UAE to grant golden residency visas to humanitarian workers – Sheikh Mohammed

On Wednesday, August 18, a day ahead of World Humanitarian Day, the UAE has said that it will grant golden residency visas to humanitarian workers.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai said the decision to grant the visas to them was made to encourage more people to get involved in humanitarian work.

The golden visa grants individuals and their families ten years of residency rights in the country to live, work and study without the need of a national sponsor.

Sheikh Mohammed added that the UAE has dedicated over Dhs320bn in humanitarian aid to recipients in 201 countries since its inception.

United Nations figures indicate that there will be 235 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in 2021, with the number of those in need of humanitarian assistance expected to rise to one out of every 33 people around the world.

The level of humanitarian aid provided by the UAE during the Covid-19 pandemic until July 2021, reportedly stood at a total volume of 2,154 tons of medical aid, including respiratory and examination devices and PPE that reached beneficiaries in 135 countries around the world.

.@HHShkMohd:Tomorrow is World Humanitarian Day, and we are proud that the UAE has dedicated over AED320 billion in humanitarian aid since its inception. On this occasion, we would like to announce granting the Golden Visa to philanthropists in the #UAE. pic.twitter.com/OlHkYamlDV

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) August 18, 2021

Aid was sent to 117 countries from the warehouses of international organisations located in the International City for Humanitarian Services in Dubai, while the UAE organized 196 trips to transport medical aid, with six field hospitals established in Sudan, Guinea, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Lebanon and Jordan, and a mobile clinic equipped in Turkmenistan.

During the year 2020, the total humanitarian and relief aid provided by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives amounted to Dhs382m. The number of beneficiaries of humanitarian and relief aid reached 34.8 million people in the same year.

The International City for Humanitarian Services in Dubai, which is part of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, includes 80 members of international organisations and bodies, institutions and companies concerned with humanitarian work, has also run air relief convoys for several countries affected by natural disasters as well as the pandemic.

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s global initiatives for health care and disease control have allocated Dhs49.6m in 2020 to implement therapeutic and preventive initiatives and campaigns. Last year, it allocated Dhs265m on education initiatives that reached 45.5 million people, another Dhs440m on future innovation and leadership projects which reached 1.3 million people, and Dhs79.5m on community empowerment projects that impacted 1.1 million people.

Humanitarian services of the UAE through the Emirates Red Crescent Authority reached over 100 countries annually with its operations covering health, education, social services, environment, water and infrastructure projects.

The UAE’s 100 Million Meals campaign meanwhile that sought to distribute 100 million meals to beneficiaries in 30 countries during the month of Ramadan earlier this year achieved over double its target.

Donations from 385,000 individuals, private and public companies and businessmen across 51 countries helped secure food parcels equivalent to 216 million meals.