Dubai-based Bangladeshi businessman receives UAE gold card residency

Dubai-based Bangladeshi businessman Mohammed Mahtabur Rahman, chairman and managing director of the Al Haramain Group, has become the latest expat to receive gold card residency in the UAE.

Rahman, who is also the chairman of NRB Bank and president of the Bangladesh Business Council in Dubai, is the first Bangladeshi national to receive the gold card, a statement said.

Al Haramain Group, which has operated in the UAE for 38 years, has diversified businesses in perfumery, banking, healthcare, education, tea, and hospitality.

It currently owns more than 20 business establishments across the GCC, Bangladesh, Malaysia, the UK, and the US, with more than 100 branches directly employing over 1,000 people.

“The gold visa is an honour for me and my country Bangladesh,” he said.

“This will encourage us to investment more in to the UAE economy and help the UAE economy expand more.”

The UAE launched the permanent residency scheme for expatriates in May.

The move will see permanent residency granted to “exceptional” professionals, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the country’s Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai said at the time.

“We launched a new “Golden Card” system to grant permanent residency to investors and exceptional doctors, engineers, scientists and artists,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

The first batch of 6,800 recipients includes expats who have made total investments of over Dhs100bn.

Indian businessman M.A Yussufali, the chairman and director Lulu Group, became the first expat in the UAE to receive the gold card permanent residency earlier this month.

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The UAE also announced last year that it would grant five or 10-year residency visas to investors, entrepreneurs, specialists in the medical, scientific, research and technical fields, and ‘outstanding’ students to “facilitate business and create an attractive and encouraging investment environment” in the country.

Several prominent Indian businessmen have received 10-year residency visas in the UAE, including Dr Azad Moopen, founder chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, Danube Group founder and chairman Rizwan Sajan, Vasudev Shroff, chairman of the Regal Group, and Khushi Khatwani, head of the Khushi Group of Companies.

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