UAE's ‘Rs 23 lakh golden visa' reports trigger buzz in India, but consultants say nothing official
Unsurprisingly, the story has gone viral on Indian social media. Investment visas and residency programmes have been lapped up with great zeal by well-heeled Indian citizens in recent years. Nomination-based route for visa While controversial, such visa programmes have become a common route for wealthy families globally to relocate for tax, lifestyle, education and other reasons. Therefore the prospect of a lifetime visa to enable relocation to Dubai, a city of choice for many, at the price of a mid-range SUV, seemed too good to be true. It might well be. Atop golden visa consultant based in Dubai says that United Arab Emirates authorities were unaware of any change in Golden Visa rules that would allow Indian citizens to purchase a lifetime Golden Visa to the Emirate on apayment of AED 100,000. Iqbal Marconi, ex-CEO of ECH Group (according to Khaleej Times the largest golden visa facilitator in the region), told ET over phone from Dubai that he has been getting calls from India ever since this news came out. 'I checked with the authorities here, and they say they have no such information. So, the news is likely to be untrue. The only new update they have is that crypto investors won't be considered for the Golden Visa scheme. I checked with the GDRFA (General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs Dubai) also, they too said they don't have any information on this. I also checked with a couple of officials here who are in the same line of work, they also said they don't have any information in this regard.' It all started with a story by the wire service PTI, disseminated widely, that claimed a new kind of golden visa was being piloted by UAE for India and Bangladesh, which would dramatically lower the financial outlay from about Rs 4 crore of investment to a mere Rs 23 lakh. The story made the distinction that this new kind of nomination-based visa was being offered in a test phase to Indian and Bangladeshi nationals.
The story quoted Rayad Kamal Ayub, MD of Rayad group, a consultant that has just launched an advisory programme for the UAE golden visa with visa services provider VFS Global, in India and Bangladesh. But the nomination-based route, which recognises an individual's ability to contribute to the economy of the UAE, and does not require any financial investment, has existed from the beginning of the golden visa programme in 2019 and is entirely granted at the discretion of the UAE government. 'Nomination-based UAE golden visa with no investment requirement is not new at all. Many of us working in this space have helped our clients get such visas and continue to do so. There has been no intimation from any official sources that any policy change has happened with regard to the UAE golden visa,' said Rajneesh Pathak of Mumbai-based residency and citizenship consultant Golden North. The UAE golden visa also offered a path through real estate investments as well as job creation, by investing in businesses. This route, which required an investment of AED 2 million, or more than Rs 4.66 crore, helped Dubai developers market high-value properties as 'Golden Visa eligible'. If the visa regime is liberalised, the sector could be impacted. 'Around 7-8% of Dubai properties sold every year involve Indians aiming for Golden Visa and that segment will see an impact. The developers' supply and pricing strategies will see a change,' said Ritesh Mehta, senior director, residential services, JLL India. While the UAE has not issued a statement on the matter, relevant UAE authorities have clarified that the Golden Visa initiative remains a government-regulated programme. The UAE visa 'is not for sale,' a highly placed official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. 'Golden Visas may be granted by the UAE government on several grounds, including but not limited to real estate investment to the tune of AED 2 million, business ownership, and distinguished contributions in fields such as science, medicine, the arts, culture, media, and sport. All nominations undergo a government-led vetting process, even those coming from authorised agents, with the final decision resting solely with UAE authorities,' an official message stated. The Vision Dubai 2033 document envisages doubling of the UAE economy and recognises that increasing the population of the country would be a key necessity in that journey.
Tactically therefore, the gulf nation might eventually liberalise its visa scheme for upper income segments from other nations. But on whether it has already done so, there are few indications.
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