Residency is pretty much for sale in the UAE. However it is virtually impossible to be naturalized in the UAE through the official route. Most of the country is foreign born and there are lots of benefits to being a citizen so this deliberate. It requires something like 30 years of uninterrupted residency. Most people who get it are basically granted citizenship by a king. That’s why when you look at the list of Emiratis on Wikipedia the ones who aren’t Arab are almost entirely elite athletes and businessmen with political connections. It’s interesting that France and the UAE granted him citizenship and hacked his phone together.