UAE’s new Green Visa for foreign workers: With a green visa, foreigners can work in the UAE without an employer sponsor.
UAE Green Visa: UAE’s new Green Visa for foreign workers: The United Arab Emirates has announced a new type of visa to ease restrictions on foreigners seeking employment in the country.
The UAE has announced a new visa category called the “Green Visa”. The new category of visas comes as part of a broader effort by the Arab world to improve the economy and reduce dependence on the oil economy. In addition to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have recently made reforms related to their paid permanent residence plans and property ownership laws.
New visa
With a green visa, foreigners will have the opportunity to work in the UAE without being sponsored by an employer. This would be a significant change from the current standard. The current standard defines that it must be sponsored by an employer. Only those who received such sponsorship could apply for a work permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emirates.
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Green visa visa holders can sponsor their parents. In addition, the age limit for holder-sponsored children will be raised from 18 to 25.
If the old job is lost, the grace period visa holder will be allowed up to three months to look for a new job. Under the previous policy, a worker had only 30 days to leave the country when he was fired.
“Visa is aimed at highly skilled individuals, investors, businessmen, entrepreneurs, as well as extraordinary students and postgraduates,” said Thani al-Sudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, AFP reported.
However, it is not clear when the visa will take effect. Details on how to apply are yet to come.
Why now?
Although more than 80% of the population in the UAE is expatriate, their residence rules and work permits are strictly regulated. However, this is slowly changing. The government is moving forward with the idea that wealthy expats and investors can ease regulatory barriers. The recent corona virus epidemic has exacerbated the plight of the already suffering Middle East economy due to low oil prices.
The UAE is competing with Saudi Arabia, a regional economic rival. Saudi Arabia recently announced reforms aimed at elevating its status as an industrial hub. Bloomberg reports that the Saudi government has said it will not sign agreements with foreign companies headquartered in the Middle East outside their country from January 1, 024. Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, he also unveiled the Vision 2030 plan, which aims to open up the country to foreign experts.
This is not the first time in recent years that the UAE has announced changes to visa issuance. In 2019, the UAE launched the 10-year “Golden Visa” scheme. It was aimed at welcoming wealthy residents and highly skilled workers into the country. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have launched similar projects.
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