The new UAE remote work visas and multiple-entry tourist visas will attract more talent and investment to the country, promote tourism and bring expat families closer together, professionals said on Monday.
It follows Sunday’s Cabinet announcement of a new remote work visa to enable employees from all over the world to live and work in the UAE for one year and a five-year multiple-entry tourist visa for all nationalities.
The new resolutions were among the several initiatives approved by the Cabinet during a meeting chaired by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday.
What is the remote work visa?
This one-year visa enables employees from all over the world to work remotely from the UAE, even if their companies are based in another country. It allows foreigners to enter the UAE under self-sponsorship and work in line with the terms and conditions issued with the visa.
Multiple-entry tourist visa explained
The new five-year multiple-entry tourist visa — whose first format was announced in January 2020 — can now be issued to all nationalities. It enables tourists to enter multiple times on self-sponsorship and remain in the country for 90 days on each visit, which can be extended by another 90 days.
‘Wise decisions’
Major General Ahmad Al Marri, Director, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai, said the new order will make the country a hub for business, tourism and a decent life.
“Wise decisions come only from wise leaderships, who managed to put the UAE on top of countries. The country became a hub for business and tourism despite the challenges. The new orders of remote work visa will allow any employee in the world to stay in the country to practise his or her work remotely. The multiple-entry tourist visas for all nationalities is a proof that the UAE is a global economic capital,” he added.
Maj. Gen. Al Marri said that GDRFA-Dubai will work to implement the orders and will maintain the best services for customers.
‘Trial Dubai’
Lewis Allsopp
Lewis Allsopp, CEO of Allsopp & Allsopp, a Dubai-based real estate agency, said the remote work visa will encourage more professionals to come to the emirate who could potentially see themselves living and working in Dubai “but are not ready to take the risk”. The initiative gives overseas residents the opportunity to “trial Dubai without the risk of leaving a secure job in their home country”, he added.
“Overseas remote workers will be searching for properties to reside in for themselves and potentially their families too. So investors looking to buy a property to lease will benefit from this in 2021 and beyond. I see now as the time for both end-users and investors to buy property in Dubai and look to reap the benefits over the next few years,” Allsopp said.
‘Place to call home’
“With the new laws proposed by the UAE government, Dubai is becoming more of a place to call home for the long-term and grow a family. The UAE is constantly creating an environment that is inclusive of all cultures, which not only makes it a great place to live and work, but also buy a property. The UAE is in the top-10 most influential countries in the world, further emphasising its position globally as a place where people want to be to grow their businesses and families,” added Allsopp.
Saving costs
Rizwan Sajan
Indian businessman Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group, said: “The decision to give work visas to UAE-based employees working for companies located outside the UAE is a brilliant idea. It will help foreign professionals to work for international companies based in other countries to live in and work from the UAE — which means those companies do not need to open up offices in the UAE in order to hire people in this country. This flexibility will help them save cost and help reduce the cost of employment. This will help the UAE attract more foreign talent and help the country to become a talent hub.”
‘Easy crossing’
Sicily George
Entrepreneurs and professionals in the UAE said the remote work visa will foster the exchange of best practices, new ideas and collaborations between various talent. Indian expat Sicily George, who is an executive director of TiE Dubai, said: “I am seeing this as a vision of opening doors to collaborate globally, not just with large entities, but with individuals, change makers, entrepreneurs and global impactors, which is a fantastic move.
Being a believer of grass-root level impact, I am excited thinking of the exposure and impact this can have on the ecosystem here, especially the entrepreneurial one, like having an ‘easy to cross’ bridge to get more things done together. I have lived here for 21 years and while I feel truly grateful and safe every single day, I am looking forward to the next 20 years in UAE.”
Dawn of a ‘semi-long term’ category?
Iman Suguitan
Filipina expat Iman Suguitan, 43, co-founder of Cochocolat.com, said: “Again, it is another first in the region from the UAE! This step is another testament to the agile thinking of our leaders and as an entrepreneur, I see this as a marvellous step in stimulating the economy.”
Suguitan added: “The reality is that we’ll never know when this pandemic will end as new strains are cropping up, and experts say that this won’t be the last. So the landscape of super short-term tourism will not be a go-to anymore for commercial activities, but having residents-slash-tourists who are here semi-long term will create economic activity. I’m quite excited about this. The UAE is one of the safest places to live in and here, religious freedom is real and alive. Hoping to see new neighbours in our community and new customers for our businesses soon.”
Doing away with multiple visas
Fahmi Al Shawwa
Fahmi Al Shawwa, 45, a Palestinian-Canadian businessman in Dubai, said: “With the new initiatives regarding [multiple-entry] visit visas and the remote work visa, this is another example of the agility and progressiveness of [the UAE], adopting to a rapidly changing world. As a business that has clients from all over the world, this simplifies our lives. Our partners can now obtain long-term visas allowing them to visit our operations a few times a year without worrying about visas. Same applies to the remote work visas, where our partners with operations in Europe can now assign specialists in Dubai.”
‘Popularity boost’
Darren Farrell
Irish expat Darren Farrell, regional director of a private company in Dubai, said: “This will be a fantastic way to boost the popularity in line with [Shaikh Mohammad’s] vision and to grow the economy. I don’t see this immediately impacting my day-to-day on professional or business aspect but this is great for family members coming to visit also.”
‘Seamless visits’
Ritu Puri Bhargava
Ritu Puri Bhargava, a British expat of Indian origin, said: “This is an excellent initiative for people who are working remotely, yet want their family to enjoy the secure quality of life and great infrastructure that UAE offers. I am personally happy also with the multiple-entry visa, which will enable my parents and extended family to visit me often in a seamless manner.”
‘More freedom with multiple-entry’
Travel and tour operators welcomed the multiple-entry tourist visa, saying the new scheme will encourage tourists to visit the UAE more than once, enable families of expats to visit more often, and make it easy for businesspersons to make quick trips to the UAE.
Hossam Youssef
Hossam Youssef, director, Adrenaline Travel, said: “The new visa can be seen as an added value for tourists, which will boost a lot of visitors. In my view, this visa is geared more towards business visitors as compared to regular short-term tourists. Moreover, families of expats will gain more freedom for social visits — now they will be able to meet as often as they like.”
Youssef added that the announcement comes in the year in which the months-long Expo 2020 Dubai will be held, which in itself will also boost tourism to the UAE, while making it convenient for travellers to visit the mega event frequently.
Taking the long view
Mujahid Farooq, general manager, Skyland Tourism, also expects business and corporate travellers to especially avail of the new five-year visa, as well as frequent visitors, rather than regular short-term tourists. He said most tourists don’t visit that often or stay for very long because of their limited vacation time.
“However, there are also many repeat-tourists who visit Dubai multiple times, not just once in their life or once a year. Of course, this visa can only facilitate their plans even further,” added Farooq.
Mujahid Farooq
Also, Farooq said, foreigners with business interests can avail of this new visa to visit the UAE more frequently and stay on for much more time to oversee their corporate operations or manage their investments.
Keeping the door open
Albert Fernando
Albert Fernando, founder and COO, TravelWings.com, described the Cabinet decision as “quite strategic”. He said: “If you look at it long term, you’re creating a kind of synergy for customers to keep on repeatedly coming back to the UAE. This basically opens up a door for them to come in, which eventually increases the GDP of the country as well.”
Fernando added that the UAE’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing vaccination drive have made the country an attractive destination for those seeking a relatively safe haven and stable environment.
Geoffrey Salatan
Geoffrey Salatan, retail sales manager, Airlink International, said the visa “is another excellent move of the UAE government to attract tourists and visitors, which will definitely boost the tourism and travel industry. This will be beneficial for many segments, especially for families”.
