The visa changes introduced by the UAE Cabinet are a game changer that will reshape the field for job seekers and investors, experts said.
They have predicted the updates will ensure the UAE continues to attract global talent, motivates residents to live long term and also consolidate their investments in the UAE.
The new rules were announced on Monday and The National canvassed experts to assess what they mean.
“These are really important changes and the UAE is taking the lead across the region in coming up with an immigration system which from a regional standpoint is different from the past,” said Haider Hussain, partner at Fragomen, an immigration services firm.
“It is a game changer and we can’t see that in any of the regional dynamics at this moment in time.”
Move away from reliance on sponsors
This trend is visible in all categories - golden visas are self-sponsored for investors, professionals or those with exceptional talent. The green visa - designed for people who run businesses and are skilled employees - is also with an individual’s own sponsorship.
The new five-year multi-entry tourist visa now allows a person to stay in the country for 90 days at a stretch.
“The big change is that people from outside or from within the country can apply on their own for an entry visa or remain in the UAE without needing a sponsor," said Mr Hussain.
"The critical update is that this moves away from a sponsorship or host system to self-sponsored visas."
Previously, in order to enter the UAE, people from some countries required visit visas in advance of flying. Tourist visas were issued by airlines or by hotels.
“If somebody needed to come for an employment visa you needed an employer; for a tourist visa you needed a tourist agency,” he said.
One of the main requirements for this visa is a six-month bank statement showing $4,000 or its equivalent in foreign currencies.
It also puts to rest worries employees had about their visa status if they quit after a conflict with the employer.
“If a visa is based on your own profile and not linked to a sponsor, company or agency, it completely takes away previous concerns about cancellation of the visa if you had a dispute with your employer,” Mr Hussain said.
“When people get five or ten-year visas that are renewable, they start thinking of the UAE in a different sense.
“It is a country they want to look to the future with.”
Hunt for jobs legitimately
The job exploration entry visa announced this week addresses the grey area that existed when people came to the UAE on tourist visas and searched for jobs.
It opens a legitimate path for jobseekers to attend interviews and search for employment.
The practice has often been that people arrived in the UAE on 30 or 90-day tourist visas to look for a job and then shifted to an employment visa once they found work.
This new visa is granted to people meeting certain skill sets outlined by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and to the latest graduates of the best 500 universities in the world. The minimum educational level should be a bachelor's degree or its equivalent
“Individuals can now come into the country on the right visa to look for a job rather than do interviews on a tourist visa,” Mr Hussain said.
“The focus here is on qualifications [as] it looks at the talent of the individual.”
This new visa also does not need a sponsor. Details will follow on how long people can stay on this visa.
Golden and green visa benefits
Another change ushered in this week is the fact more people will be eligible for the 10-year golden visa. These visas were first introduced in 2019 to allow the UAE to attract and retain even more talent.
“One of the main categories to be eligible was that professionals employed in the UAE required to have a salary of Dh50,000 and that has been reduced to Dh30,000,” Mr Haider said.
“This is an important change that will attract a lot more interest and applications."
Golden visa holders have been given benefits such as sponsoring sons up to the age of 25.
Unmarried daughters can be sponsored indefinitely by parents.
Green visas are being viewed as a second layer to the golden permit. For the five-year visa, Dh15,000 is a minimum salary requirement and a bachelor's degree.
A jobs boost across the board
Recruiters said the initiatives would provide a stimulus across the board.
“Our take is that it really does underscore Dubai’s role as a key regional and international catalyst to attract businesses,” said Micah Styles, director of Barker Langham Recruitment.
“These mechanisms for attracting and retaining talent are part of a broader vision being brought to life."
The firm recruited about 1,000 staff across the Expo 2020 Dubai from 50 nationalities covering senior managers to tour guides and pavilion staff.
Mr Styles spoke of opportunities opening up in the arts and cultural sector with world-class projects like the Natural History Museum and plans for the Guggenheim and Sheikh Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi.
“With the scale of new projects that are taking place there is a high demand for staff at executive and specialist roles but also in terms of visitor experience and customer service,” he said.
“One big area of development is the cultural and creative industries. The value of these industries is something that is beginning to be recognised in the UAE.”
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Tentative schedule of 2017/18 Ashes series
1st Test November 23-27, The Gabba, Brisbane
2nd Test December 2-6, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
3rd Test Dcember 14-18, Waca, Perth
4th Test December 26-30, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
5th Test January 4-8, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
WTL%20SCHEDULE
%3Cp%3EDECEMBER%2019%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EKites%20v%20Eagles%0D%3Cbr%3EAliassime%20v%20Kyrgios%0D%3Cbr%3ESwiatek%20v%20Garcia%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Tiesto%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDECEMBER%2020%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFalcons%20v%20Hawks%0D%3Cbr%3EDjokovic%20v%20Zverev%0D%3Cbr%3ESabalenka%20v%20Rybakina%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Wizkid%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2021%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFalcons%20v%20Eagles%0D%3Cbr%3EDjokovic%20v%20Kyrgios%0D%3Cbr%3EBadosa%20v%20Garcia%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Ne-Yo%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2022%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EHawks%20v%20Kites%0D%3Cbr%3EThiem%20v%20Aliassime%0D%3Cbr%3EKontaveit%20v%20Swiatek%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20deadmau5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2023%20(2pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EEagles%20v%20Hawks%0D%3Cbr%3EKyrgios%20v%20Zverev%0D%3Cbr%3EGarcia%20v%20Rybakina%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Mohammed%20Ramadan%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2023%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFalcons%20v%20Kites%0D%3Cbr%3EDjokovic%20v%20Aliassime%0D%3Cbr%3ESabalenka%20v%20Swiatek%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Mohammed%20Ramadan%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2024%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFinals%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Armin%20Van%20Buuren%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
