11 Apr 2022
Under the leadership of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the UAE Cabinet, at the headquarters of Expo 2020, approved during its meeting on Tuesday, the conditions for allowing residency for retired foreigners.
And the ruler of Dubai said through his official account on Twitter: “Today we approved the conditions for granting residency to a retired foreigner. And they can complete their residency with us in the UAE. We welcome everyone in our country.”
The Emirates News Agency (WAM) stated that the Cabinet session was held at the headquarters of the “Expo Dubai 2020” exhibition, and its outputs include “the amendment of the conditions and controls for granting residency to the retired foreigner, in a way that enhances the state’s position as a second home for individuals of different nationalities and cultures.”
Since September 2018, the UAE has approved a system that allows the granting of a long-term visa to retired residents over the age of fifty-five.
The eligibility for retirement residency in the UAE
If the retiree fulfils one of the following criteria, will be eligible for retirement residency:
1. Owning a single property or more than one property worth Dirhams 1 million; or
2. having a bank deposit of not less than one million dirhams; or
3. an active income of no less than Dh180,000 per annum.
Five-year, renewable retirement visa for retired residents over 55 years of age
In September 2018, a new measure was adopted by the UAE Cabinet to provide a long-term 5-year visa to the retired residents over 55 years of age. The visa can be renewed, if the qualification conditions are met. One of the following conditions need to be fulfilled in order to be eligible for a 5-year renewable retirement visa:
- Invest in real estate worth 2 million dirhams; or
- Save at least AED 1 million; and
- You have an active monthly income of 20,000 dirhams.
The visa is valid for five years and can be renewed provided you meet the qualification requirements.
Since the beginning of this year, the UAE has adopted 3 new updates on residence permits and entry visas to the country, represented in the “virtual work residence permit” and “multi-entry tourist visas”, and the decision to enable university students to bring in their families whenever they have the financial ability to recruit and provide adequate housing. If you need any legal help with residence permits you can reach out to administrative lawyers at Fotislaw.
And since 2018, the UAE has granted golden residency to certain categories, including investors, entrepreneurs, and professional talent. The golden residency is a long-term visa system that allows a foreigner to reside in the UAE for five or 10 years without the need for an Emirati sponsor, provided that the same conditions are met, it is automatically renewed.
Further announcements were made at the meeting
Sheikh Mohammed also authorized several other decisions at the meeting, including an automated transmission test. The UAE will be the first country in the Middle East and the second in the world to test self-driving vehicles, bolstering Dubai’s self-driving transport strategy, which seeks to convert 25% of all mobility trips in the emirate to driverless trips by 2030 in August, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has announced that one in every 20 taxis in the city will be driverless by 2023.