Updated September 8th, 2021 at 08:01 IST

UAE Green Visa: What is the new visa and how will it affect Indian workers? Know more

The latest UAE visa eases restrictions faced by foreigners who wish for employment in the country and will allow holders to find employment without a sponsor.

Reported by: Vishnu V V
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK | Image:self
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The United Arab Emirates, which is in plans to attract more investors and workers from around the world, has introduced a new class of visas. The oil-rich on Sunday announced the UAE Green Visa to ease the lives of workers from outside the country. According to international reports, the new visa will allow citizens of other countries to apply for work within the UAE without being sponsored.

What is UAE green visa?

The latest UAE visa eases restrictions faced by foreigners who wish for employment in the country. The new visa will allow holders to search and get into employment without a sponsor. Currently, residency regulations and work permits in UAE are tightly controlled. A foreign worker’s stay in the country is tightly bound to his work permit and his sponsor, who are usually the employers. The sponsors then used to apply for the worker’s permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. However, the new visa will take away this and provide the workers with more freedom.

According to the new visa system, workers will be able to search for employment and stay in the Arab nation without a sponsor. The newly introduced announced category of visas comes with a set of perks, ultimately allowing better working opportunities for the workers. Apart from the no sponsor policy, the green visa holders will be allowed to sponsor their parents and increase the cap of the children eligible to be sponsored by the visa holder from 18 to 25.

The visa holders will get a grace period of up to three months to find new employment after they lose one unlike earlier, where one had to leave the country within 30 days of being unemployed. The new visa is aimed at increasing foreign interest and thus take away the economy’s focus on oil. Besides UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have recently had also showed interest in setting up paid permanent residency programs.

UAE Green Visa India

Around 80 per cent of the UAE population are foreign residents. The country’s economy has been supported by the foreign population working in the private sector for decades now. Indians form a large part of this and the newly introduced visa could give them more freedom in terms of employment. One can stay and find jobs without the stress of not having a sponsor while bringing their family to the country without hassle. The UAE, which is in competition with Saudi Arabia in terms of economic growth could emerge as a job hub for Indians planning to work abroad. Earlier, in 2019, the UAE launched the 10-year “golden visa”, welcoming rich residents and highly skilled workers into the country. UAE’s recent changes in work provisions also suggest a welcome change to the Indian population.

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK

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Published September 8th, 2021 at 08:01 IST