UAE Announces 5-Year Visa to Retired Expats
Expats above 55 years old have the opportunity to apply for a UAE visa valid for 5 years.
New laws and rules have been introduced in the UAE especially in terms of visa and residency. Recently, the UAE government has announced a visa for retiring expats above 55 years old which allows retirees to stay in the country valid for 5 years.
Also Read: UAE Amnesty for Illegal Residents
This new visa is to be launched in 2019, in a meeting led by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. In case you are wondering who are qualified to get this type of visa, below are more details.
ترأست اجتماعا لمجلس الوزراء أقررنا خلاله تخفيض رسوم كهرباء الهيئة الاتحادية للكهرباء على القطاع الصناعي بالدولة .. كما اعتمدنا نظاما يسمح للإخوة الوافدين بالإقامة طويلة الأمد بعد التقاعد .. بدأنا اليوم الاجتماع الأول للمجلس بعد الإجازة واستأنفنا مباشرة مسيرة تعزيز اقتصادنا الوطني pic.twitter.com/9kXabVshR9
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) September 16, 2018
Requirements of Long-Term UAE Visa for Expats Retiring in the UAE
This new UAE visa for retiring residents has some minimum qualifications. This is valid for residents above 55 years old who meet the following conditions:
- Financial savings of at least AED 1 million; OR
- Investment in a property worth AED 2 million; OR
- An active salary income of at least AED 20,000 per month
وأقررنا اليوم نظام محكمة اليوم الواحد على المستوى الاتحادي .. وخطة جديدة لبناء قيادات الصف الثاني في الحكومة الاتحادية ..ومعايير وطنية موحدة للمستشفيات الحكومية والخاصة بالدولة ..تطوير حكومتنا مستمر ..وتعزيز مسيرة اقتصادنا لا يتوقف ..ورفع تنافسية بلادنا رحلة ليس لها خط نهاية pic.twitter.com/A3Y18qvFHH
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) September 16, 2018
This type of visa is good especially to those who still want to stay in the UAE. Currently, you need to have an employment visa if you are an expat and you want to live in the country. However, with an employment visa, you are tied to a company. Otherwise, you can also acquire your a company visa (if you have your own business) but this is only if you wan to set up a company in Dubai.
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This five-year visa for retirees may seem a bit stiff and exclusive to expats who have ‘invested’ in the UAE. But keep in mind that this is already a step in a positive direction especially to plenty of foreigners. We hope there will be more changes and easier UAE visa policy amendments in the future!