UAE golden visa offer, new opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs, students

The UAE Golden Visa program has been updated for 2025, providing new opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs, skilled professionals, and outstanding students to gain long-term residency in the country.

The updated policy aims to attract global talent and investment, allowing applicants to live, work, and study in the UAE without needing a sponsor.

The new changes make it easier for expatriates and their families to gain stable residency in the UAE.

The UAE Golden Visa is fashioned to attract talent and investment to the country. It offers long-term residency for individuals and families, allowing them to live, work, and study in the UAE without the need for a sponsor.

The visa is valid for five to ten years, offering residents stability and opportunities to build a future in the country. It is open to a wide range of applicants, including investors, entrepreneurs, specialized professionals, and high-achieving students.

READ ALSO:

• 7 things to know about Eric Chelle, new Super Eagles coach
• MUSWEN congratulates new NAHCON acting Secretary
• Newcastle beat Arsenal 2-0 to close in on League Cup final

Key changes to the UAE golden visa in 2025 

Several updates to the UAE Golden Visa program have been made to broaden its appeal and accessibility, DAAD Scholarship informs. These include:

1. Off-plan property investments: As of 2024, individuals who invest in off-plan properties (properties under construction) can qualify for the Golden Visa. Applicants must either make a down payment of at least 50% or provide a bank guarantee for the remaining amount.
2. Eligibility for entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas or those supported by approved incubators (such as Dubai’s AREA 2071 or Abu Dhabi’s HUB71) can now qualify for the Golden Visa. The minimum project value requirement has been reduced to AED 500,000.
3. Streamlined process for specialized talents: Specialized professionals, including PhD holders, doctors, engineers, and creatives in art and culture, now have a simplified pathway to apply with fewer documentation requirements if they have a valid work contract in the UAE.
4. Updated criteria for students: High school and university students with a GPA of 3.8 or higher are now eligible for the Golden Visa and can sponsor their families, including parents and siblings.
5. New rules for real estate investors: Real estate investments must now be fully paid for and cannot be financed by loans in order to qualify for the visa.

Eligibility for the UAE golden visa 

To qualify for the UAE Golden Visa, applicants must meet specific criteria based on their category:

• Investors: Must invest at least AED 2 million in a UAE-approved investment fund, own a company paying AED 250,000 or more in taxes annually, or make real estate investments worth at least AED 2 million.
• Entrepreneurs: Must have a project worth at least AED 500,000 and endorsements from approved business incubators or government entities.
• Specialized talents: Must be PhD holders or professionals in fields like AI, biotechnology, and big data, or creatives and innovators in arts and culture with government endorsements.
• Outstanding students: Must have a GPA of 3.8 or higher, or be high school graduates with a recommendation from the Ministry of Education.

READ ALSO:

• ‘Run for your lives!’ Los Angeles residents abandon cars to flee wildfire on foot
• Prison officer sentenced for engaging in sexual activity with inmate
• Tinubu to Mahama: You can count on Nigeria’s support

Required documents for golden visa application 

Applicants must provide various documents based on their eligibility category. These documents include:

• A valid passport copy
• Proof of investment, property ownership, or business involvement
• Endorsement letters from relevant authorities or incubators
• Certified academic records for students
• Valid health insurance for at least one year
• Proof of accommodation in the UAE (ownership or rental agreement)

Simplified application process for the UAE golden visa 

The application process for the UAE Golden Visa has been simplified to ensure quick and easy processing, reports inform. The steps are as follows:

1. Submit nomination: Applicants must visit the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Ports Security (ICP) website or app and provide their personal details to submit a nomination.
2. Upload required documents: Applicants need to upload documents like their passport copy, proof of investment or academic credentials, and health insurance.
3. Pay fees: The application fees can be paid securely online through the platform.
4. Receive nomination approval: Once approved, applicants will receive an invitation to complete the visa application process.
5. Complete residency procedures: After receiving the visa, applicants must complete biometric registration and a medical examination as required by UAE residency rules.

With these updates, the UAE Golden Visa program continues to offer a stable and long-term residency option for investors, entrepreneurs, skilled professionals, and exceptional students seeking new opportunities in the country.

UAE golden visa offer, new opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs, students

‘Run for your lives!’ Los Angeles residents abandon cars to flee wildfire on foot

Screaming Los Angeles residents left their cars behind to flee a fast-moving wildfire as it closed in on a picturesque celebrity enclave, eyewitnesses said, describing scenes straight out of a Hollywood disaster movie.

A windstorm whipped a seemingly typical brush fire into a raging inferno within a matter of hours on Tuesday, sending the blaze racing towards the Pacific Palisades area.

Thirty thousand people were ordered to evacuate as the conflagration surrounded the neighbourhood in the west of the city, exploding rapidly from 10 acres to several thousand in size.

Bordering Malibu, Pacific Palisades is a haven of hillside streets and winding roads nestled against the Santa Monica Mountains and extending down to beaches along the Pacific Ocean.

But the Pacific Coast Highway, the main route in – or out – quickly became gridlocked, leading many motorists to ditch their vehicles near Sunset Boulevard as the flames drew near.

One resident, Marsha Horowitz, said firefighters told people to get out of their cars as the blaze, fanned by gusts sometimes topping 100mph (160km/h) in the mountains and foothills, approached.

“The fire was right up against the cars,” she said.

Another Pacific Palisades resident told ABC News that she rushed home from her job in Hollywood once she heard about the evacuations.

After abandoning her car, she went home to grab her cat. While running to safety, flaming pieces of palm tree fell on her.

READ ALSO:

• Prison officer sentenced for engaging in sexual activity with inmate
• Tinubu to Mahama: You can count on Nigeria’s support
• Container falls on tricycle in Ogbomoso, three die

“I’m getting hit with palm leaves on fire, I ran into a car,” said the woman, who did not give her name.

“It’s terrifying. It’s like a horror movie. I’m screaming and crying going down the street.”

Some evacuees described seeing homes burn as they fled.

Hollywood actor James Woods was among celebrities forced to flee their properties.

Actor Steve Guttenberg, also a Pacific Palisades resident, urged people who abandoned their cars to leave their keys inside so the vehicles could be moved to make way for fire trucks.

“This is not a parking lot,” Guttenberg told KTLA. “I have friends up there and they can’t evacuate.”

Bulldozers later cleared abandoned vehicles to open the route for emergency vehicles.

Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, Tom Hanks, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler and Michael Keaton also have homes in the Pacific Palisades, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

People fled wildfire flames in the nearby Los Angeles suburb of Topanga Canyon, where Ewan McGregor has a home.

One resident named Melanie told KTLA she tried to get out, but the path was engulfed by flames and she was forced back home.

She was trying to take Palisades Drive down to the Pacific Coast Highway and said had to make “a very fast U-turn because there were flames coming down the hill to the road”.

READ ALSO:

• Police arrest ex-convict, two others plotting to burgle Minna shop
• Family of 4 perishes in Abuja car accident
• Eyewitness claims student brought bomb in Abuja school explosion

“I would have been driving right into the fire,” she said. “We’re stuck up here. I don’t see any flames but I know they’re close by.”

Residents in Venice Beach, some six miles (10km) away, reported seeing the flames, too.

Kelsey Trainor said ash fell all around as the fire jumped from one side of the road to the other.

“People were getting out of the cars with their dogs and babies and bags, they were crying and screaming,” she told the Associated Press news agency.

“The road was just blocked, like full-on blocked for an hour.”

Ellen Delosh-Bacher told the Los Angeles Times how she rushed from downtown Los Angeles to her home, where her 95-year-old mother and their two dogs live.

She, too, hit gridlock at Sunset Boulevard and Palisades Drive.

Ms Delosh-Bacher described fire exploding behind a nearby Starbucks and police rushing down the road shouting to stuck motorists: “Run for your lives!”

She left her car, keys still in the ignition and ran half a mile down to the beach.

“This is like an apocalypse,” she said.

‘Run for your lives!’ Los Angeles residents abandon cars to flee wildfire on foot

BBC

Canada’s Prime Minister, Trudeau, resigns

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he will resign. He said this at a news conference on Monday, with a senior government source telling AFP the embattled premier had decided to leave office.

Trudeau, facing his worst political crisis since becoming premier in 2015, is scheduled to address reporters at 10:45 am (1545 GMT).

The government source told AFP that Trudeau had decided to step down, but the timeline remained uncertain.

READ ALSO:

• Gunmen kill 3 sons of Anambra native doctor
• Court to hear Speed Darlington’s N300m suit against IG Jan. 13
• Chinese nationals arrested with gold bars, $800,000 cash in DR Congo

Trudeau’s political fortunes plunged to new depths following the surprise resignation in December of his former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland.

In a scathing resignation letter, Freeland accused Trudeau of focusing on political gimmicks to appease voters, including a costly Christmas tax holiday, instead of steadying Canada’s finances ahead of a possible trade war with the United States.

Incoming US president Donald Trump has promised to impose a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian imports, a measure that could prove devastating to Canada’s economy.

Canada’s Prime Minister, Trudeau, resigns