UAE: Green Residency Visa Regulations

Emaratalyoum, 30 April 2024: The UAE Digital Government has announced that the country will offer a green residency visa to investors engaged in local commercial activities.

The green residency is for investors or partners in commercial activities, lasting five years without a guarantor and subject to renewal.

It replaces the previous two-year investor’s residency with simpler requirements and more benefits.

The requirements for a green residency visa for investors include obtaining investment approval, proof of investment/partnership value, meeting the prescribed percentage of total capital invested, approval from local authorities, and a license to practice the activity.

The green residency includes three categories: for skilled workers, self-employment, and investors or partners in commercial activities.

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UAE: President Orders Study of Infrastructure After Heavy Rains

Khaleej Times, 17 April 2024: The president of the UAE has stated that the safety of citizens and residents is the country’s top priority and ordered a study of the country’s infrastructure.

The president has also directed that support be given to all families affected by the severe weather conditions, and ordered the transfer of the affected to safe locations in cooperation with local authorities.

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UAE: Volunteering Leads to a Golden Visa

Khaleej Times, 14 April 2024: Volunteering in the UAE offers benefits, such as eligibility for a UAE Golden Visa, granting a 10-year residency permit.

There are a number of platforms which provide access to volunteering opportunities. These include Volunteers.ae which connects volunteers with organizations nationwide. Registration is open to individuals, teams, or companies. Users can also search for opportunities by category, organisation, or location, and see required volunteers and eligibility criteria.

Another site includes the UAE Red Crescent Authority, which is part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and is found athttps://www.emiratesrc.ae/. Opportunities include charity, humanitarian aid, sponsorships, donations, and Sukuk Al Khair. Volunteers can also access training courses and support initiatives like Ataya.

The National Volunteer Program for Emergencies, Crisis, and Disasters, has also launched by the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA). It aims to train volunteers to respond during crises. Details on programme participation and course registration can be found athttps://www.ncema.gov.ae/en/home.aspx.

In addition, the Dubai Volunteering Centre is a government body, which oversees volunteering in the UAE and focuses on Dubai. Volunteering opportunities can be found at https://www.cda.gov.ae/DubaiVolunteer/. Individuals or companies can register to volunteer with them.

The Sharjah Volunteering Centre is the largest volunteer network in Sharjah. it is possible to registration with it at https://sssd-volunteer.shj.ae/register. They offer programme and workshops to train volunteers and list opportunities across Sharjah, searchable by city and institution.

Dubai cares is a civil society organisation which if formally affiliated to the United Nations Department of Global Communications. It is possible to sponsor or volunteer for initiatives with them. Details such as country, partner, and date of each of their programmes are available at: https://www.dubaicares.ae/.

The Authority of Social Contribution (Ma’an) in Abu Dhabi promotes a volunteering community via their website https://maan.gov.ae/en/ . Through Ma’an, volunteer groups and organisations can contribute via donations, volunteering, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. The platform facilitates volunteer applications based on individual goals and allows organisations to recruit volunteers.

Volunteering at events often earns you volunteering hours and can even lead to applying for a Golden Visa if you’re a pioneer in humanitarian work.

In order to be eligible for a Golden Visa as a result of volunteering it is necessary to meet the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Port Security (ICP) criteria. This includes having worked for at least five years in international or regional organisations, or have been an distinguished worker there.; having been a member of a public benefit associations or institutions for at least five years, or having been a distinguished worker in one of these bodies; having received an award for recognition from a local, regional, or international institutions which focuses on humanitarian work; having been a distinguished volunteer in humanitarian work for at least five years or having completed 500 volunteer hours; or having supported humanitarian work financially with at least 2 million AED or the equivalent in another currency.

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UAE: Investor Rule Change

Gulf News (United Arab Emirates), 2 April 2024: The UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority has approved a rule change which will mean UAE-based individual investors cannot directly subscribe to foreign funds through their bank accounts in the country.

The rule change came into force on 1 April 2024. It is believed the rule change only applies to subscriptions made after 1 April.

According to industry sources, all existing investment commitments can continue.

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UAE: Golden Business Licences

Gulf News (United Arab Emirates), 27 March 2024: The UAE’s Economic Integration Committee has discussed a proposal to introduce long-term business licences.

Golden business licences could be valid for 10 years.

The Committee also discussed a proposal to introduce silver business licences.

These would be valid for five years.

The licences would be introduced to support revenue growth, encourage business continuity and help business activities grow economically and prosper in alignment with the We are the UAE 2031 vision.

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UAE: Mandatory Health Insurance

Khaleej Times, 21 March 2024: A new mandatory health insurance scheme is to be required from 1 January 2025 in the UAE.

Under the scheme all employers in the UAE will be required to provide and pay for the insurance of their employees. This will also include employers of domestic workers. Employers will have to pay for the health insurance coverage of their employees when applying for or renewing residency visas. The scheme clarifies the position for employees who are on their husband or father’s visa.

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UAE: InstaBlock Initiative to Improve the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights of Creative Works on Digital Platforms Launched

Arabian Business, 8 March 2024: The UAE’s Economy Ministry has announced the launch of a new InstaBlock initiative to help improve the protection of intellectual property rights of creative works on digital platforms.

It will immediately ban and block websites that violate the rights of authors and creators. Websites that display their works across various platforms without obtaining permission for publication or broadcast will also be immediately banned and blocked.

A centre will also be designed and established together with relevant entities to monitor intellectual property right infringements and block non-compliant websites to protect right holders.

Through the initiative, the Ministry will provide a Live Ban service. This will enable complaints related to copyright infringement concerning live streaming online to be submitted.

A group consisting of the Ministry, the TDRA and representatives of rights holders will be established and will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure legislation protecting intellectual property rights regarding these complaints is swiftly implemented.

It has been launched to provide a safe environment from violations for owners of exclusive rights.

It has been launched in line with the best international practices in this area and has been launched together with the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA).

The new mechanism focuses on addressing any violations of intellectual property rights, regardless of whether they are literary works or multimedia content like videos.

It also aims to raise awareness about the need to respect intellectual property rights when various content display platforms are being used.

In addition, it aims to educate intellectual property rights holders about the Ministry’s tools and services to help them protect their intellectual property rights from infringement and piracy.

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