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UAE amends residency visa rules for retired foreigners

UAE Cabinet meeting, chaired by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, also approved a number of other decisions including the testing of driverless transportation – a first in the region

by Staff Writer

The UAE has agreed to amend conditions for granting residency to retired foreigners.

The move, which was rubber-stamped at a recent Cabinet meeting, is set to attract this “valuable category” and support the UAE’s efforts in achieving “more flexibility in terms of residency laws and visa requirements”, according to an official statement.

“Today, we approved the conditions for granting residency visas for retired foreigners. This will allow retirees to continue their stay in the UAE. We welcome everyone to our country,” Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, shared on Twitter.

As per the amendment, retirees who fulfil at least one of the updated criteria will be eligible for the retirement residency.

The categories include: a single property or more than one property worth AED1 million ($272,257), or a bank deposit of no less than AED1m ($272,257), or an active income of no less than AED180,000 ($49,006) per annum.

During the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed also approved a number of other decisions including the testing of driverless transportation.

The UAE will be the first country in the Middle East and the second globally to test the application of self-driving vehicles, a move that is set to advance Dubai’s Self-Driving Transport Strategy, which aims to transform 25 percent of total mobility journeys in the emirate into driverless journeys by 2030.

Earlier in August, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) also revealed that one in 20 taxis in Dubai will be driverless by 2023.

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

The ministry will submit a report to the Cabinet for permanent approval in the future, if it adopts the technology in coordination with relevant authorities, Sheikh Mohammed said.

“Our goal is for this type of vehicle to be safer, more secure and more reliable. We are co-ordinating with the office of artificial intelligence and awaiting for the Ministry of Interior’s report about the tests’ results in order to take the appropriate decision,” Sheikh Mohammed shared on Twitter.

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