dirhams into one property, you can invest it over say, ten different ones.”

He says this has one obvious advantage: “It’s possible if you pick one property it may not able to generate a rental income for any reason, but it’s impossible that all ten properties will be vacant.”

Stake says it will also manage the property for you. “We are managing everything end to end. We are finding the tenant, we are buying the property. We will sell it as well when you decide you want to do so,” says Burhan.

The reason for so much interest in the golden visa is that it opens up opportunities for you in Dubai, Burhan added.

“You can sponsor your spouse and kids as well as your parents. It’s renewable after every ten years. Unlike a regular investor visa, you don’t need to enter the country every six months to keep it valid,” he said, listing the perks.

It also helps you open up a bank account, which Burhan says “is one of the biggest plus for any investor or business person. You can get mortgages as well. So it opens a lot of doors.”

Democratising access to real estate

Stake’s service is not just for those who want golden visas or want to invest huge amounts. Burhan says one can start from as little as AED 500. All that’s needed is a debit card.

Out of a total 400,000, Stake has some 23,000 Pakistani users, 7,000 of which are based in the country itself. The average Pakistani tests out the service by putting in AED10,000.

“But many have invested almost $50,000 with us as well,” he adds, putting this down to the fact that Pakistanis understand and are comfortable with the local laws and the market.

Most users are aged around 30 to 40, many of them freelancers.

“Pakistanis are moving towards freelancing and they’re making decent money. They are looking for a safe place to invest this money, which they can use later on as well.” says Burhan.

A cherry on top is that Stake is Shariah-compliant: “There is no interest, there is no debt involved anywhere.”

With a minimum AED 500 limit, Stake believes it is democratising access to real estate by letting people invest in areas like Downtown, Marina and the Palm.

“These are places where not all people may be able to afford properties.”

“In today’s market, if you go out and if you want to buy something, you have to come up with a huge down payment.

On top of this: “we’re giving you an opportunity to invest into something which is ready (not off-plan), something which is already rented out in most of the cases, meaning it will make you money from day one”.

The company also prides itself on being transparent: “We are providing you with all the information before you’re making any sort of investment. You know about all the fees you will incur (land department fees, trustee fees etc).

“You also know exactly where the property is, how much it is being rented out for and how much you’re going to make per month as your rental income.”

Stake’s services are relevant given that Pakistanis remain among top 10 nationalities that buy property in Dubai - they came in seventh place, according to a January report by property consultancy Better Homes.

At the same time, many are attracted to living there. Recently, Business Recorder reported that interest of Pakistanis in Dubai’s real estate has pivoted slightly from buying properties for investment purposes to looking to relocate to the city.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024