UAE announces new residency rules for expats

The UAE is to introduce a new five-year visa for expat retirees aged over 55 years, one of four significant decisions announced by the government today.

Retired expats aged over 55 can avail of the new visa once they fulfil one of three criteria: own a real estate investment of AED2 million, or has financial savings of not less than AED1 million, or has proof of income above AED20,000 per month.

Chaired by Sheikh Mohammed, UAE prime minister, the cabinet adopted the plan to introduce the new visa from next year.

Reduced electricity costs

There was also good news for industries with a 29% reduction in electricity charges announced for large factories, with a 10% to 22% reduction on electricity charges for small and medium-sized factories.

In addition, the council announced that there would be a waiving of the service connection fees for new factories.

A new reduced tariff for electricity consumption for the industrial sector will be introduced in Q4 of this year.

One-day court

The cabinet also approved the launch of the ‘one-day court’ system to contribute to speeding up of rulings in minor criminal offences.

Private hospitals

The cabinet also adopted the unified national standards for public and private hospitals, which provide guidelines for health care professionals and hospital design, as well as other standards for medicines, patients' rights, and patients’ families.