The Golden Visa is a long-term residency visa that enables foreign talents to live and work or study in the UAE for up to 10 years. This golden residency scheme is renewable and reserved for certain categories ranging from investors to individuals with exceptional talents. Due to their ability to expand business and lifestyle opportunities and extend market reach, golden visas are the key to optimizing a high-net-worth portfolio. Acquiring a golden visa is the best possible insurance policy against economic and political risk in a volatile world. In addition to enabling global mobility, golden visa programs give wealthy individuals the option of physically relocating to a more favorable jurisdiction and accessing full residence rights, including the right to live, work, study, and receive healthcare in that country. In UAE, this service allows the real estate investor owning a property the purchase value of which is equal to or more than 2 million AED at the time of purchase, to apply for a 10-years renewable residence permit. The husband or wife, children and parents can be sponsored. In the event that a mortgaged property, a bank letter indicating 2 million AED paid amount as a proof to be provided .
An Overview of Golden Visas
In its most basic form, golden visa acquisition, or residence by investment and citizenship by investment, denotes the process whereby qualified, vetted candidates are granted either full residence or citizenship rights in exchange for a defined economic contribution to the host country. Golden visa programs give high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) the option of physically relocating to a favorable jurisdiction — either now or upon retirement — and becoming residents of that state with full legal rights, including the right to live, work, study, and receive healthcare in that country.
Benefits of holding a golden visa
A golden visa provides investors and their families with access to new markets and a host of business, career, educational, healthcare, tax, and lifestyle opportunities on a worldwide scale, for both present and future generations. Some of the benefits of the Golden Visa in the UAE are as follows:
- an entry visa for six months with multiple entries followed by the issuance of residency permits
- a long-term, renewable residence visa valid for 10 years
- a self-sponsored visa
- ability to stay outside of the UAE for any amount of time without having their visa nullified
- sponsoring their family members, including spouses and children, regardless of their ages
- sponsoring their parents for a 10-year residency without the need to pay additional deposits
- sponsoring an unlimited number of domestic helpers
- allowing family members to stay in the UAE until the end of their permit duration in the event the primary holder of the Golden Visa passes away
Additionally, there are Golden Visa benefits specific to individual emirates as follows.
Abu Dhabi
- Golden Visa holders in Abu Dhabi will be entitled to discounts and offers on cars, property, health care, hospitality, health insurance and banking services. The Resident’s office has teamed up with companies across various industries to offer the incentives.
- under the Abu Dhabi Residents Office’s commercial partnerships, Abu Dhabi golden visa holders will be entitled to discounts on selected properties from developer Imkan Properties.
- banks, including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank, will offer real estate golden visa investors reduced mortgage fixed-interest rates and non-real estate investors attractive rates on savings accounts.
- the holders will also be entitled to reduced premiums on annual health insurance plans for families and individuals, with diverse network coverage and a bundle of benefits both inside and outside the UAE.
- Golden Visa holders will also be eligible for price reductions on cars. They will receive priority booking for new releases, in addition to special payment facilities, maintenance offers and licensing services.
- they will receive special offers for dining, spa treatments, gyms and stays at selected hospitality.
Dubai
As stated by the authorities, foreign residents in Dubai who have a golden visa and a driving license from their home country can now take a UAE driver’s test without needing extra lessons.
Additionally, if the golden visa holders have a license from one of 32 approved countries, including the US, the UK, Australia, Italy, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, New Zealand, Qatar, Kuwait and Ireland, they will automatically be eligible for a UAE driver’s license.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has announced that a 10-year residency Golden Visa will be granted to outstanding expatriate students and their families in Dubai. They will also be given discounts to pursue their higher education in international university branches in Dubai.