Abu Dhabi: Golden Visa holders in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can now sponsor their parents for a 10-year residency visa.
The decision is part of the golden visa extension scheme that came into effect in the UAE on October 3.
Previously, they were only allowed to bring their parents to the UAE for one year, as was the case with ordinary residency holders.
The development was confirmed by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP).
As per the official website of the UAE government, regular residency visa holders can sponsor their parents if they earn a monthly salary of at least Dirham 20,000 and above. This salary pre-requisite, too, does not apply to Golden Visa holders.
Hundreds of thousands of golden visas have been issued to eligible residents since they were first introduced.
About UAE golden visa and extension
The golden visa was created by the UAE government in 2019 which allows foreigners to live, work and study in the country without the need for a national sponsor and with 100 percent ownership of their business on UAE mainland.
These visas are issued for a period of 5 or 10 years and are automatically renewed.
The visa is open to investors, entrepreneurs, extraordinary talents and researchers in many disciplines of technology and knowledge, as well as smart students.
Managers, CEOs, and experts in research, engineering, health, education, business management, and technology are now eligible for the golden visa. Furthermore, the process for obtaining long-term residence has been simplified for highly trained and specialised residents, investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, trailblazers, top students and graduates.
On October 3, a new system of residence and visitor visas came into force in the United Arab Emirates. It added new entry and residence permits, simplified existing options, and created new residence paths.
One of the modifications was the Extended Golden Visa Programme, which now allows additional types of individuals to obtain the coveted 10-year visa.
Golden visa holders are exempted from having their residency status affected by more than six months spent outside the UAE. Golden visa holders can sponsor children of any age. In addition, there are no restrictions on the number of support staff they may sponsor.
The standard of minimum monthly wages for long-term stay has been reduced from Dirhams 50,000 to Dirhams 30,000, allowing more qualified professionals to apply. These visas can be obtained by professionals from medical, engineering, information technology, business, administration, education, law, culture and social sectors.
Indian celebrities holding golden visa are
There are many celebrities from the Indian industry who have received this honour including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Varun Dhawan, Ranveer Singh, Farha Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Mohanlal, Mammootty, Sunil Shetty, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Sonu Nigam, Sonu Sood, Kamal Haasan and Sanjay Kapoor.
Boney Kapoor alongside his children, Janhvi, Arjun and Khushi were also awarded the golden visa.
