As part of the country's golden jubilee festivities, the UAE unveiled a new immigration program called the "Green Visa" on Sunday.
The term "Green Visa" differentiates between work permits and residence visas.
Previously, the government connected expat residence status to work, with the employer acting as the expat's sponsor and persons needing to leave the country or find new employment to stay in the country if they lost their jobs.
The “Green Visa” program is designed to attract highly skilled professionals, investors, entrepreneurs, and top students and graduates. It will also make visa requirements easier for freelancers, widows, and divorcees, among other things.
This is an effort to encourage more foreigners to settle in the UAE, where expats account for more than 80% of the population and are a significant engine of the country's economic growth.
“In Green visas, the person [holding the visa] is going to be self-dependent and he is not going to be attached to companies and he can sponsor parents and children up to 25 years instead of 18 years,” said Thani al-Zeyoudi, the minister of state for foreign trade.
The advantages of the "Green Visa" include the ability to sponsor children until the age of 25 rather than 18. Previously, a parent could sponsor their daughter's residence visa until she married, while males could only be supported until they reached the age of 18.
It is also important to note the new opportunity to sponsor parents. Previously, there were rigorous requirements for people to sponsor their parents, such as a minimum wage and a rental contract for a large enough apartment for the family.
Other proposed adjustments include extending business trip permits from three to six months and increasing the grace period for leaving the country after losing a job or retiring from 30 to 190 days.
Owners of independent enterprises or self-employed people will be eligible for freelance visas.
“Freelancers will have special dedicated visas…This is to attract experts, retirees and specialised people to niche sectors,” added al-Zeyoudi.
The complete set of requirements, including how to acquire the Green visa and when it will be available, has yet to be published.
Source: Alarabiya News