In a two-pronged bid to increase foreign direct investment and reduce rates of unemployment among citizens, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are currently in the midst of amending citizenship legislation as part of a long term growth strategy.
Breaking the citizenship taboo in the UAE
April 7, 2021 Share
For many years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has thrived as a result of its ability to attract talent from abroad. On Jan. 30, 2021, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the vice-president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, announced on Twitter[1] an amendment to the law that is designed to entice and retain foreigners by permitting a select group of expatriates to become Emirati citizens without giving up their original nationality.
Although the announcement made headlines, the debate about extending citizenship to a select group of highly skilled expatriates is not new. In 2013, Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi, a prominent Emirati political commentator and member of the Sharjah ruling family, broke the “citizenship taboo” by advancing the idea that allowing non-nationals to acquire UAE citizenship would encourage cultural assimilation, bolster the tax base, support an increasingly ageing populati
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