The ‘golden visa’ isn’t just for the rich: UAE offers 10-year residency to $545,000 property buyers—or for nurses, teachers, and e-sports pros

The standard golden visa bargain was simple: residency in exchange for money. Wealthy foreigners put hundreds of thousands of dollars into real estate or businesses, and governments gave them a foothold abroad. But the United Arab Emirates stretched that model further. When the Gulf state launched its golden visa in 2019, the government offered 10-year residency to people who could invest at least $545,000 into property as well as to researchers, teachers and specialized talent. It expanded again in 2020 and 2022 to include doctors, nurses, engineers, tech workers, and e-sports gamers. It’s part of the country’s effort to organize talent into needed industries without having to fully assimilate foreigners as citizens—expats make…