UAE widens 10-year residency 'golden' visa eligibility

[Firebat]

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates will extend its “golden” visa system - which grants 10-year residency in the Gulf state - to certain professionals, specialised degree-holders and others, the UAE’s vice president said on Sunday.

Foreigners in the UAE usually have renewable visas valid for only a few years tied to employment. The government in the past couple of years has made its visa policy more flexible, offering longer residencies for certain types of investors, students and professionals.

All holders of doctorate degrees, medical doctors and also computer, electronics, programming, electrical and biotechnology engineers are eligible, UAE Vice President and the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said in a statement.

Also eligible are those with specialised degrees in artificial intelligence, big data and epidemiology, as well as high school students living in the UAE who rank top in the country and students from certain universities with a GPA of 3.8 or higher.

After first announcing a long-term visa plan in 2018, the UAE in 2019 started granting 5- and 10-year renewable visas to certain foreign investors, entrepreneurs, chief executives, scientists and outstanding students.

The emirate of Dubai, a Middle East trade and tourism hub, in September said it would grant visas renewable every five years to wealthy foreign retirees.

An oil and gas producer, the UAE’s economy has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices, prompting many expatriates to leave.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...sidency-golden-visa-eligibility-idUSKBN27V09N

 

[The Viper]

Good initiative - it benefits the economy.

 

[angrypathan]

If only they offered citizenship like the rest of the modern world.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

I’d rather live in a war torn, plague stricken country than in the UAE

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

UAE isn't even a real country, eight out of nine people who live there are foreigners. You know where they can stick their residency visas.......

 

[LongHorn]

The thing is rules change at the drop of a hat there, sometimes by executive order that backdates.

And in a perfect illustration, nationals of a dozen countries, including Pakistan are having difficulty since last week to get new visas or to transfer

 

[faraz39]

If only they offered citizenship like the rest of the modern world.

As long as they have an unlimited supply of cheap labor from the subcontinent, they have no reason to change their behaviour.

 

[MenInG]

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Monday confirmed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had not banned or blacklisted the issuance of visas to Pakistanis belonging to specific cities.

“We have seen the reports. We can confirm that no such ban is in place by UAE for the issuance of visas to Pakistani citizens,” said the spokesperson.

Express Tribune

 

[Colorblind Genius]

UAE isn't even a real country, eight out of nine people who live there are foreigners. You know where they can stick their residency visas.......

Exactly!
Longer term visa only means extending the slavery period.