UAE to offer citizenship to select groups

New Delhi: For the first time in history, the United Arab Emirates is planning to offer citizenship to a select group of people, becoming the first Gulf nation to do so in a major policy shift aimed to give expatriates a bigger stake in the economy and foster growth.

The UAE's Prime Minister and ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said this change was made to attract and retain individuals with specialised skills. "We adopted law amendments that allow granting the UAE citizenship to investors, specialized talents & professionals, including scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors and their families.

The new directives aim to attract talents that contribute to our development journey," he tweeted.

The changes to the law on nationality and passports will allow expatriates to become dual citizens for the first time. Dual citizenship was earlier banned in the Emirates. To become an Emirati citizen, the expatriates have to swear an oath of allegiance, abide by local laws. In case of loss or gain of another citizenship, the authorities have to be informed without fail.

Doctors must either specialise in unique scientific discipline or in others that are highly required in the UAE. The applicant needs to have contributed to studies and research of scientific value, possess a practical experience of not less than 10 years, and obtain a membership to a reputable organisation in their field of specialisation.

Those applying as scientists are required to be active researcher in a university or a research centre or in the private sector, with a practical experience of not less than 10 years.

They also should have significant contributions in the scientific field such as winning a prestigious scientific award or securing substantial funding for their research in the past 10 years.