Most of the people living in Dubai are immigrants because of the excessive job opportunities for different nationalities. Dubai is the paradise of job seekers as salaries received are exempted from any kind of taxes. Several foreign companies are starting their businesses in the Free Trade Zones of Dubai because the businesses do not have to pay taxes. The immigration policies in Dubai enable the businessmen to import laborers from various countries around the world. Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department is issuing the visas to the immigrants. Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department in association with Ministry of UAE is providing visa, passport, resident permit and work permits to various nationalities.
The citizens from the countries such as Italy, France, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, Cyprus, Ireland, Greece, Monaco, Malta, Finland, Australia, Iceland, Andorra, Spain, Vatican, Liechtenstein, United States, New Zealand, San Marino, Brunei, Japan, Singapore, HongKong and Malaysia are granted with free visiting visas valid for one month. Israelis are not permitted in Dubai or UAE. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries do not need any visa to enter Dubai. The countries included in GCC are Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and Kuwait.
The residents of GCC with high job status, but not the citizens of GCC countries are also allowed to enter Dubai without a prior visa. These residents of GCC are granted with free visa valid for one month. Tourist visas are valid for 2 months. Tourists will fall in to any of the above categories and they should have a sponsor in order to get the visa. The sponsors can be the tourist companies and hotels they are staying. The visa application should be submitted through the sponsor along with applicable fees for visa. You can extend the visiting visa for another one month after completing the recommended period.
Residency visas can be obtained by owning a property in Dubai or through your employer. The residency visa is provided for three years which can be extended after the period. In case of employees, only employer should apply for the residential visa. Normally, the employees enter Dubai on a visiting visa and then the employer will apply for a resident visa. Dubai immigration can be taken by providing some required documents. Dubai immigration laws allow the job seekers to enter Dubai by completing the required paper works. Processing time of the application depends up on the Dubai zones. The efficiency of providing visas and renewal of visas has improved as the immigration department is associated with health, police and labor departments.
The Dubai immigration department is now planning to establish electronic gates for the supply of visas. A passport reader will be included in these e-gates so that it can analyze the present database to determine when the passenger asking entry in to Dubai is legal or illegal. The camera which is pre-installed will help to compare the identity of the passenger to the photo present in the passport. The retinal scans performed through e-gates will identify the persons who are blacklisted and block them from entering the country.