The UAE government is considering the introduction of a ‘Golden Visa’ for businessmen at the federal level. This information was revealed by a senior official of the Dubai immigration department.
According to the senior official, Director-General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) – Dubai, Major-General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, the interior ministry was examining the proposition and that it was being proposed for introduction at the federal level. More/other details such as the cost and duration of the visa were not available from the official. Also, according to the official, the contours of the exact form the visa would take in the future would depend upon the incoming feedback received from the users.
Clearly, the proposed visa is modeled after similar visas offered by European Union countries including Britain, Spain, Cyprus, Portugal, Greece, etc. These countries offer visas to individuals who invest in their countries by buying properties, etc. Such a visa is intended to encourage foreign investment, increase FDI and provide more confidence to the investors. The ‘golden visa’ in the UAE already has the support of the local business community. This type of a visa is generally offered for a fixed term of one or more years, for varying levels of investments of different types, including in investment in property, as already indicated above.
Some typical ‘investor visas’ or ‘golden visas’ of EU countries include the UK’s ‘Tier 1 or investor visa’, Portugal’s ‘Golden Visa’, Greece’s ‘Golden Visa’, Spain's investor’s ‘temporary residence visa’, etc.
