Overview

• On July 8 reports circulated that a nomination-based scheme would let Indian and Bangladeshi applicants secure lifetime UAE residency for a flat fee of AED 100,000 without the usual AED 2 million investment requirement.
• Social media quickly amplified the story, spawning memes and expert projections of some 5,000 applications within the first three months of the alleged pilot.
• By July 9 spokespeople for the UAE government and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs publicly stated that no such program has been authorized.
• Industry experts noted that the Rayad Group, which was named as the pilot’s administrator in India, holds no official mandate to operate a new Golden Visa category.
• The existing Golden Visa framework, in place since 2019, still requires substantial real estate or business investments and maintains benefits for investors and qualified professionals.