Yes. A UK visa is not a valid Dubai visa

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In January, 93 golden visas were issued, a 45% drop compared to December, but the number went up again in February, when 130 were handed out, mainly to Chinese, U.S. and Turkish investors, according to border agency data.

The scheme, aimed at non-EU nationals ready to invest in Portugal, has attracted 6.8 billion euros ($7.30 billion) since its launch in 2012, with the bulk of the money going into real estate. Successful applicants are then given residency rights.

The Cypriot and Maltese governments have two months to take action. When you adored this article along with you want to be given more information about Mercan Grooup i implore you to stop by our internet site. Without meaningful changes, the commission could refer them to the bloc's Court of Justice and ultimately it can ask the court to impose penalties. ($1 = 0.8467 euros) (Reporting by John Chalmers and Francesco Guarascio; additional reporting by Chris Scicluna in Valletta; Editing by Alex Richardson)

As part of a package to address the housing crisis as rents also soar, Portugal's premier Antonio Costa announced last month the intention to scrap the scheme. The measure is under public consultation until next Friday.

Cyprus said last week it was suspending its citizenship-for- investment programme, ditching a scheme the government had acknowledged was open to abuse after an investigation by Al Jazeera, a media outlet.

Malta's Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said on Tuesday the country was replacing its current scheme with a new programme that would introduce tighter vetting of applicants, who will have to be residents of the islands for a year before their applications can be considered.

"As soon as you put a deadline on something, it gets people rushing," Nuri Katz from another advisers, Apex Capital Partners, told Reuters. "There's absolutely nothing as good as a deadline in this business."

LISBON, March 14 (Reuters) - Portugal's plan to end its golden visa scheme for investors, yet to be officially approved, has led to a rush in applications according to advisory firms who have criticized the plan as populist.

BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive said on Tuesday it was launching legal action against Cyprus and Malta over their investor citizenship programmes, also known as "golden passport" schemes.

Goncalo Roxo, of Portugal-based Your Property Advisor, said he had warned his clients against trying to speed up the process due to the risk from bureaucratic delays. ($1 = 0.9310 euros) (Reporting by Catarina Demony; Additional reporting by Patricia Rua; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alison Williams)

The European Commission said the decision was taken because the two member states granted nationality - and thereby EU citizenship - without requiring "a genuine link with the country", as passport holders were not obliged to reside there.

The commission has refrained from launching legal actions against EU states that sell residence permits, also known as "golden visa schemes", without requiring investors to stay in the country for a meaningful period, despite a European Parliament resolution urging such a move.

His office did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Costa has previously said there was no justification to keep the scheme because it had fulfilled the role it had been intended to fulfill, without elaborating.

While the data shows a jump in applications, the process can take months so it is not immediately clear whether the numbers are a reflection of the government's announcement, which was first floated in November.