LONDON: Investors, entrepreneurs and other professionals will be able to live and work in the UAE long-term under a new visa system approved by the government, it emerged on Saturday. The country’s Cabinet approved the new system, which will also be open to outstanding students and specialists in fields such as science. It follows a previous decision to grant residency visas of up to 10 years for certain individuals. The visas will allow an individual to sponsor their spouse and children, according to a statement by the UAE state news agency WAM. Under the new system, investors buying property worth 5 million dirhams ($1.36 million) or more will be granted a residence for five years, while certain investors pumping more money into the economy will be granted a renewable residency visa every 10 years. The move by the Cabinet outlined certain conditions that must be met, such as that they must retain their investments for at least three years and that the investment must be fully owned by them, rather than bought with loans. Under the new system, entrepreneurs will be eligible for a five-year visa with the possibility of upgrading to an investor’s visa provided they meet certain requirements. In this category, entrepreneurs should either have a project worth 500,000 dirhams, or have the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE. Executives of “leading, well-known and internationally recognized companies” will also be eligible to apply for long-term visas under the scheme, WAM reported.