The UAE’s golden visa has evolved from a residency scheme for wealthy investors into a tool for attracting nurses, teachers, engineers, technology workers and other skilled professionals, with demand showing resilience despite Iran’s attacks on the Gulf.
Launched in 2019, the programme initially offered 10-year residency to people investing at least $545,000 in property, as well as researchers, teachers and other specialised talent. Eligibility was expanded in 2020 and 2022 to include doctors, nurses, engineers, technology workers and e-sports professionals.
The approach reflects the UAE’s reliance on foreign workers and residents, who account for about 90% of its population. Rather than offering citizenship, the country has used long-term residency to build up industries it considers strategically important.
Kristin Surak, a professor of political sociology at the London School of Economics, said the UAE had taken a status usually associated with wealthy investors and applied it to both capital and talent.
“It’s not a traditional golden visa,” said Ms Surak, who is also the author of The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires. “Gold sounds cooler. You want a lead scientist? You call [the visa] gold.”
Dubai has awarded golden visas to more than 1,400 nurses and midwives, while more than 223 educators from private schools, universities and early-years centres have also received them.
The city is also using long-term residency as part of an effort to expand its gaming industry by 2033. E-sports professionals can apply for the visa as Dubai seeks to create 30,000 gaming jobs, add about $1 billion to its economy and build on a sector that already includes more than 350 gaming companies.
UAE golden visa offers independence from employers
The programme gives foreign residents a status that is not tied directly to a single job. Before its introduction, many expatriates relied on two-year employment-linked visas, creating uncertainty if they lost their employment.
Under the 10-year system, residency is issued to the individual rather than the employer. That allows qualifying residents to remain in the country without having to link their right to stay to one particular job, and to sponsor family members independently.
Swanand Pagnis, co-founder of enterprise artificial intelligence engineering firm Superlinear Insights, moved to the UAE in 2022 on an employer-sponsored visa and obtained a golden visa the following year.
He said the possibility that losing his job could affect the ability of his wife and daughter to remain in the country had been a concern.
“When you’re in a foreign country, one of the levers a company has on you is the visa, and there’s always a little bit of this tension where if you lose your job, you have to leave the country, leave everything behind,” Mr Pagnis said.
“The golden visa allows me to sponsor my family on my own.”
The UAE also offers no income tax, although some business activity is subject to corporation tax. Advisers say safety, lifestyle, tax arrangements and business opportunities are among the reasons clients consider moving to the country.
Vladlena Baranova, head of legal at Immigrant Invest, said clients from the Gulf region valued Dubai’s safety, while European clients were often attracted by its tax environment and property opportunities.
“So many of them just want to live there,” she said.
War has slowed applications but not ended demand
The UAE’s appeal has been tested by the conflict involving Iran and the United States. Iran launched thousands of missiles and drones at the UAE during the war, with attacks repeatedly affecting several Gulf states, including strikes on five-star hotels and Dubai airport.
Dubai’s population fell by 61,000 in March, a 1.3% decline that brought it to 4.65 million. It had recovered to 4.74 million by the end of June, while the city added 157,000 residents during the year to that point.
The figures came despite the UAE revoking visas or residency permits for some Iranian expatriates during the conflict.
Dominic Volek, who advises wealthy families on residence and citizenship planning at Henley & Partners, said enquiries and applications for UAE residence had slowed in recent months as geopolitical uncertainty affected sentiment.
“We see this as a moderation in demand rather than a fundamental shift in the UAE’s appeal,” he said.
The UAE has not publicly changed the golden visa’s eligibility rules since the conflict began. Authorities said on March 15 that they had helped 500 golden visa holders and other residents return after airspace closures and flight disruptions left them stranded abroad.
Residents whose permits expired while they were overseas were allowed to return without applying for a new entry visa, while overstay fines were waived. Dubai later approved a relief package worth about $272 million, including faster processing for residency permits and renewals.
The government said the measures would make it “easier for talent to live and work in Dubai”.
Mr Pagnis said attacks on the UAE had prompted his daughter’s school to announce an early term break. His family temporarily relocated to India before returning when flights resumed and were declared safe, but he did not consider leaving the UAE permanently.
“We were in the middle of the school year and did not want to change in haste,” he said.
