The year that was: UAE introduces Golden Visas for expats

This year saw a number of initiatives announced by the UAE to make it easier for expats to extend their stay here.

One of them is a permanent residency scheme, announced in May, called the Golden Card.

It targets investors and exceptional talent in the fields of medicine, engineering, science and the arts. 

ARN News spoke to a number of industry experts who weighed in on the new visa scheme.

Paul Kelly Operations Director at Allesop and Allesop says it’s expected to boost the property market in a big way.

Toby Simpson, CEO of employment site Striver, says businesses and investors are the ones who will benefit the most from the initiative.

As of November, 2,500 people were already granted golden cards, they included Indian billionaire and philanthropist, Feroz Merchant, whose lived in the Emirates since 1989 and cloud seeding expert, Professor Linda Zue for her research work in rain enhancement.