Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) has granted a 10-year Golden Visa to 29-year-old Bangladeshi businessman Md Shakib Uddin, officials announced on 9 December. The entrepreneur has invested AED 120 million (US $32.7 million) across real-estate development, commodities trading and SME incubation, generating more than 150 positions for UAE residents.
The case illustrates the widening geographic diversity of Golden-Visa beneficiaries and the programme’s role in advancing the Emirates’ talent-attraction strategy. Bangladeshi nationals accounted for just 1.6 % of Golden-Visa issuances in 2024, according to GDRFA data; this share is expected to rise as South-Asian investors pivot from Europe’s shrinking ‘golden-passport’ landscape to the Gulf.
![Bangladeshi entrepreneur secures UAE Golden Visa after creating 150 local jobs]()
Prospective investors looking to navigate Dubai’s long-term residency options can simplify the process through VisaHQ, whose UAE specialists (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) assist with documentation, medical screening and appointment scheduling, ensuring applications meet GDRFA standards while saving valuable time.
From a corporate-mobility angle, long-term residency enables entrepreneurs to sign contracts, sponsor dependants and open bank accounts without the need for a local partner. Professional-services firms in Dubai confirm a surge in enquiries from founders seeking to replicate Uddin’s route by combining property purchases with job-creation pledges.
Immigration lawyers advise applicants to document the socio-economic impact of their projects—job numbers, ESG credentials and export potential—as qualitative factors increasingly influence approval committees beyond the headline Dh2 million investment threshold.
The case illustrates the widening geographic diversity of Golden-Visa beneficiaries and the programme’s role in advancing the Emirates’ talent-attraction strategy. Bangladeshi nationals accounted for just 1.6 % of Golden-Visa issuances in 2024, according to GDRFA data; this share is expected to rise as South-Asian investors pivot from Europe’s shrinking ‘golden-passport’ landscape to the Gulf.
Prospective investors looking to navigate Dubai’s long-term residency options can simplify the process through VisaHQ, whose UAE specialists (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) assist with documentation, medical screening and appointment scheduling, ensuring applications meet GDRFA standards while saving valuable time.
From a corporate-mobility angle, long-term residency enables entrepreneurs to sign contracts, sponsor dependants and open bank accounts without the need for a local partner. Professional-services firms in Dubai confirm a surge in enquiries from founders seeking to replicate Uddin’s route by combining property purchases with job-creation pledges.
Immigration lawyers advise applicants to document the socio-economic impact of their projects—job numbers, ESG credentials and export potential—as qualitative factors increasingly influence approval committees beyond the headline Dh2 million investment threshold.
