WILL OFFER CITIZENSHIP TO SOME FOREIGNERS: UAE

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates has adopted amendments that would allow the Gulf state to grant citizenship to investors and other professionals including scientists, doctors and their families, the government said on Saturday.

The major policy shift is aimed at attracting talent in a way that will boost growth in the UAE, home to the Middle East’s finance and travel hubs Dubai and Abu Dhabi and millions of expatriate residents.

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has adopted amendments that would allow the Gulf state to grant citizenship to investors and other professionals including scientists, doctors and their families, the government said on Saturday.

The major policy shift is aimed at attracting talent in a way that will boost growth in the UAE, home to West Asia’s finance and travel hubs Dubai and Abu Dhabi and millions of expatriate residents.

Foreign residents make up more than 80% of the population of the UAE’s seven sheikhdoms and have been a mainstay of the UAE economy for decades but they have lacked a clear path to citizenship, including if they were born and raised in the country.

Oil-rich Gulf states have been forced to consider longer residency and limited citizenship for foreigners as they seek to attract investment and diversify.

Until now citizenship in the UAE and some other Gulf states has been reserved for foreigners in special cases, including for service to the state, but these changes will formalise and widen such a process.

“The new directives aim to attract talents that contribute to our development journey,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum said in a tweet.

The changes will allow the UAE to grant citizenship to selected investors and professionals including scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors and their families, he added.

The UAE cabinet, local courts and executive councils will nominate those eligible for the citizenship under criteria set for each category, he said. The law will allow receivers of the UAE passport to keep their existing citizenship.