Giorgio Armani is the latest celebrity to bag a UAE 'golden visa'

Image credit: Photo shared on Instagram Stories by giorgioarmani.

Fashion mogul Giorgio Armani has received the much-coveted UAE "golden visa" from the Arab nation.

“Mr Armani received the UAE Golden Visa in recognition of his services to fashion in the region,” the Italian designer’s fashion brand posted on Instagram Stories.

The “golden visa”- the first such scheme in the Gulf - was introduced by the UAE government in 2019 as a new system for long-term residence visas. The 10-year visa aims to attract wealthy individuals and highly skilled workers.

Armani was conferred the special visa by Major General Mohamed Ahmed Al at Dubai’s Al Jaffiliya. The Consul General of Italy too was present at the ceremony.

Armani, 87, will host a special event tomorrow to mark the tenth anniversary of the Armani Hotel at Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

“In many ways, Dubai is the opposite of what is normally associated with Armani, a kind of reverse image of the things I hold dear: it is highly visible, ostentatious and frenetic,” he told UAE-based newspaper The National.

“But there is also an aspect that is very Armani and resembles my character, a quality we have in common: it is without doubt a place focused on the future, fast moving, where the imagination knows no bounds. Nothing and nowhere can be compared with the wonder of Dubai, conceived and raised with the sole purpose of astonishing the world,” he told the daily.

Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt, Malayalam superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal, and tennis champion Sania Mirza are among the Indians who have received the UAE golden visa.

Foreigners account for 90 percent of the 10 million population in the UAE, the Arab world's second-largest economy after neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh said in June 2019 that it will offer permanent residency for 800,000 riyals ($213,000) and a one-year renewable residency costing 100,000 riyals, allowing expats to do business and buy property without a Saudi sponsor.

Doha also flung open its property market to foreigners, with a scheme giving those buying homes or stores the right to longer-term or permanent residency permits.

(With inputs from AFP)