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UAE Golden Visa for ₹23 lakh? The celebrations may have been premature
Indians are comparing the cost of buying a Mercedes in India with the same ₹1 crore being used to get a UAE Golden Visa and a Mercedes in Dubai
A PTI report suggesting Indians now have a way to obtain the United Arab Emirates’ Golden Visa without investing crores in property or trade may have been too good to be true. News agency PTI reported earlier this week that through the nomination-based route, Indians can now enjoy the UAE's Golden Visa for life by paying a fee of AED 1,00,000 (INR around 23.30 lakh).
“Under the “new nomination-based visa policy,” Indians can now enjoy the UAE's Golden Visa for life by paying a fee of AED 1,00,000 (INR around 23.30 lakh), beneficiaries and people involved in the process have told PTI,” said the report.
It added that up until now, one of the ways to get Dubai's Golden Visa from India was to invest in property whose value should be at least AED Two Million ( ₹4.66 crore), or invest a large amount in business in the country.
Too good to be true?
The supposedly reduced cost led to celebrations among Indians who are keen to obtain a Golden Visa for UAE. However, a report in the Economic Times now suggests that the celebrations may have been premature.
A top visa consultant in Dubai told ET that UAE authorities are unaware of any changes allowing Indians to obtain a Golden Visa for just ₹23 lakh.
“I checked with the authorities here, and they say they have no such information. So, the news is likely to be untrue,” Iqbal Marconi, ex-CEO of ECH Group, told ET over a phone call.
How social media had celebrated
Among the celebratory messages on social media, one user also pointed out how Indians can buy a car worth ₹1 crore in India – or go to Dubai on a Golden Visa and buy the same car over there, all for the same amount.
X user Abhinav Kukreja noted how a Mercedes E-Class costs roughly ₹1 crore in India. The same car costs significantly less when bought in Dubai.
According to Carwale, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class price for the base variant starts at Rs. 81.50 lakh (ex-showroom) in India. In Delhi, the on-road price is ₹95 lakh.
Meanwhile, the same car costs AED 321,900 ( ₹75 lakh) in Dubai. So theoretically, an Indian with ₹1 crore to spare could buy a Mercedes E-Class in India. Or they could spend ₹23 lakh on a Golden Visa and fly to Dubai to buy a Mercedes E-Class for ₹75 lakh.
This point raised by Kukreja has sparked a lively discussion on X.
“Dubai government realises middle class Indians issues more than the Indian government… expect some businesspeople and remote working professionals to move there to save taxes and get better quality of life,” wrote X user Hrishikesh Shinde.
“I like this maths and comparison - well done! Drives the point home beautifully,” another X user added.
“Wow. For real ? Dubai golden visa is now less than 25 lac ? There will be a stampede to get it,” a person wrote.
