• The UAE is offering new types of visa, including options for long-stay tourists, jobseekers, accomplished professionals, star students and high-net-worth individuals. Wam
  • A 60-day visit visa for tourists is now standard instead of a 30-day one. Christopher Pike / Bloomberg
  • The Job Exploration Entry Visa was created to attract young talent and skilled professionals. Photo: Dubai Airports
  • Holders of the Green Visa for Skilled Employees and Freelancers will be able to bring any first-degree relative to live with them. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • A five-year multi-entry tourist visa has been introduced. This does not require a sponsor and allows the holder to stay in the country for up to 90 consecutive days, as long as they have $4,000 or its equivalent in their bank account. Christopher Pike / Bloomberg
  • A Green Residence visa for an investor or partner in a company provides five-year residency. It replaces the previous residence permit, which was valid for two years. Photo: DMCC
  • The five-year Green Residence for Skilled Employees visa is to attract experienced professionals, freelancers, investors and entrepreneurs. AFP
  • The 10-year Golden Residence Scheme visa is open to investors, entrepreneurs, scientists and certain other professionals; humanitarians, first responders, and outstanding students and recent graduates. Photo: National Geographic
  • The Golden Visa for Outstanding Students and Graduates is available to secondary school pupils and undergraduates of exceptional academic ability, as well as outstanding graduates of UAE universities and the best 100 universities worldwide. Pawan Singh / The National

Can an entry permit be valid for re-entry to UAE after six months outside the country?


Ramola Talwar Badam
  • English
  • Arabic

Certain categories of UAE residence visa holders can enter the country even if they have lived overseas for more than six months.

Updated guidelines for golden and investor visas allow for some exemptions to the rule that UAE residents must return to the Emirates within the stipulated period for their visas to remain valid.

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, people with visas that had lapsed were permitted to enter the UAE as global travel restrictions and lockdowns to slow the spread of Covid-19 prevented residents from reaching the country in time.

The rules were gradually brought back into force in mid-2021, with residents with lapsed visas needing to reapply to regularise their status.

Immigration regulations approved by the cabinet aim to make it more attractive for skilled professionals and families of the brightest students to settle down in the Emirates and make the UAE their home.

The National spoke to Haider Hussain, partner at Fragomen, an immigration services company, to pinpoint the categories of residency visas that stand to benefit.

Why is the six-month rule in place?

“It is important for people to be aware of the six-month rule and plan accordingly,” he said.

“They also need to understand the basis of the rule and why authorities have put it in place.

"For individuals on an employment residence permit with accompanying dependents, the expectation is that they will stay in the UAE.

"If they are outside for six months, this is quite a significant period and then that brings into question of whether they are real residents.”

The exemptions are part of enhanced benefits for golden visa holders and investors.

Here are the details of who is exempt from the rule to return to the UAE within six months.

When did entry extension end?

UAE residence permit holders who remain outside the UAE for six consecutive months will not be able to re-enter on their existing residence permit as this would become inactive.

During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, UAE residents stuck outside the country were allowed to enter even if their residency visas crossed the six-month period as an exceptional measure to support those affected by various international travel restrictions.

Authorities did not announce a rollback date of that exemption, but rules were re-enforced from the middle of last year.

Any exceptions to this rule?

Generally allowances are not made.

But in case a person has a genuine reason, such as medical causes or border closures due to which they were unable to re-enter the UAE in time, an official letter can be submitted to immigration authorities.

Will golden visas remain valid?

  • Nurse Silpa Suresh and husband, ER nurse Jephy Antony, at NMC Royal Hospital, Dubai. Victor Besa / The National
    Nurse Silpa Suresh and husband, ER nurse Jephy Antony, at NMC Royal Hospital, Dubai. Victor Besa / The National
  • Smitha Bhavanam, an emergency nurse in Abu Dhabi, with her family. Photo: Smitha Bhavanam
    Smitha Bhavanam, an emergency nurse in Abu Dhabi, with her family. Photo: Smitha Bhavanam
  • Ms Bhavanam. News about her golden visa means she doesn't have to worry about the visa status of her teenage son once he completes high school. Photo: Smitha Bhavanam
    Ms Bhavanam. News about her golden visa means she doesn't have to worry about the visa status of her teenage son once he completes high school. Photo: Smitha Bhavanam
  • Ajas Aliyar, a nurse working in an Abu Dhabi ICU rapid response team, remembers the Covid-19 patients his team fought to keep alive. Photo: Ajas Aliyar
    Ajas Aliyar, a nurse working in an Abu Dhabi ICU rapid response team, remembers the Covid-19 patients his team fought to keep alive. Photo: Ajas Aliyar
  • Dr Anupuma Wazir, head of emergency at NMC Speciality hospital, Dubai, with her children. Photo: Dr Wazir
    Dr Anupuma Wazir, head of emergency at NMC Speciality hospital, Dubai, with her children. Photo: Dr Wazir
  • Dr Anupuma Wazir receives a certificate of appreciation for work as a ‘corona warrior'. Photo: Dr Wazir
    Dr Anupuma Wazir receives a certificate of appreciation for work as a ‘corona warrior'. Photo: Dr Wazir
  • Nurse Joslin Coelho remembers the challenge of working in full protective gear while caring for Covid-19 patients. Photo: Joslin Coelho
    Nurse Joslin Coelho remembers the challenge of working in full protective gear while caring for Covid-19 patients. Photo: Joslin Coelho
  • Nurse Joslin Coelho says news of the nursing community receiving golden visas has brought much joy. Photo: Joslin Coelho
    Nurse Joslin Coelho says news of the nursing community receiving golden visas has brought much joy. Photo: Joslin Coelho

As per regulations, 10-year golden visa holders can stay outside the UAE for more than six months without any change to their residence permit status.

This extends to family members they have sponsored, who received 10-year residence permits.

To which other visa categories does this apply?

Some residents can remain outside the UAE for more than six months and their status will remain unchanged as per a 2014 government decision.

  • Investors with residence permits under an approved classification, government employees sent abroad for medical reasons or on assignment
  • A foreign national wife of an Emirati citizen sponsored by her husband
  • Domestic helpers accompanying Emirati citizens
  • People sponsored by the diplomatic or consular representative of the UAE
  • Foreign national students enrolled with a university or institute abroad. This applies to Dubai

Does this cover students in universities overseas?

Foreign students studying abroad at a university or institute will be allowed to enter the UAE even after six months of overseas stay, as long as they hold a Dubai-issued residence permit and their port of entry is Dubai.

Students need to provide proof at immigration, such as a valid student identity card or university enrolment letter.

For other emirates, students must check the status of their residence permit on the ICA portal before travelling.

The status can be checked at this online government channel.

What is the procedure for students in other emirates?

For other emirates, a request must be completed to authorities for the visa of dependent students to be revalidated.

“In Dubai, it’s largely a streamlined process where they can re-enter,” Mr Hussain said.

“In any other emirate other than Dubai, we have had cases in the past few months where visas were inactive and we needed to prepare a letter to request that it be made active and it is done.

“That is why it is important families should check the validity of a student’s permit.”

FIGHT%20CARD
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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

GIANT REVIEW

Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan

Director: Athale

Rating: 4/5

TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY

Centre Court

Starting at 2pm:

Elina Svitolina (UKR) [3] v Jennifer Brady (USA)

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) v Belinda Bencic (SUI [4]

Not before 7pm:

Sofia Kenin (USA) [5] v Elena Rybakina (KAZ)

Maria Sakkari (GRE) v Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) [7]

 

Court One

Starting at midday:

Karolina Muchova (CZE) v Katerina Siniakova (CZE)

Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)

Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) v Dayana Yastermska (UKR)

Petra Martic (CRO) [8] v Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)

Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v Anett Kontaveit (EST)

What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

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

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Quentin%20Tarantino%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Uma%20Thurman%2C%20David%20Carradine%20and%20Michael%20Madsen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
List of UAE medal winners

Gold
Faisal Al Ketbi (Open weight and 94kg)
Talib Al Kirbi (69kg)
Omar Al Fadhli (56kg)

Silver
Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Khalfan Belhol (85kg)
Zayed Al Mansoori (62kg)
Mouza Al Shamsi (49kg women)

Bronze
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi (Open and 94kg)
Saood Al Hammadi (77kg)
Said Al Mazroui (62kg)
Obaid Al Nuaimi (56kg)
Bashayer Al Matrooshi (62kg women)
Reem Abdulkareem (45kg women)

Test squad: Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan(wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah

Twenty20 squad: Babar Azam (captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz 

Scores:

Day 4

England 290 & 346
Sri Lanka 336 & 226-7 (target 301)

Sri Lanka require another 75 runs with three wickets remaining

A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELong-range%20dual%20motor%20with%20400V%20battery%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E360kW%20%2F%20483bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E840Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20touring%20range%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20628km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E0-100km%2Fh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.7sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20210kph%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh360%2C000%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeptember%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zakat definitions

Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.

Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.

Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.

Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.

CRICKET%20WORLD%20CUP%20QUALIFIER%2C%20ZIMBABWE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%20%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMonday%2C%20June%2019%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESri%20Lanka%20v%20UAE%2C%20Queen%E2%80%99s%20Sports%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20June%2021%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EOman%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFriday%2C%20June%2023%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EScotland%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETuesday%2C%20June%2027%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIreland%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dhadak

Director: Shashank Khaitan

Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana

Stars: 3

Boulder shooting victims

• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65

Updated: January 29, 2024, 6:49 AM