Ali and Cochrane Comparative Migration Studies (2024) 12:16 has also launched a number of initiatives aimed at attracting wealthy and talented individuals to live and work in the UAE. One such initiative is the UAE’s Gold Card residency program, launched in 2019, which offers long-term residency visas to investors, entrepreneurs, and highly skilled professionals. The demand and issuance of the Golden Visas has continued to rise, which focuses on investors, entrepreneurs, and skilled professional; almost 80,000 Golden Visas were issued in 2022, a 69% increase compared to 2021 (Abbas, 2023). A similar rise was seen in long-term residency visas (Abbas, 2023; Abu Baker, 2022). The program is part of the UAE’s efforts to diversify its economy beyond oil and gas and attract foreign investment. In addition to the Gold Card program, the UAE also offers several other residency options, including the 10-year renewable residency visa for investors and the 5-year renewable residency visa for retirees. These programs aim to make it easier for foreigners to live and work in the UAE, with the ultimate goal of attracting more foreign investment and boosting the country’s economy (Alsabeehg & Kuzmova, 2022). To support the investment pathways, the UAE has also established several free zones, including Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), and Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), which offer various incentives to businesses, including full foreign ownership, tax exemptions, and rapid business registration processes. These free zones have attracted many international companies and entrepreneurs, contributing to the UAE’s reputation as a businessfriendly destination. To ensure that it continues to attract highly skilled immigrants and to attract the business community, the UAE has launched various initiatives, such as the Gold Card program, to make it easier for foreigners to live and work in the country. The establishment of free zones has also contributed to the UAE’s reputation as a business-friendly destination. Such programs have been successful in attracting a diverse group of immigrants, including wealthy individuals, investors, entrepreneurs, and skilled professionals. The UAE has been a leader in the region regarding changes to citizenship (e.g., for children of female citizens married to non-citizens) and expatriate residency options, giving it an image of being more inclusive and open, which has contributed to the UAE attracting significant FDI inflows. Attracting and retaining talent in the UAE also has a regional competitive advantage, as there are more flexible options for talented applicants, in addition to those who have wealth and/or access to capital (the former group have the potential to add to the economy via their talents, while the latter contribute larger as consumers). The Future Implications of Changing Citizenship and Residency in the Gulf The development of formal citizenship policies in the three countries occurred during a common time period (1950–1970s), and via GCC collaboration contained common characteristics (Alsabeehg & Kuzmova, 2022). However, the three GCC countries of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have significantly changed residency and citizenship policies in recent years. The new policies alter, to an extent, traditional forms of belonging and inclusion (Ras et al., 2022), and have the potential to contest and recreate not only ideas of who belongs, but also the broader social contract regarding entitlements. This article surveyed the changes and reflects (in what follows) on the implications thereof. Additional research is needed to better understand the drivers of these changes, Page 12 of 17