UAE Is About To Offer Citizenship To Talented Foreigners
/In 2019, UAE Vice-President and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum launched the "golden card" visa system. According to this system, professionals, including doctors and scientists, as well as high-performing schoolchildren and their families, could apply for ten years of residence in the country. In 2020, this list was expanded to cover a wider range of people.
This year, the UAE says it will grant citizenship to foreign residents for the first time if they add value to the Gulf State.
The list of participants will include investors, specialized talents, doctors, engineers and artists, according to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. An important clarification is that they and their families will be able to have dual citizenship.
Such a move will benefit from the fact that attracting highly skilled people and expatriates will contribute to the economy.
“This amendment to their citizenship laws has been hailed as an innovative step by the Citizenship by Investment community and is one that will make it easier for those eligible to become UAE citizens. It also highlights the step forward in more countries recognising the benefit of allowing dual citizenship rather than seeing it as a drawback." - write prnewswire.
There is no application procedure; instead, people will be nominated for citizenship by the royal family or by UAE officials, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said. The UAE Cabinet of Ministers will then decide whether to approve them or not.
