LuLu Group chairman given first ever UAE gold permanent residency

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jun 5, 2019

The Indian tycoon and chairman of the retail business LuLu Group, M A Yusuff Ali, is the first expat to be granted a gold card permanent residency visa by the UAE.

LuLu Group’s Indian founder and chairman has been grated permanent leave to remain in the UAE, a first for the territory. Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the scheme last month for a group of 6,800 investors who have put a combined total of over $27 billion (Rs 1.8 lakh crore) into the UAE and Ali is now the first to receive the visa. Business owners previously could only obtain five to 10 year visas from the UAE and this new scheme is intended to bring investment to the area.

Ali stated that this was “a very proud and emotional moment in my life,” as reported by the Press Trust of India. “I am sure this new Gold Card permanent residency scheme aimed at key investors, who have played a defining role in the nation building process, will further boost UAE's image as one of key investment and business global hubs as well as attract and retain new investors here."

Ali is the wealthiest expat in the UAE according to Forbes magazine and operates his business from the territory across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the US. Ali hails from Nattika, Thrissur district, in Kerala.

M A Yusuff Ali founded LuLu Group International in 2000 and the business is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE. LuLu Group runs a number of malls in India including LuLu International Shopping Mall which is located in Kochi, Kerala. The mall is India’s largest in terms of total area and has an average daily footfall of over 80,000.