Dubai's ruler and Emirati Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that "investors, specialized talents and professionals including scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors and their families" will be eligible for citizenship under the new amendment.
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United Arab Emirates |
The UAE announced, on Saturday, that it is opening a path to obtain citizenship for specific foreigners, in a rare step for the Gulf, where status and social welfare benefits are jealously guarded.
Dubai's ruler and Emirati Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that "investors, specialized talents and professionals including scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors and their families" will be eligible for citizenship under the new amendment.
Sheikh Mohammed said that the UAE Cabinet, local Emiri courts and executive councils will nominate those eligible for citizenship according to clear criteria specific to each category.
"The law allows recipients of an Emirati passport to retain their current nationalities."
The UAE government said that the amendment of the nationality law "aims to appreciate the talents and competencies present in the Emirates and to attract more bright minds to the Emirati community."
Nationals make up a small minority of the population of the United Arab Emirates, which has a large migrant workforce, mostly from South Asia, and some of them are second or third generation.
The UAE also has a growing community of affluent expats who are attracted by the low tax system, mega-luxury projects and attractions of the major emirates.
The oil-rich Gulf states have long ensured their citizens a high standard of living through reserved jobs and a cradle-to-grave welfare system.
To protect it, they seldom allowed naturalization.
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