Context: Recently, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum announced that UAE has approved a 'golden' visa grant allowing 10-year residency for certain professions including specialised degree-holders and others.
About Golden Visa card

• It grants 10-year residency to these visa holders and their families.
• The golden card was initially billed as a permanent residence system but the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs has since clarified that it is in fact a long-term, 10-year visa that renews.
• The Golden Card offers unprecedented benefits to the cardholders and their families while creating an attractive environment for business and growth.
• The 'golden residency' will also be available for 'first high school students in the country with their families,'.
• The golden card is a long-term residency programme announced by the Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai, in May 2019

Why was the programme implemented?

• The idea is to create an attractive investment environment in the UAE, which further encourages business development and draws in new talent.
• Long-term residents who have contributed to the country’s development are also being rewarded for their loyalty and encouraged to continue investing in the UAE.

Who is eligible for the golden card?

• In May 2019, the UAE Cabinet approved 10-year residency visas for five categories of expatriates: investors, entrepreneurs, chief executives, scientists and outstanding students.
• It was announced that executives with a salary of Dh30,000 or more can apply for the visa too. The applicant should have at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent and five years of work experience. They must also have a valid employment contract.

Reasons Behind the Move

• The UAE's economy has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and low oil prices, prompting many expatriates to leave. The move intends to bring them back now and keep the “talented people and great minds” in the Gulf country and help in nation-building.
• It will attract talented professionals from various fields of expertise and further encourage innovation, creativity and applied research, adding to the appeal of a career in the UAE for the world’s brightest minds.

Significance for India

• The Indian expatriate community is reportedly the largest ethnic community in the UAE, constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the country's population of around nine million.
• Though most of the Indians living in the UAE are employed, about 10 per cent of the Indian population constitutes dependent family members, according to the Indian Embassy website.
• It would attract more Indian professionals and businessmen to the Gulf nation and strengthen the India-UAE Relations.
• It will also facilitate the return of Indians who want to resume work after the relaxation of Covid-19-related restrictions, for which India had requested the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in early November 2020.