Dubai 11th popular city for investment visa programs, second for Covid safety

Dubai ranks 11th in an index of 25 cities where people can acquire residence through investment programs, according to a report.
London, New York, Sydney, Singapore and Zurich are the top five cities, according to Henley & Partners’ Best Residence-by-Investment Cities for Business Index. Los Angeles, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Vienna and Toronto are the other five cities in the the top 10 cities of the index.
The cities are ranked according to 10 categories that represent the most important relocation considerations: lifestyle, tax, education, real estate, healthcare, security, infrastructure and stability, as well as Covid-19 safety and the relevant investment migration programme.
Dubai scored highest overall in the index in the tax category owing to its zero corporate tax, second for Covid safety, behind Singapore and ninth overall globally for its infrastructure.
The UAE announced this year that non-Emiratis can obtain Emirati citizenship. Investors, individuals with specialist qualifications, such as doctors or scientists, as well as artists and other “talented” or “creative” people are eligible.
The country also announced a 10-year Golden Visa to give exceptional workers and foreign investors the opportunity to establish deeper roots. Long-term residency was also extended to spouses and children of golden visa holders.
People owning a property can have their own visa. For a three-year renewable investor residence visa, you will have to own a ready property worth at least Dh1 million at the time of purchase. If you purchase a property worth at least Dh5m, you will be entitled to a five-year residence visa. Ten-year residence visas are available to anyone investing more than Dh10m, of which 40 per cent should be in real estate.
“Residence-by-investment programmes provide a channel for building a migration portfolio of multiple complementary residence and citizenship options to hedge against volatility and take advantage of new opportunities in the pandemic world order,” Juerg Steffen, chief executive of Henley & Partners, a company that provides residence and citizenship advice, said.