argomento: News del mese - Diritto Internazionale e Comunitario

Articoli Correlati: United Arab Emirates - nationality - purchase

On 30 January 2021, the government of the United Arab Emirates announced the introduction of a procedure for granting citizenship to foreign citizens, with the aim of attracting and retaining the most talented individuals in certain sectors in the Emirates and to expand and diversify the economy. Nationality and citizenship in the United Arab Emirates are governed by Federal Law No. 17 of 1972 concerning nationality and passports, subsequently amended in 1975 and, more recently, in 2017, according to which nationality can be obtained by law, through citizenship or by naturalization. The recent announcement will amend the Nationality Law to allow certain categories of people to obtain nationality by naturalization. This process begins with the appointment by the Federal Cabinet, the Ruler’s Office or the Executive Council in an Emirate. A letter of recommendation is also required. The detailed criteria for each category have yet to be announced. Some reports indicate that a person who obtains nationality under the new rules will not be required to renounce his former citizenship, but will be able to retain dual citizenship. This constitutes a significant change from the previous rules. This is just one of the recent measures that aim to attract and retain talented individuals. Other measures include the introduction of the “golden visa”, the “retirement visa” and the “remote working visa”. A new category of visas is also for “student family”, with which a foreign student can obtain a visa and, at the same time, sponsor the visa for their family members.