UAE approves ‘golden’ visa rule, allows 10-year residency to professionals

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, a move to attract bright and talented foreign nationals. The announcement was made by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum on Sunday in a series of tweets.

Foreigners in the UAE usually have renewable visas valid for only a few years tied to employment. UAE Vice President and the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said in a statement that a decision to grant the 10-year golden visa to residents in the following categories: all PhD holders, all physicians, engineers in the fields of computer engineering, electronics, programming, electricity and biotechnology, graduates from UAE accredited universities who scored Grade Point Average, GPA, of 3.8 and above. 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. 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. Noting that the visa will also be available for “first high school students in the country with their families”, the Dubai ruler said that he wants ‘talented’ and ‘bright’ minds to stay in the UAE for the country’s development. 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.