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The Dubai skyline. The UAE business community has welcomed the recent changes to the UAE Citizenship Act.
Photo credit: Antonin Kelian Kallouche / Gulf News Archives

Dubai: The overseas business community and analysts have welcomed the historic decision by the United Arab Emirates government to grant citizenship to people with exceptional talent, as well as their families.

On the previous Saturday, the UAE announced major changes to its citizenship law to allow for the naturalization of foreign investors, doctors, scientists, artists and talented people, as well as their families. The decision established the categories of people who, under certain conditions, can obtain citizenship of the UAE. The law not only grants citizenship to the families of these specific groups of people – spouses and children of this specialized and qualified segment – it also allows them to retain their current citizenship. This is a major change from the previous rule that did not allow this for dual citizenship.

The recent changes to the Citizenship Act are expected to bring new investment and talent to the country. The country’s business community welcomed the move with enthusiasm.

“This is another big step forward in attracting and retaining top talent in a variety of fields. This takes the golden visa one step further and enables people to have much more security for the future of themselves and their families. We assume that people will treat the UAE as their forever home instead of knowing that one day they will leave for another country. “

– Scott Cairns, Managing Director of Creation Business Consultants.

“This is a breakthrough initiative that will help reshape and empower the UAE for years to come. It also reflects the pragmatism of the visionary leadership of the UAE. “It’s the most exciting news we’ve come across in a long time. It will help us, together with our friends from the Emirates, to shape the future of this excellent nation, which we can also call ours. “

– Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of the Danube group

Abu Dhabi skyline. The changes to the UAE’s citizenship law are expected to bring more investment to the country and attract more talented professionals to the UAE.
Image credit: WAM

“We are very excited about the news about the citizenship announcement for investors, doctors, scientists and professionals. This will also bring more stability and durability to the residence and it will bring more investment into the land. This is an extremely positive step and we congratulate those in power on this great decision. “

– Kamal Vachani, group leader of the Al Maya Group

“This is good news. It will build confidence and increase investment. For a long time in particular, residents have spent much of their lives in the UAE. This will boost investor confidence. Now the businessman wouldn’t think twice about going here invest and there will be no cap. I’ve been here for 33 years, more than I’ve been in India. For my daughters, this is their home country. This will be our home country. “

– Dr. Sanjay Paithankar, health investor and managing director of Right Health Group

“It is a historic step that will strengthen the UAE’s development journey. Most expats consider the UAE to be their home. The announcement reaffirms the progressive vision of the leadership of the UAE. Allowing the UAE passport recipient to keep their existing citizenship is very thoughtful. “

– Pankaj Jain from the tax consultancy AskPankaj

“Every good citizen contributes to the strength of a nation. His Highness’s strategic move to grant UAE citizenship to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and to welcome investors and other talented expatriates, including doctors, engineers and artists, is a “sword of revolution” throughout the national development process. ”

– Anis Sajan – managing director of the Danube group

“The announcement was eagerly awaited following the previous decision to issue a number of Golden Visas in numerous categories. The UAE has consistently demonstrated its ability to demonstrate its ability to grow and it is very interesting to see the effects of these developments. Investors have always been interested in the UAE’s investment landscape, particularly in the real estate sector and financial exchanges. The recent surge in business licenses, which has fueled the country’s entrepreneurship, will fuel this movement and, as a result, more funds to come and stay, gradually changing the “short term” view of investing in the UAE and making it more long-term opportunities for growth and stability. “

– Issam Kassabieh, investment advisor and business advisor

“The UAE’s announcement that it will grant citizenship is a step in the right direction towards economic growth, coupled with retaining and attracting talent in the country. We were quite excited about the foreign ownership change in local businesses, which had generated a lot of interest from overseas investors looking to invest in the area, and with this announcement, investors around the world would get the message that the UAE is moving in the right direction economic liberalization. “

– Nisarg Trivedi, Director of Schroders Investment Middle East

“The UAE continues to make historical decisions that are stronger to lead the nation into the next decade with a strong position among global countries. We applaud the visionary initiative to amend the Citizenship Act which will increase confidence in the business community as it includes highly skilled human resources and investors with special recognition. However, we are waiting for more clarity in the announced amendments. “

– Bharat Bhatia, CEO, give it a try

We welcome the announcement by the United Arab Emirates government to grant citizenship to non-Emirates. The move is a quantum leap in recognizing expats’ contribution to the UAE’s prosperity and will lay the foundation for highly skilled people with STEM and artistic backgrounds to become part of this multicultural society. The UAE are consistently among the safest nations in the world and are known for their stable governance, humanitarian values ​​and adherence to modern principles. The new law complements the country’s ongoing efforts to set the highest standards in matters of empowerment, innovation, tolerance and equality for women.

– Adeeb Ahamed, MD, LuLu Financial Group