UAE Want To Give Citizenship To Foreigners, Do You Want It?

Illustration. (Nick Fewings / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - It has developed rapidly as a megapolitan city, filled with modern technology to high end lifestyle in the last two decades. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), known for its hubs Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has also been hit hard by COVID-19.

This is due to restrictions and lockdowns in almost all countries in the world. The UAE economy, which is heavily dependent on global activities, was also affected. Most recently, Britain closed one of the world's busiest airline routes, from Dubai to London at the end of January to curb the spread of COVID-19

The UAE Government has also taken various ways to lift its economy back. One way is to grant citizenship to foreigners. Although the UAE has granted citizenship to foreigners several times, the opportunities are not as great as now.

No half-hearted, this announcement was made by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum. Sheikh Maktoum's Twitter account also includes this announcement, as reported by Euronews. But, not just anyone can be accepted as a citizen.

One corner of Dubai. (Carlvic Lim / Unsplash)

The Dubai ruler who is also the Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE revealed that this offer applies to artists, writers, doctors, engineers and scientists. Of course this also applies to their families.

This plan was made possible in line with the new amendments to the Citizenship Law in effect in the UAE. Congratulations on fulfilling the naturalization requirements, foreigners can become citizens of the UAE. The good thing is, they can still retain their original citizenship.

"The UAE Cabinet and Executive Council will nominate those who are eligible for citizenship under the criteria under the Act, which allows recipients of UAE passports to retain their citizenship," Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum said as reported by Al Jazeera.

Home to more than 9 million people, only one-tenth of whom are UAE citizens. Each year the government spends billions of dollars on health insurance programs such as free education, housing loan assistance and other assistance for citizens. It is not yet known whether foreigners who are citizens of the country will receive this welfare guarantee.

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.

- HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) January 30, 2021

The plan is to loosen a number of strict rules that were previously in effect in line with plans for legal changes to be carried out. Such as allowing unmarried couples to live together and easing alcohol restrictions.