Manama : The UAE Cabinet on Tuesday approved a new visa scheme for expat retirees, which allows them to stay in the country after retirement.
The Cabinet, chaired by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved amending the conditions for granting residency to retired expats. Sheikh Mohammed made the announcement on his official Twitter account.
“Today, we approved the conditions for granting residency to an expat retiree… We welcome everyone to our country,” he said in a tweet.
As per the amendment, if the retiree fulfils one of the following criteria, will be eligible for retirement residency. The criteria are: a single property or more than one property worth Dhs1 million (evaluation to be carried out by the related entity in each Emirate), or a bank deposit of no less than Dhs1 million, or an active income of no less than Dhs180,000 per annum.
The new move would contribute to attracting the retired category and support the UAE efforts to achieve more flexibility in terms of residency laws and visa requirements. The initiative will strongly contribute to the growth of tourism and also attract high net worth individuals to the UAE. There are around eight million expat workers in the UAE and it’s estimated that a sizable proportion of the white-collar community might want to retire in the UAE.
Earlier in September 2018, the Cabinet had approved a law to provide long-term renewable visas to retired residents above 55 years of age for a period of five years.
The cabinet meeting, which held today at Expo 2020 Dubai, was attended by Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; and cabinet members.
