With the recent changes in the visa regulations for the UAE, the nation’s hospitality and healthcare sectors can benefit a lot, says entrepreneur Sanjeev Nanda.
Working and living in a global city like Dubai has been a dream of many across the globe. The new visa regulations announced by the UAE government have made realizing these dreams easier by leaps and bounds. Announced as a part of the ‘Projects of the 50’, the Green Visa extends self-residency status to investors, entrepreneurs, highly skilled individuals, top students, and graduates.
According to Dubai-based restaurateur and entrepreneur Sanjeev Nanda, the newly introduced visas, especially the Green Visa, will be of great benefit to several industrial sectors in the UAE, including healthcare and hospitality. In his opinion, this is a welcome step in the direction of introducing employee-friendly norms and expanding the sustainable job sectors in the country.
While the new visa regulations are expected to provide a major boost to the overall economy of the UAE, Sanjeev Nanda believes that the healthcare and hospitality sectors will emerge as the biggest beneficiaries. “The country needs specialist talent inflow, which would be appropriately facilitated by the newly introduced visas. The employee-friendly nature of the new regulations will help shape up the healthcare and hospitality sectors,” he says.
For the uninitiated, the UAE recently announced a new class of visas, named the Green Visas. This new category will allow expatriates to apply for work without being sponsored by an employer. It will also include children up to the age of 25 years on their permits. Additionally, the Green Visa will also allow people who have lost their jobs to remain in the country for up to 180 days. Earlier this limit was set for a period of 30 days.
Sanjeev Nanda, who runs many enterprises in Dubai, points out that the revised sponsorship norms that come with the new visas will open up new avenues for healthcare and hospitality sectors. “With the increasing number of adults choosing to make Dubai their primary residence, there will be a sharp increase in the demand of healthcare services. The influx of expatriates will also provide the hospitality sector with a boost,” he says.
Sanjeev Nanda adds, “The emergence of the pandemic has given hospitality and healthcare a very hard time. With the introduction of new resident visas and the subsequent inflow of expatriates, we can expect some major growth in these sectors.”