The government of the United Arab Emirates announced on Wednesday granting doctors and their families a 10-year residency.
The decision came upon the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to grant golden visas to those with scientific competencies and distinguished expertise, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
All doctors licensed in the UAE were invited to apply for the golden visa between July 2021 to September 2022 through the website smartservices.ica.gov.ae.
UAE hopes that the initiative will strengthen the national healthcare sector and makes it a global model in terms of efficiency and quality of medical services.
Concerned government departments will receive and review the applications to issue the golden visa for those who qualify, according to the decision.
Also, seven offices, affiliated with the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA), will be established across the UAE for doctors who wish to apply for the golden visa in person.
The UAE government recently announced the start of the golden visa application process for coders through the National Program for Coders, launched by Sheikh Mohammed to grant golden visas to 100,000 coders, available for both residents and non-residents of the UAE.
The UAE has applied the conditionally-renewable long-term residence visa for 5 or 10 years for certain categories, including investors, entrepreneurs and specialized talents to allow UAE residents and foreigners with their families who wish to work, live and study in the country, to have a long-term residence visa without the need of an Emirati sponsor.
Last November, the cabinet announced the approval of major procedural changes for residents to obtain the golden visa, as well as the inclusion of new categories eligible for the 10-year golden visa, including all doctorate degree holders, doctors, engineers in the fields of computer engineering, electronics, coding, electricity and biotechnology, as well as outstanding students with a GPA of 3.8 or higher in accredited universities across the country.
