United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) new visa regime ‘Advanced Visa System’ came into effect from October 3. The new visa system, which mainly deals with residency types, relaxed restrictions for holders of Golden Visa, increased the duration of visit for tourists, and introduced new categories such as Green Visa. The new visa regime also allows longer grace periods that extend upto 6 months once the residence permit expires or gets cancelled.
The new visa rules encompass all 15 types of visas, such as tourist entry visas, golden and green residencies, and entry permits for truck drivers through land ports, those covering neighbouring countries, for workers on cruise ships and such, entry permits to visit friends or relatives, among others offered by the UAE.
United Arab Emirates’ Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) approved the rules and procedures of the New Visa Scheme for the United Arab Emirates, coinciding with the official launch of the system on Monday, October 3, 2022.
The newly developed visas will drive development in the UAE by attracting entrepreneurs, talents, professionals and exceptional graduates and students, and enhancing its status as a conducive environment for work and living, an ICP statement added.
The new criteria and rules include the conditions for visas to explore opportunities to start a business, as well as for holders of specific international residence visas and for humanitarian cases.
The new system also covers procedures and requirements in cases where passports or ID cards are lost or damaged, whether the holder is inside or outside the country.
The ICP also approved the guidebook on the unified system for tourist, medical and student visas, defining the responsibilities, powers, procedures, criteria and conditions for the issuance of each type of entry visa, as well as applicable administrative and financial fines.
Key highlights of new UAE visa system
Tourist visa or visit visa: Tourists can now stay in the country for up to 60 days compared to only 30 days allowed earlier. Also, the five-year multiple entry tourist visa does not require a sponsor under the new rules. Holders of the latter kind can stay in the country for up to 90 days continuously, the stay does not exceed 180 days in a year. Moreover, a job exploration visa will not require a sponsor. Job exploration visa will be granted to those workers who fall under category I, II or III as per rules provided by Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, or those who have graduated from top 500 universities in the world.
Green Visa: A residence permit, Green visa allows holders to sponsor themselves for 5 years, eliminating the need of a UAE national or employer to provide the sponsorship. The permit allows holders to get residence permits easily for family members, including spouse, children and first-degree relatives. It also allows holders to sponsor their male children up to 25 years (previously 18 years), with no age limit for unmarried daughters. Those with special needs are granted a residence permit, regardless of their age longer flexible grace periods that reach up to 6 months to stay in the UAE after the residence permit is cancelled or has expired, according to the government website.
Golden visa: A long-term residency permit, the Golden Visa is a long-term residency visa which enables foreign talent to live and work or study in the UAE. Available to foreign investors, highly-skilled workers and students, the visa has a validity of 10 years. In the new rules, the requirement for a minimum salary of AED 50,000 has been reduced to AED 30,000, enabling more skilled workers to enter and work in the country. Under the new regime, the visa will not expire if the the holder stays outside the country for more than 6 months.
