Dubai — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to allow full foreign ownership in companies and grant long-term visas to some investors and professionals as the second-biggest Gulf economy seeks to attract more investments. The new rules will offer residency of up to 10 years to specialists in medical, scientific, research and technical fields, as well as five-year visas to students and 10-year visas to exceptional students, state-run WAM news agency reported on Sunday. The changes were approved by the cabinet and will take effect by the end of this year. "Many people held back from investing here as they felt there was no long-term tenure, dependent on a short-term visa, etc," said Chavan Bhogaita, head of market insights & strategy at First Abu Dhabi Bank. "Now with a 10-year visa and 100% foreign ownership, investors and people looking to set up/grow business here would have more confidence." Changes to ownership rules are a significant departure from the policy of restricting fore...
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