The ‘golden visa’ isn’t just for the rich: UAE offers 10-year residency to $545,000 property buyers—or for nurses, teachers, and e-sports pros
Source: Fortune ·
The Gulf state’s golden visa blends tax appeal, investment incentives, and talent policy in a country where most residents are foreigners
From the source
The standard golden visa bargain was simple: residency in exchange for money. Wealthy foreigners put hundreds of thousands of dollars into real estate or businesses, and governments gave them a foothold abroad. But the United Arab Emirates stretched that model further. When the Gulf state launched its golden visa in 2019, the government offered 10-year residency to people who could invest at least $545,000 into property as well as to researchers, teachers and specialized talent. It expanded again in 2020 and 2022 to include doctors, nurses, engineers, tech workers, and e-sports gamers. It’s part of the country’s effort to organize talent into needed industries without having to fully assimilate foreigners as citizens—expats make up 90% of the UAE’s population. And that community has grown even after Iran launched thousands of missiles and drones at the UAE during its war with the U.S. In essence, the UAE took a visa status normally associated with the rich and powerful and turned it…