UAE Extends 10-Year “Golden Visa” Eligibility to Several Professions

The UAE’s Vice President have announced on November 15, 2020 that the United Arab Emirates will extend its “golden visa” system.  The golden visa system grants 10-year residency in the Gulf state to some professionals, and specialised degree-holders.

Background

The Foreigners in the UAE usually gets the facility of renewable visas which is valid for only a few years and is tied to employment. So, the government in the in the recent years has made its visa policy more flexible and is offering longer residencies for certain types of investors, students and professionals. The first ever long-term visa plan was announced in 2018 and it started granting the long-term 5- and 10-year renewable visas to certain foreign investors, entrepreneurs, chief executives, scientists and outstanding students in 2019. In the line, golden visa system has been extended for 10 years.

Who will benefit?

All holders of doctorate degrees, medical doctors, computer engineers, electronics engineers, programming, electrical and biotechnology engineers are eligible for the Visa.  The visa benefits can also be availed by those having a specialised degrees in artificial intelligence, big data and epidemiology. 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 are also eligible for this Visa system.

Visa Policy in UAE

Citizens visiting the United Arab Emirates must obtain a visa prior to travel. However, citizens coming from one of the visa exempt countries or one of the countries whose citizens are eligible for visa on arrival need not get visa prior to visit. Citizens of the member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council have a freedom of movement in the UAE. Though, there is one exception for the for citizens of Qatar. Citizens of Qatar have no longer the freedom of movement in UAE since 2017 unless they belong to the family member of a resident.

Visa On Arrival

Holders of normal passports from the understated 20 countries are eligible to get a free UAE visa on arrival and is valid for 30 days:  Andorra, Australia,  Brunei, Canada,  Hong Kong, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Monaco, New Zealand, San Marino, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City, Bahamas (90 days), Costa Rica (90 days), Maldives (90 days) and South Korea (90 days).