Tweets from UAE ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said there are around 6,800 investors eligible for the first batch of visas
BE2C2 Report — The United Arab Emirates has launched today the permanent residency system for investors and exceptionally skilled foreigners, the ruler of Dubai and prime minister of the UAE announced today.
Both UAE and Saudi Arabia (Gulf allies) have embarked on the program as part of a social and economic transformation to add value to their non-oil economic efforts.
The permanent residency UAE visa named the ‘Golden Card’ will be granted to investors and exceptionally competent individuals in the fields of medicine, engineering, science, and all arts, according to the official twitter of account of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
While the UAE population comprises nearly 80 percent of expats, the kingdom hosts between 40 to 40 percent migrant workers. The two Arab countries combined expats’ annual remittances are the largest in the region and among top 5 worldwide.
The first batch of those eligible for permanent residency for a “Golden Card” in the UAE reached 6,800 investors, whose total investments reach US$273 million (100 billion UAE dirhams), according to one Arabic tweet by the ruler of Dubai.
Another tweet added that the permanent residency will be granted to those who contribute positively to the success story of the UAE.
”We want them to be permanent partners with us in our journey. All residents in the UAE are our brothers and part of our great family in the UAE,” the Arabic tweet said.
The announcement follows the approval of the Saudi Cabinet last week for granting ‘green card’-style visas for highly-skilled foreigners and owners of capital funds with other sets of benefits as part of a ‘Privileged Residence System’.
According to some experts, the drive to standardize a number of initiatives in the immigration space in the GCC countries is meant to continue to find innovative ways to attract sustained economic investment activity.
Both countries are signatory to the World Climate Change )Climate Summit Paris) which establishes a global time line on graduated scale for carbon emission and use/sale of fossil energy. The Trump Administration pulled United States out of the Paris agreement.
(BE2C2 Report is a data journalism initiative of Irshad Salim Associates, a New Jersey, USA, based consulting firm– in association with BE2C2 in Pakistan)
