The United Arab Emirates is widening the ambit of its Golden visa initiative to cover more workers, including scientists, researchers and skilled professionals. Others coming under the scheme are senior scholars and clerics, elite specialists in industry etc.
For the uninitiated, The Golden visa happens to be a residence visa of longer duration allowing foreigners to live, work or study in the UAE apart from getting other benefits such as:
- Reside in the UAE without a sponsor
- Renewable permit with a validity of 5-10 years
- Flexibility to remain outside the UAE for more than the mandatory 6 months to keep the validity of visa intact
- Capacity to sponsor any number of domestic workers
- Allowing Family members to stay in the country for the whole duration of the visa, even if the main person holding the golden visa dies
Eligibility Criteria For Skilled Professionals
- Has to work in the UAE
- Possess a role specified by MOHRE’s occupational classification scheme:
- Level 1 Classification – Managers & Business Executives
- Level 2 Classification – Professionals in the fields of Sciences, Engineering, Health, Education, Business and Management, Information Technology, Law, Sociology, and Culture
- The minimum educational level of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent
- Must be drawing a minimum monthly salary of AED 30,000 or equivalent
- Have a proper Practicing License in the UAE in the cases of Physician, Pharmacist, Teacher etc)
Docs Required
- A valid UAE employment contract
- The applicant should be in a position classified as level 1 or 2 by MOHRE’s occupational classification scheme
- Duly attested Bachelor’s degree certificate or equivalent
- Valid Practicing License in the Emirate
- Employment certificate
- Salary certificate provided by the employer together with a bank statement for the last 6 months proving that the monthly salary is no lesser than AED 30,000
