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UAE amends conditions for granting residency visas to retired expatriates

As per the amendment, retirees will be eligible for retirement residency, should they fulfil certain criteria

November 9, 2021

The UAE cabinet has approved amending conditions for granting residency visas to retired expatriates.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, took to Twitter to make the announcement. “Today, we approved the conditions for granting residency to retired foreigners, where retirees can complete their stay with us in the UAE,” he tweeted.

كما اعتمدنا اليوم شروط منح الإقامة للأجنبي المتقاعد. حيث يمكن للمتقاعدين إكمال إقامتهم معنا في دولة الإمارات . . نرحب بالجميع في بلدنا.. pic.twitter.com/wVbnqStoSc

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) November 9, 2021

The directive was approved at a cabinet meeting chaired by Sheikh Mohammed at Expo 2020 Dubai.

As per the amendment, the retiree must fulfil one of three criteria to be eligible for retirement residency. The criteria are: a single property or more than one property worth Dhs1m (evaluation to be carried out by the related entity in each emirate), or a bank deposit of no less than Dhs1m, or an active income of no less than Dhs180,000 per annum.

The UAE had previously announced a system in 2018 to allow expats to retire in the country, so long as they met certain criteria.

Read: UAE VP announces visa for retired expats, reduced power charges for industry

Meanwhile, at the same cabinet meeting on Tuesday, a temporary licence to test self-driving vehicles, was also approved.

“The UAE will be the first country in the Middle East and the second globally to test self-driving cars on its streets. Our goal is for this type of vehicle to be safer, safer and more reliable,” Sheikh Mohammed added.

ترأست اجتماعاً لمجلس الوزراء في إكسبو دبي 2020 اعتمدنا خلاله الطلب المقدم من وزارة الداخلية بالبدء باختبار القيادة الذاتية للسيارات على طرق دولة الإمارات، ورفع تقرير للمجلس لاعتمادها بشكل دائم مستقبلاً في حال اعتمدت الوزارة تلك التقنية بالتنسيق مع الجهات المختصة pic.twitter.com/DLN6ufR6Tc

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) November 9, 2021

The testing process will be carried out through the RegLab, an initiative by the General Secretariat of the Cabinet that provides a safe test environment for legislation that will govern the use and applications of future technologies, official news agency WAM reported.