-By Ismail Auwal
The ruler of the United Arab Emirate has announced some far reaching policy changes to attract skilled manpower to the emirates. In a statement shared on his verified Twitter handle, the ruler announced his country’s plan to grant golden visa with a tenor of 10-year duration to applicants with PhD, physicians, engineers, IT specialists, and biotechnology experts.
His Highness Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum tweeted, “Today, we approved granting the 10-year Golden Visa to all PhD holders in the UAE. Also, the Golden Visa will be granted to top graduates from UAE-accredited universities with a GPA of 3.8 and above.”
“UAE Golden Visa will also include UAE-based physicians as well as engineers in the fields of computer science, electronics, programming, electricity and biotechnology.”
Sheikh Maktoum further explained that, “Other categories granted UAE Golden Residency are specialists in AI, big data, virology, epidemiology & UAE’s high school top graduates and their families. We are keen to embrace talent that drives future development and this is only the beginning.”
Pundits see this policy as a strategic move by the UAE to attract and retain highly skilled labour, in order to compete favorably in a knowledge driven economy.
