DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (PA) – The United Arab Emirates announced plans on Saturday to grant foreigners citizenship to the oil-rich nation, which lives in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as part of efforts to boost its economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The United Arab Emirates previously granted citizenship to Palestinians and others who helped form the country’s government after its formation in 1971. Others have received it over time.
Saturday’s announcement by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the leader of Dubai, who also serves as prime minister and vice president of the autocratic nation, said the offer could apply to artists, authors, doctors, engineers and scientists, as well as families. them.
Sheikh Mohammed wrote on Twitter that the hereditary leaders of the seven emirates of the country and at the federal level will nominate them for citizenship. Those who are granted citizenship may also retain their initial citizenship.
It was not immediately clear whether citizenship would also grant rights to the UAE’s cradle-to-grave social programs for its citizens.
The United Arab Emirates is home to over 9 million people, with only a tenth of them citizens. In November, the UAE announced plans to revise the country’s personal Islamic laws, allowing unmarried couples to cohabit, loosening alcohol restrictions and criminalizing so-called “honor crimes”.