Thrive in Abu Dhabi programme launched to encourage global talent, investors to build their futures in the emirate

Long-term visas and paths to citizenship to accelerate growth in Abu Dhabi’s priority sectors

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 23 February 2021 – Talented
professionals and students, and investors, in priority sectors are being
encouraged to set down roots with their families in Abu Dhabi as part of a new
programme that supports the emirate’s strategy to develop key areas such as
culture, healthcare, research and development (R&D) and real estate.

 

Thrive in Abu Dhabi highlights the long-term visas
and paths to citizenship available for expats working, creating, studying,
excelling or investing in priority sectors that empower them to build their
futures in a safe, welcoming and supportive environment, while contributing to
Abu Dhabi’s sustainable development.

 

Creative talent are encouraged to be part of a global
arts and culture hub, join the emirate’s dynamic media and entertainment
industry, or support the development of our understanding of the past among
fellow academics, conservators and archaeologists.

 

The creative visa builds on Abu Dhabi’s five-year Culture Sector
Strategy for Abu Dhabi, unveiled in November 2019 by the Department of Culture
and Tourism, which covers five strategic objectives: preserve and sustain Abu
Dhabi’s cultural heritage; increase awareness of, and engagement with, cultural
heritage and the arts; stimulate creativity as a driver for education and
social change; build and enable capacity in Abu Dhabi’s culture sector;
contribute to economic growth and diversification.

 

Abu
Dhabi has a thriving cultural and creative sector with strong global
credentials, including world-class museums, arts centres, art fairs,
music concerts, and a grassroots artistic community. These include Louvre Abu
Dhabi, Manarat Al
Saadiyat, Warehouse241, Abu Dhabi Art annual fair, Qasr AlHosn and Cultural
Foundation and the forthcoming Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim, as well as
international educational institutions supporting students to excel in creative
industries: NYU Abu Dhabi, Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, Berkley College and CNN Academy.

 

Students with a PhD or promising scientific ability
at either high school or university level can expand their horizons and ensure
exciting career paths by studying at one of a collection of world-class
academic institutions in Abu Dhabi, including NYU Abu Dhabi, Sorbonne Abu Dhabi
and Khalifa University, which in January 2019 was ranked 13th out of 442
universities from 43 countries in the Times Higher Education Emerging Economies
University Rankings.

 

Students can learn the skills of the future, including in
specialist areas such as AI, at the new Mohamed bin Zayed University for
Artificial Intelligence, or coding at the innovative coding school 42 Abu
Dhabi. They can participate in pioneering research in areas related to Covid-19
and AgTech at UAE University, or focus on tolerance and coexistence at the
world’s first university dedicated to human fraternity, the Mohamed bin Zayed
University for Humanities.

 

Thrive in Abu Dhabi invites innovators to turn their
idea into reality – with access to funding and incentives – as part of a
dynamic R&D ecosystem that is pioneering new technologies to solve the
global challenges of the future, from water security to food technology.

 

The emirate is focused on fostering a thriving R&D
ecosystem that brings together all relevant players, including academic
institutions, research institutes and the private sector. In 2020, Abu Dhabi
launched the Middle East’s first research council, the Advanced Technology
Research Centre (ATRC). It includes the Technology Innovation Institute, whose
seven pillars are quantum research, autonomous robotics, cryptography, advanced
materials, digital security, directed energy and secure systems.

 

As part of Abu Dhabi’s accelerator programme, Ghadan 21, the
Department of Education and Knowledge has launched academic research grants to
award AED40 million in competitive research funding to support R&D. Abu
Dhabi’s economic investment strategy is also focused on attracting
innovation-led companies that are focused on R&D. For example, all AgTech
firm investments by Abu Dhabi last year included significant R&D set-ups.

 

Investors, including entrepreneurs, can tap into
major opportunities by expanding their business in key sectors including five
‘growth sectors’ identified by ADIO — financial services, ICT, health services
and biopharma, AgTech, and tourism — as well as real estate. Long-term visas
also empower expats to invest in their “forever home” in an attractive real
estate market where they can plan to retire.

 

Start-ups
are receiving significant support, with Abu Dhabi emerging as a global start-up
hub, particularly for future technologies such as FinTech, AgTech, HealthTech
and EdTech. Ghadan 21 has accelerated the ecosystem’s development by supporting
start-ups and SMEs through initiatives such as Hub71, a global start-up
ecosystem that is now home to more than 100 start-ups, Ventures Fund (managed
by ADQ) and SME Credit Guarantee and SME supply chain financing initiative.

 

Those who excel in areas such as sport,
healthcare, science, education or engineering are enabled to accelerate
their careers in a global trade hub with a rapidly diversifying economy and
fast-growing private sector that supports residents to be the best in their
field, while creating a home in Abu Dhabi.

 

The diversity of Abu Dhabi’s support for talented expats is
in line with the leadership vision to diversify the economy as well as ensure a
welcoming, safe and supportive environment where everyone can thrive.

 

For more details about Thrive in Abu Dhabi, the long-term
visas and paths to citizenship and the government departments leading each
category, visit  https://tamm.abudhabi/en/Golden-Visa or call
+971 2 666 4442 (outside UAE) or 800 555 (within UAE).