UAE To Grant Infectious Disease Experts, Others ‘Golden’ 10-Year Residence Visa

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

The United Arab Emirates on Sunday said it will grant all doctors and infectious disease experts living in the country who are helping to combat the coronavirus pandemic a 10-year visa.

Foreigners in the UAE, like most Gulf countries, are generally only given limited residence visas tied to their current employment, and long-term residency is difficult to obtain.

AFP reports that to attract wealthy business people and highly skilled workers, the UAE last year launched the “Golden” 10-year visa programme, which is now being expanded.

Those eligible include holders of doctorate degrees, medical doctors, and computer, electronics, programming, electrical and biotechnology engineers, tweeted Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

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Students from accredited universities who are getting top grades could also qualify, he said, along with those holding specialised degrees in artificial intelligence, big data and epidemiology.

The scheme last year drew in some 6,800 investors, in a windfall worth $27 billion for the economy.

Foreigners account for 90 per cent of the population of some 10 million in the oil-rich UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy.

The country has so far recorded more than 150,000 cases of the coronavirus, including 530 deaths.