This sound more complicated when you're trying to figure out these things with respect to the multiple citizenships and residencies that you hold.
I'm just wondering whether simply "declaring" your Pakistani citizenship is going to suffice in a case when you wish to pay taxes in Pakistan. Don't you have to show that you've maintained residency in Pakistan for x number of years before you started working in the Emirates?
In the Canadian context, there are various categories of residency that need to be acknowledged by the tax payer and approved by the Revenue Agency to determine the tax paying situation. I think we have the Factual-Resident, Non-Resident and Deemed-Non-Resident categories... and each has its own provisions.
Treaties can simplify things greatly though - I think Canada had its treaty with the Emirates a few years back which is why we've seen quite a few people take advantage of opportunities there.
This is an entirely new world for me. Yes, you are definitely right about things getting complicated. With respect to the US, I chose to go with the Swiss Citizenship to avoid the grief that our poor Pakistani countrymen have to go through..it's amazing how Americans treat Swiss national even though we are not EU citizens. Plus the tax treaty made the difference. Sure I'm paying Swiss but on a personal level I *believe *in Swissland just like I believe in Pak.
I'm going to speak with a few people in Dubai about this matter. As you can imagine, I can't exactly go to the consul for this information because of competing nationalities.
You raise a good point about Pakistani citizenship, but theoretically a Pakistani citizen could have migrated to US/UK then shifted to Dubai all while maintaining his green passport? Also, I am curious to whether the Emirates have this "residency" requirement or my potential employer? If they stipulate a residency requirement than I would be in real trouble because I have not been a continuous resident of Pak/Swiss although my parents have property in both nations so I have a permanent domicile in both.
Switzerland has triple citizenship which means that you're not only a citizen of the Swiss confederation but also the canton and community. In fact even while abroad your taxes are channeled to the Canton/Community level, which is great because your supporting your "home" canton, in my case, Zurich.
I definitely want to pay income taxes, but after years of supporting Switzerland, I want to switch to Pakistan. Hopefully this can be done in the proper legal manner.