UAE plans to offer citizenship to gifted expatriates and thereby give them a bigger stake in the economy.  The new amendment states that UAE nationality may be obtained by law, citizenship or naturalization. The policy aims to acknowledge the exceptional foreign talents in UAE and to attract new talents resulting in the development and prosperity of the country. The select expatriates include investors, specialized talents and professionals including scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors and their families.

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One thing to note is that there is no fixed path, that the people can follow to attain citizenship, like those in US or Canada. They should be nominated by the government, local courts and executive professionals.

The receivers can retain their original citizenship, entitling them to be dual citizens. The citizenship offers a wide range of benefits, including the right to establish or own commercial entities and properties. The law amends the Nationality Law and makes select individuals eligible for citizenship by Naturalization.

The select individuals include:

Investors: Must own property in UAE

Doctors and Specialists:  Specialized in a unique field of interest to UAE. Must have completed 10 years of experience and should be a member of prestigious groups of their field.

Scientists: Must have 10 years of experience and the recipient of an international award or research grant based on their contribution. They should also have recommendations of internationally recognized bodies.

Talented individuals: Must have patented inventions acknowledged by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce or other reputed organization. In addition, they should have a recommendation letter from the ministry.

Intellectuals, artists and creatives:  Must have an international award and a letter of recommendation from the government in their respective field. In addition, the list also includes writers and engineers.

This citizenship amendment is the latest among the recent measures that aim to attract and retain talent. Previous ones included the golden visa (a long-term residency program that extended to the spouse and children of the cardholder);  the retirement visa (that allows residents to retire in the emirate); remote working visa (that allows professionals to live in the emirate while being employed overseas); and student family visa (a foreign student in the UAE may obtain a residence visa while  also sponsoring residence visas for family members).

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