Dubai opens Golden visa for students

If you are student and considering to extend stay in the UAE, then this might be a good opportunity for you. Now you can apply for Dubai’s Golden visa.

Students or graduates who excel in academics can apply for this visa, according to Khaleej Times.

The eligibility criteria are the same, he or she must apply for the Golden visa within the same emirate where their current visa was issued.

For the university graduate, according to the UAE’s government portal, students in the UAE may be granted a Golden visa for a period of 10 years, if:

It has not been more than 2 years since graduation

The university must be rated either A or B class by Ministry of Education

He or she must have a recommendation letter from the university or an accredited graduation certificate or an accredited academic record providing cumulative GPA.

For Class A university he or she must have 3.5 GPA and for class B universities no less than 3.8 GPA will be considered.

Outstanding graduates of foreign universities

According to the UAE’s government portal, students in foreign universities may be granted a Golden visa for a period of 10 years, if:

Graduation certificate is accredited by the Ministry of Education

It has not been more than 2 years since graduation

The university is rated among the best 100 universities global according to the rating system recognized by Ministry of Education

The student’s cumulative GPA is not less than 3.5

High school students

High school students are eligible for a Golden Visa of 5 years, if:

The student is a national-level topper (with a minimum grade of 95 per cent in public or private secondary school)

A recommendation letter from Ministry of Education (Emirates Schools Establishment) is submitted.

The Golden Visa is for a duration of 5 years, but may be extended if the student is enrolled in one of the majors or colleges in the country that requires a study period of more than 5 years.

Moreover, according to the publication, the university is rating can be accessed via visiting university website, or contact their admin department.

Apart from that student under KHDA also apply for the aforementioned visa.

“Notably, for outstanding university students under KHDA, the school must liaise with KHDA for certificate attestation, followed by MOFA attestation, and the issuance of an equivalency certificate to conform with the mandatory Ministerial grading system, typically graded out of 4 or 5,” a support specialist was quoted by the publication.

How do I apply?

Students can expect a faster process if they first receive ICP nomination approval and then visit an Amer centre. According to the Amer agent, the application process can indeed be “expedited and made more efficient” if the student obtains a UAE ICP nomination approval prior to visiting Amer, or utilises the GDRFA platform.

The agent said that the GPA threshold is set at 3.8 to “facilitate a seamless application process.” However, certain universities in the UAE are categorized by ICP as exempt from the 3.8 benchmark.

Graduates from these universities can apply for the Golden visa with a GPA of 3.5 if they secure a nomination from ICP, he added.