UAE Approves Executive Regulations of Law on Entry and Residence of Foreigners

The UAE is seeking to boost its position as an ideal destination to live, work, and invest. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The UAE is seeking to boost its position as an ideal destination to live, work, and invest. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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UAE Approves Executive Regulations of Law on Entry and Residence of Foreigners

The UAE is seeking to boost its position as an ideal destination to live, work, and invest. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The UAE is seeking to boost its position as an ideal destination to live, work, and invest. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The UAE cabinet approved the executive regulations of the Federal Decree-Law on Entry and Residence of Foreigners aimed at boosting its position as an ideal destination to live, work, and invest.

The executive regulations provide comprehensive information on the types and conditions of entry visas and residence permits.

The new system of entry and residence aims at attracting and retaining global talents and skilled workers from all over the world, boosting the competitiveness and flexibility of the job market and fostering a high sense of stability among UAE residents and families.

Substantial amendments were also introduced to the Golden Residence Scheme to simplify the eligibility criteria and expand the categories of beneficiaries.

This long-term 10-year residence is granted to investors, entrepreneurs, exceptional talents, scientists and professionals, outstanding students and graduates, humanitarian pioneers and frontline heroes.

The amendments allow the Golden Residence holder to sponsor their family members, including spouse and children, regardless of age, as well as domestic workers without limiting their number.

Furthermore, there is no restriction related to the maximum duration of stay outside the UAE in order to keep the Golden Residence valid.

There are other benefits for family members that allow them to stay in the UAE in case of the death of the original holder of the Golden Residence until the end of their permit duration.

This residence is granted to scientists and researchers with high achievements and influence in their field based on recommendation from the Emirates Scientists Council.

A major expansion was introduced in this category to attract highly skilled workers with educational qualifications and professional experience in all majors, including medicine, sciences and engineering, information technology, business and administration, education, law, culture and social sciences.

The applicants should have a valid employment contract in the UAE and should be classified in the first or second occupational level as per the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization classification, which is aligned with the International Standard of Classification of Occupations ISCO by the International Labor Organization.

The Golden Visa for Outstanding Students and Graduates targets high performing students in UAE secondary schools, and outstanding graduates from UAE universities and the best 100 universities worldwide, according to specific criteria that includes their academic performance (cumulative average), the year of graduation, and the university classification.

Meanwhile, real estate investors can obtain Golden Residence when purchasing a property worth no less than AED2 million.

As per the new amendments, investors are also entitled to obtain the Golden Residence when purchasing a property with a loan from specific local banks.

Investors can also obtain Golden Residence when buying one or more off-plan properties of no less than AED2 million from approved local real estate companies.

Major improvements include introducing new five-years residence tracks to attract talents, skilled professionals, freelancers, investors and entrepreneurs.

More benefits are offered to facilitate family members residence, and longer flexible grace periods that reach up to six months to stay in the country after the residence permit is cancelled or expired, in addition to facilitating and simplifying the requirements of all residence types.

The new system provides more benefits to family members, allowing residents to easily issue residence permits for their family members, including spouse and children.

Green Residences holders are allowed to issue residence permits for their first-degree relatives, and in all cases the residency of family members shall be the validity duration as the original residence holder.

The cabinet further approved a new system for entry visas, which offers the UAE visitors a variety of visa types for different visit purposes.

New types of visas are introduced without requiring a host or sponsor for the first time.

Major improvements include facilitating the entry requirements for all visa types, offering flexible visa durations that meet the needs of the visitors and the purpose of the visit.

It introduced the job exploration entry visa to attract young talents and skilled professionals to explore job opportunities available in the country and does not require a sponsor or a host.



EU Sees €28 Billion Hit from Trump’s Steel, Aluminum Tariffs

FILED - 12 July 2020, Lower Saxony, Salzgitter: An employee walks along coiled steel at Salzgitter AG. Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
FILED - 12 July 2020, Lower Saxony, Salzgitter: An employee walks along coiled steel at Salzgitter AG. Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
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EU Sees €28 Billion Hit from Trump’s Steel, Aluminum Tariffs

FILED - 12 July 2020, Lower Saxony, Salzgitter: An employee walks along coiled steel at Salzgitter AG. Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
FILED - 12 July 2020, Lower Saxony, Salzgitter: An employee walks along coiled steel at Salzgitter AG. Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa

The European Union estimates that the first wave of Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs will hit as much as €28 billion ($29.3 billion) of the bloc’s exports in what would be a massive escalation in the US president’s trade war, Bloomberg reported.

The amount of goods — which the EU assesses will include derivative products as well — would be about four times larger than the last time Trump targeted the bloc’s metals sector, according to people familiar with the EU’s thinking.

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic debriefed the bloc’s ambassadors on Friday after his visit to Washington to meet with his US counterparts. He cautioned that the situation is in flux and the details and the scope of any tariffs could still change, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

As part of his effort to rewrite global trade rules, Trump announced a series of duties including 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum exports that could take effect as soon as March 12. He’s also announced reciprocal tariffs based on policies of partners that are seen as obstacles to US trade.

The European Commission, which has authority over EU trade actions, declined to comment.

For the EU, the fight over American metals tariffs started in 2018 during Trump’s first term, when the US hit nearly $7 billion of European steel and aluminum exports with duties, citing national security concerns. At the time, officials in Brussels scoffed at the notion that the EU posed such a threat.

In that first salvo, the US hit steel goods with 25% tariffs and aluminum with 10%, and included exemptions for certain products. Bloomberg reported earlier that this time around, no exemptions were planned.

The 27-nation bloc retaliated by targeting politically sensitive companies with retaliatory duties, including Harley-Davidson Inc. motorcycles and Levi Strauss & Co. jeans. The measures were applied product-by-product and included agricultural goods and apparel in addition to steel and aluminum products.

The two sides agreed to a temporary truce in 2021, when the US partly removed its measures and introduced a set of tariff-rate quotas above which duties on the metals are applied, while the EU froze all of its restrictive measures.

The EU has said that it would respond quickly and proportionally to US tariffs and could reactivate as a first step the lists previously suspended. The commission has been preparing various lists with different sectors and goods targeted with the principle of causing more harm on the American side, including in sensitive constituencies, Bloomberg previously reported.

The commission has said that unfreezing the suspended tariffs, which are on pause until the end of March, could be done quickly.

Sefcovic, who met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Jamieson Greer, his pick for US trade representative and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett this past week, told EU envoys that the atmosphere was positive but no negotiations were conducted yet, said the people.

According to Bloomberg, Sefcovic said he used the meeting as a first point of contact to open the channels of communication and to try to debunk claims by the Americans that he said were false, including that Europe’s value added tax is unfair to the US, they said.

In order to avoid a trade clash, Sefcovic offered to his American counterparts a deal to lower tariffs on industrial goods, including cars, one of Trump’s longstanding demands.