Indian tennis star Sania Mirza becomes the third Indian to be granted the much-coveted 10-year UAE Golden Visa. Her husband Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik was also granted the Golden Visa. So far, the Indians to be granted the Golden Visa are Bollywood stars Sanjay Dutt and Shah Rukh Khan.
The couple—Sania Mirza and her husband Shoaib Malik, who has a three-year-old son Izhaan, have been living in Dubai for the past several years. Mirza and Malik got married in 2010.
The Golden Visa, instituted by the UAE government in 2019 is a new system for long-term residence visas. It enables foreigners to live, work and study in the country without the need for a national sponsor. They would also have100 per cent ownership of their business on the UAE mainland. These visas, which are for a period of five or 10 years are renewed automatically.
Other sports stars to be granted the Golden Visa include footballers Christiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo and reigning tennis world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Mirza and Malik, on Thursday, released a statement that said, “Both Sania and Shoaib are excited to spend time in the UAE with their son and explore the country. They are keen on launching their own entrepreneurial venture in the sports industry starting with Dubai”. Mirza will be seen in action at the Tokyo Olympics on July 23, where she will partner with Ankita Raina for women’s doubles.
