UAE widens 10-year residency ‘golden’ visa eligibility

The United Arab Emirates(UAE) has approved granting “golden” visas allowing 10-year residency to certain professionals, specialised degree holders and others, Dubai’s ruler 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 university students with a Grade Point Average(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.