The Lulu group chairman MA Yousuf Ali has become the first recipient of Bahrain’s new golden visa for foreign nationals. UAE-based Yusuff Ali was handed the visa in a ceremony attended by Bahrain’s King Hamad and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad on Sunday.
Bahrain’s Golden Visa intends to attract talent and boost the economy.
“I am humbled and grateful to receive the first Golden Visa of the Kingdom of Bahrain on 13.02.2022. On the same day, I visited His Majesty Hamad Bin Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain and His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain to pay my respects and to personally thank them for their love, affection and consideration to give the Kingdom’s first Golden Visa to me,” said Yusuff Ali.
The 66-years-old Ali was presented with his golden visa at a ceremony at Riffa Palace.
Based in Abu Dhabi, Lulu is a major employer in the Gulf with more than 50,000 staff. There are 11 Lulu stores across Bahrain, and the Kingdom has big plans for expansion, including a metro network and a national exhibition centre.
Under Bahrain’s new Golden Visa rule, a person must have lived in Bahrain for at least five years and earn an average salary of at least 2,000 Bahraini dinars ($5,306) a month to qualify for the visa. Earlier, Bahrain residents could only get a renewable visa tied to their employment status.
A golden visa allows them to extend the visa indefinitely and provide a residence permit for close family members.
Like the UAE’s golden visa programme, retirees, talented people who fit certain criteria, and those who own real estate above a particular value can also apply.
