A renowned United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Indian social worker, Ashraf Thamarassery, is the latest recipient to be honored with a UAE golden visa.
Fourty-nine-year-old Ashraf was handed over the visa by Ajman Chamber of Commerce Vice Chairman Sheikh Sultan Bin Saqer Al Nuaimi on Thursday, May 30.
Taking to Instagram, Ashraf expressed his gratitude to the UAE government for awarding him the golden visa.
“Very happy with this achievement. Hope this achievement will be very useful for further activities,” he wrote in a post.
Who is Ashraf Thamarassery?
Ashraf, hailing from Thamarassery in Kerala’s Kozhikode district, has dedicated his life to repatriating the mortal remains of expats who died in the UAE, to countries across the world.
Ashraf moved to Ajman, UAE in 1998, starting a garage. After a life-changing incident, he became a full-time social worker.
Ashraf has successfully repatriated thousands of bodies, including actress Sridevi’s body, which was found in Dubai in 2018.
He was honoured with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman for his service in 2015 and and an honorary doctorate by Kings University, Tennessee, USA.
Reshel Shah Kapoor, a filmmaker, has produced a six-minute documentary titled ‘The Undertaker’, which focuses on Ashraf.
In 2018, the Kerala government nominated him for the Padma Shri Award.
Know about UAE golden visa
The golden visa was created by the UAE government in 2019 which allows foreigners to live, work and study in the country without the need of a national sponsor and with 100 per cent ownership of their business on the UAE mainland.
These visas are issued for 5 or 10 years and are automatically renewed.
The visa is open to investors, entrepreneurs, extraordinary talents and researchers in many disciplines of technology and knowledge, as well as smart students.
