The UAE government announced a new pathway for residency in the country as part of the “50 Projects” on Sunday, as part of updates to the residency law, with a package of improvement measures.

The UAE government announced a new pathway for residency in the country as part of the updates to the residency law. <The updates include a “green residency” system that separates the residency permit from the work permit, so that the residency is self-sustaining for the individual or employee rather than the company. It targets highly skilled people, investors, entrepreneurs, first students and graduates, in addition to the first of its kind free residency at the federal level, dedicated to independent self-employed workers, in addition to other additional updates and privileges to the residency system in the country, according to the Emirates News Agency.

UAE News Agency reported.

Green Residency

<Green Residency is a self-supported residency for an individual or employee through which the residency permit is separated from the work permit. The system targets highly qualified and skilled individuals with a bachelor's degree and above, as well as investors, entrepreneurs, students and graduates. It includes a range of new privileges different from regular residency, such as extending the residency period for children up to 25 years, granting residency to parents, and a 90-180-day grace period upon expiration of residency instead of 30 days.

Free Residency

The Freelancers Visa, the first of its kind at the federal level, has been introduced for self-employed freelancers without the need for a work permit and employment contract.

Regulatory and procedural improvements

Extending the entry permit for a long-distance business visit to 6 months instead of 3 months, adding parents to the resident's residency - the family members' residency permit - and allowing the extension of the residency for humanitarian cases for another additional year to enable the breadwinner to get a job in the country, raising the age of children included in their parents' residency from 18 years to 25 years, and extending the mandatory time period to leave the country in case of job loss or retirement from 90 to 180 days.

For the first time, the UAE has made a number of legislative and procedural improvements to the UAE's immigration law.

Updates and new categories

<Among the most prominent updates to the entry and residency system for foreigners are the introduction of categories at the level of self-residency such as highly skilled levels, investors, entrepreneurs, top students and graduates, and the introduction of independent work residency for self-employed workers from outside and inside the UAE in new economic fields such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, future technology, digital currencies and other important fields, while the scope of golden residency was expanded to include managers, CEOs and specialists in science, engineering, health, education, business management and technology.

New facilities

The new system provides an integrated pathway for the journey of highly skilled and specialized UAE residents, investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, top talent, top students and graduates, from entry into the UAE to a smooth transition to golden residency.

Golden Residency <The Golden Residency benefits multiple categories, in addition to facilities in terms of visit visas, for tourism, medical treatment, visitation purposes, or in the case of a mission of an economic, scientific, medical or any field.