A post is doing the rounds on social media platforms with a claim that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has introduced a new golden visa policy, where it is offering lifetime residency for Rs 23 lakh.
What did the viral post say?: The user further mention that Indians will be among the first to benefit from this new policy. The slides in the viral post added that one Rayad Group is the official consultant for the process.
Who else shared it?: A similar claim was published by news agency PTI (archive here) on their official website. Following this, multiple news reports picked the same story on their respective websites.
What are the facts?: The claim is false.
As per a recent statement, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Port Security (ICP) has denied the rumours of the UAE offering lifetime golden visas to certain nationalities.
How did we find that out?: A news report published by Gulf News said that the ICP has denied the rumours regarding the UAE offering lifetime golden visas to certain nationalities.
The report further said, "ICP clarified that the categories, conditions, and regulations of the Golden Visa are clearly defined in accordance with official laws, legislations, and ministerial decisions."
Other sources: Team WebQoof came across a report shared by Emirates News Agency (WAM) that, too, talked about the ICP denying such rumours.
It further mentioned that the applications for such visas are handled through official government channels and no other consultancy agency (internal or external) serves as an authorised party.
We have reached out to the ICP for their inputs and this report will be updated as and when a response is received.
What does the official website say?: We went through the official website of the ICP to find out about the conditions and criteria for getting a golden visa.
There were various categories, under which there were several conditions that one needs to meet to obtain a golden visa.
However, we did not find any such information about the government offering golden visas for lifetime for Rs 23 lakh.
Conclusion: It is evident that the claim about the UAE offering lifetime golden visas for Rs 23 lakh is false.
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