The move to issue Green Visas, especially the provision related to the six-month window given to employees to find alternate jobs, could be a watershed moment for attracting high end talent from around the world to the Gulf country, hiring experts and new age entrepreneurs have said.
The Indian market – a major supplier of talents across the spectrum to the UAE – however, could be turning costlier for some of the most sought after and specialised jobs in technology, consulting and marketing due to increased competition domestically.
“The six-month time period given to look for alternate jobs will go a long way in removing a major concern of employees, especially at senior levels, which they had hitherto while considering options to move to the UAE on employment,” A Ramachandran, managing partner, EMA Partners UAE, a leading global leadership search and consulting firm, told Arabian Business.
“This [the six-month window] will now empower expat employees both for taking up job positions in the UAE and also will give them leeway in switching jobs,” added Ramachandran, who is also a senior partner for EMA Partners India.
The UAE announced on Sunday a new class of visas – ‘Green Visas’ – which will allow expatriates to apply for work without being sponsored by an employer, and include children up to the age of 25 on their permits.
The government also said it will allow people who have lost their jobs to remain in the country for up to 180 days from the earlier 30 days.
Ramachandran (pictured below) and senior executives at other recruitment firms also said the ‘Green Visas’ will help the UAE to attract high calibre talent not only from India but from around the world.
“The inflow of human capital to the UAE will see a surge following the latest announcement,” said a senior executive of a Middle East-focussed hiring firm, who did not wish to be identified.
The announcement on the new class of visa and the decision on the extended period for looking for alternative jobs have also cheered several new age entrepreneurs and start-up founders in India who have been toying with the idea of either moving or expanding their operations to Dubai in the wake of a slew of measures initiated by authorities there to attract foreign investments and high calibre talent.
“The Green Visa would surely complement the Golden Visa. This would attract technology professionals and technology companies likewise to consider the UAE as a preferred location to operate from,” Arjun Varma (pictured below), co-founder and chief marketing officer of Alcodex, an Indian start-up operating IoT (internet of things)-based weather monitoring solutions, told Arabian Business.
“These new visa norms would also trigger a shift of technology workforce from India and other countries to the UAE. This is likely to create some voids in the industry,” added the co-founder of Alcodex which is among the Indian ventures considering expanding operations to the Middle East, making UAE as the base.
Justin McGuire, co-founder and CEO, Middle East and Asia, DMCG Global, told Arabian Business: “The Green Visa is a great scheme to keep people in the UAE, but let’s not forget, it also wants to be a hub that attracts the best businesses and promote best practice.
“We all love the fact that Dubai thrives as a business hub, but let’s also ensure it brings with it companies that promote best practice and are dedicated to employee values.”
The announcement of Green Visas is also expected to add to the current surge in movement of talent from India to the UAE in the wake of the resumption of flight services.
Executives at hiring agencies said the recent decision of the UAE government to allow travel on tourist visas has also led to a spurt in enquiries from job aspirants from India on employment prospects in the Gulf country.
Ramachandran, however, said while the demand for hiring from India, especially for leadership positions, has been on the rise in recent months, availability is increasingly becoming an issue, especially in some of the specialised roles in technology, consulting and marketing, because of the surge in demand domestically.
“The competition is really tough for roles such as in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) in technology and performance marketing and brand marketing across sectors. Because of the competition, the costs are seeing significant jumps,” Ramachandran said.
“This affects not only hiring for Dubai or UAE but for several countries across the world,” he added.
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