Khaleej Times, 14 April 2024: Volunteering in the UAE offers benefits, such as eligibility for a UAE Golden Visa, granting a 10-year residency permit.

There are a number of platforms which provide access to volunteering opportunities. These include Volunteers.ae which connects volunteers with organizations nationwide. Registration is open to individuals, teams, or companies. Users can also search for opportunities by category, organisation, or location, and see required volunteers and eligibility criteria.

Another site includes the UAE Red Crescent Authority, which is part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and is found athttps://www.emiratesrc.ae/. Opportunities include charity, humanitarian aid, sponsorships, donations, and Sukuk Al Khair. Volunteers can also access training courses and support initiatives like Ataya.

The National Volunteer Program for Emergencies, Crisis, and Disasters, has also launched by the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA). It aims to train volunteers to respond during crises. Details on programme participation and course registration can be found athttps://www.ncema.gov.ae/en/home.aspx.

In addition, the Dubai Volunteering Centre is a government body, which oversees volunteering in the UAE and focuses on Dubai. Volunteering opportunities can be found at https://www.cda.gov.ae/DubaiVolunteer/. Individuals or companies can register to volunteer with them.

The Sharjah Volunteering Centre is the largest volunteer network in Sharjah. it is possible to registration with it at https://sssd-volunteer.shj.ae/register. They offer programme and workshops to train volunteers and list opportunities across Sharjah, searchable by city and institution.

Dubai cares is a civil society organisation which if formally affiliated to the United Nations Department of Global Communications. It is possible to sponsor or volunteer for initiatives with them. Details such as country, partner, and date of each of their programmes are available at: https://www.dubaicares.ae/.

The Authority of Social Contribution (Ma’an) in Abu Dhabi promotes a volunteering community via their website https://maan.gov.ae/en/ . Through Ma’an, volunteer groups and organisations can contribute via donations, volunteering, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. The platform facilitates volunteer applications based on individual goals and allows organisations to recruit volunteers.

Volunteering at events often earns you volunteering hours and can even lead to applying for a Golden Visa if you’re a pioneer in humanitarian work.

In order to be eligible for a Golden Visa as a result of volunteering it is necessary to meet the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Port Security (ICP) criteria. This includes having worked for at least five years in international or regional organisations, or have been an distinguished worker there.; having been a member of a public benefit associations or institutions for at least five years, or having been a distinguished worker in one of these bodies; having received an award for recognition from a local, regional, or international institutions which focuses on humanitarian work; having been a distinguished volunteer in humanitarian work for at least five years or having completed 500 volunteer hours; or having supported humanitarian work financially with at least 2 million AED or the equivalent in another currency.

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