Foreigners residing in the UAE usually have renewable visas valid for only a few years related to employment.
Dubai:
The UAE will expand its “golden” visa system – which grants 10-year residency in the Gulf state – to select professionals, specialist graduates and others, the UAE vice president said on Sunday.
Foreigners in the UAE usually have renewable visas valid for only a few years related to employment. Over the past two years, the government has made its visa policy more flexible, offering longer residences for certain types of investors, students and professionals.
All PhD graduates, physicians and also engineers in computer science, electronics, programming, electricity and biotechnology are eligible, the UAE vice president and Dubai ruler said in a statement, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
Also eligible are holders of specialized degrees in Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Epidemiology, as well as high school students living in the UAE who rank among the best in the country and students of certain universities with a GPA of 3.8 or above.
After first announcing a long-term visa plan in 2018, in 2019 the UAE began granting renewable 5 and 10 year visas to some outstanding foreign investors, entrepreneurs, CEOs, scientists and students.
The emirate of Dubai, a hub for trade and tourism in the Middle East, said in September that it would grant renewable visas 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 expats to leave.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
