Tennis ace Sania Mirza and her husband, and star Pakistan batsman, Shoaib Malik have deepened their ties with the UAE after receiving the country’s golden visa.
The golden visa grants the recipient a 10-year residency in the UAE, and is awarded as a recognition of a person's contribution to society, including science, culture, business and sport.
And now, the star couple have been given the honour. Malik has been one of the serving cricketers for Pakistan, while Sania is one of the finest tennis players produced by India. Both have been living in Dubai since marrying in 2010.
“Dubai is extremely close to me and my family. This is my second home and we are looking forward to spending more time here,” Sania told news agency ANI.
“Being one of the few selected citizen from India, this brings an absolute honour to us. This will also give us an opportunity to work on our tennis and cricket sports academy which we are aiming to open in the next couple of months.”
In 2019, the UAE established a new system for long-term residence visas. The scheme was introduced to attract investors, but has since been expanded to also acknowledge the contributions made by various members of society from the Arab world and beyond.
Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt are the other two Indian celebrities to receive the visa. Singer and actor Fakhr-e-Alam became Pakistan’s first celebrity to receive the honour.
20 celebrities who have received UAE's golden visa
-
Lebanese singer Najwa Karam is one of many celebrities offered UAE's golden visa. -
Lebanese singer Ragheb Alama -
Egyptian actor Mohamed Ramadan Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Fashion influencer Ola Farahat -
Tunisian singer Latifa El Arfaoui -
Lebanese singer Marwan Khoury -
Egyptian actress Nelly Karim -
Lebanese singer Walid Toufic -
Egyptian singer and composer Hani Shaker -
Lebanese television presenter Annabella Hilal -
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan -
Chef Izu Ani -
Chef Reif Othman -
Lebanese actress Nadine Nassib Njeim -
Syrian actor Kosai Khauli -
Indian actor and director Sanjay Dutt -
Lebanese designer Karen Wazen -
Lebanese-Canadian basketball player Ali Kanaan -
Film director Mohammed Samy with his wife, actress Mai Omar -
Lebanese actress Jessy Abdo -
Lebanese singer Myriam Fares -
South Indian actor Mohanlal -
Kerala star Mammootty -
Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty -
Kerala actor Tovino Thomas -
South Indian actor Prithviraj. -
Moroccan singer Imad Benaomar -
Egyptian actor Karim Fahmi. -
Egyptian actress Safia Alemary -
Bollywood film producer Boney Kapoor. -
Indian Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam. -
Lebanese singer Elissa. -
Giorgio Armani with his UAE golden visa in Dubai. Photo: Giorgio Armani -
Pakistani actor Ali Zafar. Photo: Yash Raj Films -
Pakistani actor Fakhr-e-Alam. -
Bollywood star Ranveer Singh being presented his UAE golden visa in Abu Dhabi by Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, the chief executive of Miral. Photo: Yas Island
