The UAE has recently taken a series of measures in quick succession to attract talented professionals. Abu Dhabi has now introduced a service offering guidance to qualified foreigners who may be considering applying for a golden visa to the UAE’s capital.

Abu Dhabi Residents Office (ADRO) will streamline existing programmes and opportunities and will carry out research and hold regular engagement activities to better understand the needs of non-Emiratis. ADRO will be supervised by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED).

The UAE’s largest emirate is home to over 2.2 million residents from more than 200 nationalities. The UAE capital has been ranked as the world’s safest city for five consecutive years by the crowd-sourced site Numbeo in its Quality of Life Index. It has also been recognised as the world’s leading city for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic by Deep Knowledge Group.

Boston Consulting Group and The Network also rank Abu Dhabi the world’s fifth most preferred place of work for foreign citizens in 2021. In 2020, Abu Dhabi was ranked the 10th most popular city for expatriates globally, particularly performing well on the Getting Settled Index and Finance & Housing Index by the InterNations Expat City Ranking of 66 cities.

“Our mission at the Abu Dhabi Residents Office is to continually enhance all aspects of living and working in the emirate and to ensure that Abu Dhabi is a place where everyone can realise their dreams and ambitions within an inclusive and welcoming society”

Sameh Al Qubaisi, Executive Director, Executive Affairs Office at Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development

The ADRO aims to further boost Abu Dhabi’s reputation as a global talent magnet. Sameh Al Qubaisi, Executive Director – Executive Affairs Office at ADDED, said: “Our mission at the Abu Dhabi Residents Office is to continually enhance all aspects of living and working in the emirate and to ensure that Abu Dhabi is a place where everyone can realise their dreams and ambitions within an inclusive and welcoming society that is rich in culture and opportunities.”

The UAE’s golden visa is essentially a long-term residence visa. The country introduced the golden visa programme in 2019. It offers long-term residence visas to qualifying foreigners, enabling them to live, work and study in the UAE without the need of a local Emirati or corporate sponsor.

The UAE aims to attract exceptional minds and talent to be permanent partners in the UAE’s development process. The country offers long-term golden visa to property investors, scientists, medical professionals, entrepreneurs as well as to outstanding school pupils and high-scoring university students. The UAE recently launched a National Program for Coders which will offer golden visas to the world’s best 100,000 coders.