UAE to offer citizenship to selected foreigners to boost growth
“We adopted law amendments that allow granting the UAE citizenship to investors, specialized talents & professionals including scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors and their families. The new directives aim to attract talents that contribute to our development journey,” UAE Vice President.
Dubai: The United Arab Emirates plans to offer citizenship to a select group of foreigners, the first Gulf Arab nation to formalize a process aimed at giving expatriates a bigger stake in the economy.
“We adopted law amendments that allow granting the UAE citizenship to investors, specialized talents & professionals including scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors and their families. The new directives aim to attract talents that contribute to our development journey,” UAE Vice President and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said on Saturday.
Dubai Media Office said quoting Shaikh Mohammed that citizenship offer is the country’s latest effort to attract talent to the region.
Those who fall under the category of specialized professionals include: scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors.
Acquiring the citizenship will be done through nominations from Rulers and Crown Princes Courts, Executive Councils, and the Cabinet based on nominations from federal entities, it said.
The amendments specified the conditions that must be met in each category such as: Investors are required to own a property in the UAE. Doctors and specialists must be specialised in a unique scientific discipline or any other scientific principles that are highly required in the UAE, the applicant must have acknowledged scientific contributions, studies and research of scientific value and a practical experience of not less than 10 years, in addition to obtaining membership in a reputable organisation in his field of specialisation.
Scientists are required to be an active researcher in a university or research centre or in the private sector, with a practical experience of not less than 10 years in the same field. They also should have contributions in the scientific field such as winning a prestigious scientific award, or securing substantial funding for their research during the past ten years, it is also mandatory to obtain a recommendation letter from recognised scientific institutions in the UAE, media office explained.
Inventors who are willing to acquire Emirati citizenship are required to obtain one or more patents that are approved by the UAE Ministry of Economy or any other reputable international body, in addition to a recommendation letter from the Economy Ministry.
Individuals with creative talents such as intellectuals and artists should be pioneers in the culture and art fields and winners of one or more international award. A recommendation letter from related government entities is mandatory as well, statement reads.
Foreign residents make up more than 80% of the population of UAE and have been a mainstay of the UAE economy for decades but have lacked a clear path to citizenship, including if they were born and raised in the country.
Until now citizenship in the UAE and some other Gulf states has been reserved for foreigners in special cases, including for service to the state, but these changes will formalize and widen such a process.
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