In a bid to remain a top destination for entrepreneurs in the region the UAE launched last week a new entry visa scheme.

They hope to attract qualified and highly talented professionals, including entrepreneurs and innovators.

The advanced visa system was launched under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai.

In a tweet the Sheikh said: “The new system aims to attract entrepreneurs, pioneers and talented minds in the medical, scientific, research, IT and intellectual sectors.”

The new system will be implemented in two phases. The first includes tourism, health and educational visas. The second will include talents acquisition in health, scientific, research, technical and cultural fields, according to Sheikh Mohammed’s official website.

There is also instruction for the establishment of specialized committees to prioritize the sectors that will benefit from the talent acquisition visa, and to put forward a plan to attract regional and global exceptional talents.

Emirates News Agency stated that the new entry scheme will classify beneficiary enterprises into categories based on the size of their operations on the one hand, and how many of its employees violated entry and residence regulations of the country on the other.   

How to applyThere are three phases. The first consists of submitting a request for the issuance of establishment card online containing all required official documents and fees. The second will see the submitted application being audited and evaluated and a field inspection of the enterprise will take place. In the third phase, a report about the status of the firm must be issued and referred to the executive committee to classify the firm.

نسعى لأن تكون الإمارات الحاضنة الأولى للمواهب البشرية الاستثنائية، وبيئتنا المنفتحة والمتسامحة ضمانة لتحقيق الإمكانات الحقيقية لهذه المواهب

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) February 5, 2017

Building up a creative economy

Hinting at the adherence of his cabinet to its long-term strategy to diversify its national economy, Sheikh Mohammed said that "future prosperity lies in the creative minds of our people; investing in people is an investment in our economy and success".

So, the new scheme can be seen as a part of UAE Vision 2021, which looks to grow the UAE as a knowledge-based economy.

One of the main objectives of this ‘vision’ is to make the country one of the best in the world in ease of doing business, innovation, entrepreneurship and R&D indicators.

The UAE’s non-oil business activity rose to a six-month high in January, according to the latest data from Emirates NBD.

Their UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which measures the economic confidence of business managers in the manufacturing and services industries, posted the highest growth, from 55 percent in December 2016 to 55.3 percent in January 2017.