UAE Professor Talks About Receiving the Emirati Citizenship

Publish date: Thursday، 06 May 2021

The UAE has approved amendments to the citizenship law, allowing investors, professionals, special talents and their families to acquire the Emirati nationality and passport under certain conditions.

The professional’s category list includes: Investors, Doctors, Specialists, Inventors, Scientists, Talents, Intellectuals. Artists and the families of all the categories mentioned.

Hassan Arafat, director of the Centre for Membranes and Advanced Water Technology at Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi was among the first residents to secure citizenship.

The university professor spoke to The National recently about his pride in receiving the citizenship.

“I actually get very emotional thinking about it and there is a feeling of joy. It is an honour that has really humbled me,” he told The National.

“It’s like magic, like a switch you turn on. Suddenly I’m feeling part of something much bigger than my career."

UAE Professor Talks About Receiving the Emirati Citizenship

“It’s quite strange, my mindset even when I come to work has suddenly become different. I’m no longer thinking of what I want to achieve that day, I’m thinking about how what I do affects my university and the UAE,” Prof Arafat said.

Prof Arafat has been working in the UAE since 2010 and lives with his wife and four children who are thrilled they can plan a long-term future in the country they call home.

The professor was among the first group of 20 academics who shared a stage with Sheikh Mohammed when they were awarded golden residency visas in 2019.

Image Credits: Dr Hassan Arafat

UAE Professor Talks About Receiving the Emirati Citizenship

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