7 ways to obtain a residence visa in the UAE

The validity period of the visa depends on the total amount of the investment:

• a 2-year visa is granted if the real estate cost starts from AED 750,000, or $204,000;

• a 10-year visa is granted if the property costs at least AED 2,000,000, or $544,500.

The list of documents necessary to obtain a residence visa by real estate investment includes:

How to get the UAE Golden Visa

• a real estate ownership certificate;

• a letter from the Dubai Land Department confirming the value of the property;

• supporting documents from the applicant’s bank, if the property was purchased with a mortgage;

• a real estate purchase and sale agreement;

• a marriage certificate;

• a certificate of absence of marriage for children over 18 years old;

• a certificate of no criminal record in the UAE and country of residence;

• a passport copy;

• medical insurance;

• a copy of a valid visa;

• cm on a white background.

Renewal. To renew their residence visa, the investor needs to gather all the documents again, undergo a medical examination and submit their application to the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP).

Family members to join the application. Along with the investor, their close family members can obtain residence visas, too. This includes their spouse and children.

In the application for a 2-year visa, one can include children under 18.

To a 10-year visa application, the investor can add unmarried sons under 25 years old and unmarried daughters of any age.

Obtainment conditions. Entrepreneurs and investors can get UAE residence visas for five to ten years by an AED 500,000 ($136,000) business investment. Applications are submitted online on the ICP website.

Obtainment conditions. Foreigners who have long-term employment contracts with UAE companies can get residence visas. By law, the employer bears the costs of obtaining a visa and work permit.

The validity period of the residence visa by employment is equal to the duration of the work contract. Generally, the contracts are concluded for one year.

Special requirements. Foreign specialists must undergo a medical examination and get healthcare coverage within two months after arriving in the UAE. The costs for the insurance start at AED 500, or $136. By agreement, it can be paid for by the employer.

Aside from that, foreign employees are required to confirm their educational documents. This can be done on the UAE Ministry of Education website. The fee for confirming a bachelor’s degree is AED 100, or $27. For a PhD, it’s AED 200, or $55.

Documents. To obtain a residence visa by employment, the applicant needs to provide:

• a work contract;

• a colour photo 3 × 4 on a white background;

• a passport copy;

• a notarised copy of the diploma;

• a CV.

Renewal. To renew their residence visa, a foreign employee needs to extend their work contract and regather all the supporting documents. The visa validity period will be set according to the contract duration.

• the spouse;

• sons from 18 to 21 years old who are studying at a university;

• unmarried daughters.

• the spouse;

• sons from 18 to 21 years old who are studying at a university;

• unmarried daughters.

Family members to join the application. If the main applicant is male, their close family members can also obtain residence visas. This applies to:

• the spouse;

• sons from 18 to 21 years old who are studying at a university;

• unmarried daughters.

To be able to add family members to their application, the main applicant needs to earn at least AED 4,000, or $1,090, monthly. If the applicant makes more than AED 20,000, or $4,500, per month, they can also request visas for their parents.

If a female foreigner obtaining a residence visa by employment wants to add their family members, they can do that on different conditions. They can add their spouses and children, but their parents are not eligible for residency.

To be able to add their children and spouse to the application, a female employee has to:

• earn at least AED 10,000, or $2,750, per month;

• work in healthcare, education or science industries or obtain special permission from The Department of Naturalisation and Residency Dubai (DNRD).

Discover the perks, conditions, and features of the Emirati investment program

Obtainment conditions. Scientists, medical doctors, educators, inventors, artists, and sportspeople can get residence visas to the UAE for specialist talent.

Visa to the UAE for talented professionals and students

The costs for obtaining the visa depend on the profession and the emirate. For instance, a permit for artists in Dubai costs AED 3,860, or $1,050. Applications for residency visas for talented professionals are submitted on the ICP website.

The validity period of the visa for talented specialists is 10 years.

Documents. To obtain the visa, the applicant has to meet the UAE state requirements. For instance:

• scientists are required to obtain Emirates Scientists Council accreditation or Mohammed Bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Excellence;

• artists are required to get accreditation from the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT);

• inventors need to get a patent from the Ministry of Economy of the UAE.

Family members to join the application. Talented professionals can request visas for their parents, children and spouses.

Obtainment conditions. Foreigners over 18 years old can obtain a student visa if they study at UAE universities from the list of institutions with state accreditation.

Special conditions. Foreigners don’t have to know the Arabic language to be able to study at UAE universities. However, they are required to provide a language certificate. For example, to get accepted to American University of Sharjah, an applicant has to pass one of the following language exams: IELTS score of 5,5, TOEFL iBT score of 70 or EmSAT score of 1250.

The list of documents required for the application to a UAE university can vary and is usually published on the institution’s website. A standard package of documents contains:

• an application form;

• a notarised copy of the high school diploma translated into Arabic;

• a passport copy;

• a copy of the birth certificate;

• a letter confirming the equivalence of a foreign diploma issued by the UAE Ministry of Education;

• a colour photo 3 × 4 см on a white background;

• a language certificate confirming knowledge of English.

Renewal. The student visa is renewed yearly as long as its holder studies at the university.

American University of Sharjah is one of the institutions with state certification. International students can get UAE residence visas

Obtainment conditions. Foreign freelancers and remote employees can get visas allowing them to reside in the UAE while working for a foreign company or as self‑employed.

To get a residence visa for freelancers, the applicant needs to get a licence in one of the free zones. For that, they need to complete the following steps:

1. Pick one of the free zones. Each of them supports specific types of professionals. For example, developers and other IT specialists can choose Dubai Internet City and photographers, and graphic designers can get a licence from Dubai Media City.

2. Apply for a licence on the website of the chosen free zone.

3. Pay the licence fee.

Validity period. The remote worker visa is valid for one year. After it’s over, the foreigner has to regather all the documents and pay the licence fee.

Special conditions. A visa will be cancelled if its holder stays outside the UAE for longer than six months.

Documents required to obtain a freelancer visa to Dubai:

• a passport with minimum 6 months of validity;

• medical insurance with UAE coverage validity;

• proof of employment or ownership of a company;

• bank statements from three preceding months;

• a copy of freelance licence;

• a copy of a valid visa;

• a CV;

• a colour photo 3 × 4 cm on a white background.

Family members to join the application. The remote worker obtaining a UAE residence visa can add to the application and sponsor their parents, spouse and children.

Obtainment conditions. People who get pensions from outside of the UAE can obtain residence visas with the Retire in Dubai program. To be eligible for the visa, the applicant has to meet one of the following conditions:

The UAE issues visas to wealthy pensioners

• get monthly pension of at least AED 15,000, or $4,100;

• have opened a deposit of AED 1,000,000, or $275,000, for at least three years;

• have invested in one or more properties with a total cost of at least AED 1,000,000, or $275,000.

Validity period. A resident visa for retirees is valid for 5 years.

Special conditions. Only people over 55 years old can join the program. A person who is getting a pension after military service but is not yet 55 yet is not eligible for this kind of visa.

The list of documents to obtain a residence visa for pensioners includes:

• a passport copy;

• a certificate of retirement;

• bank statements from three preceding months;

• a document confirming the amount of the pension;

• documents confirming fulfilment of investment conditions: a certificate of deposit from the bank or contract for the sale of real estate.

Renewal. To renew the visa, the applicant must provide proof that they are still eligible for the Retire in Dubai program.

Family members to join the application. Along with the applicant, their spouse and children under 18 can obtain residence visas.

The Emirates ID is an ID card that citizens and residents of the UAE get at the Federal Authority For Identity and Citizenship (ICP).

The Emirates ID contains personal information on its holder, including their fingerprints. The ID card allows taking advantage of state services, acquiring SIM cards and skipping the lines at the border control at UAE airports.

The Emirates ID has a chip that contains personal and biometric data of its holder

To obtain Emirates IDs, foreigners apply at the ICP website and provide biometric data at one of its departments. The administrative fee for the application is AED 30, or $11. Aside from that, residents pay a yearly service fee of AED 100, or $27, for the Emirates ID.

The ID card is valid for as long as its holder’s visa. It can be renewed along with the visa.

Business-friendly environment. The UAE is ranked 16th country in the world with the strongest business environment, according to the Doing Business 2020 research by World Bank Group. The ranking is based on multiple criteria, including ease of starting a business, access to credit, and protection of minority investors. The higher the country’s rank, the easier it is to do business there.

The UAE provides grants and financing facilities to companies in the industrial sector, for instance, businesses in IT, construction and healthcare technologies.

In Dubai, support for small and medium businesses is provided by Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development. Its services are available to foreign investors, too.

Companies that earn more than AED 375,000 also pay VAT tax at 5%. Aside from that, all companies pay 5% of import tax.

Taxes can be optimised if the company is registered in one of the UAE Free Zones, areas with special tax and customs regimes. Businesses in Free Zones are free of corporate tax for 15—50 years after registration and VAT and customs taxes.

High quality of life. The UAE is in the top 5 countries to live and work, according to the Expat Explorer 2021 research by HSBC. The research is based on a survey of 20,000 expats from 46 countries.

Higher education in internationally recognised institutions. Three out of seventy universities are in the world’s top 1,000, according to QS World University Rankings:

• Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi;

• United Arab Emirates University in Abu Dhabi;

• American University of Sharjah in Sharjah.

Foreigners must pay tuition fees to study at state and private universities. Each university sets its own fees. Usually, the more famous and prestigious the university is, the higher the fees. For instance, undergraduate degrees at Khalifa University begin at AED 16,000, around $4,300. American University of Sharjah’s tuition fees start at AED 100,940, or $27,500.

Access to high-quality medicine. According to the World Index of Healthcare Innovation study, the UAE is in the top 20 countries with the most modern and innovative healthcare systems. UAE nationals get full medical coverage from the government. For residents and tourists, healthcare comes with paid insurance.

Medical insurance allows getting treatment in private clinics. Some of them are accredited by Joint Commission International (JCI), which means that their services meet the international healthcare community standards. For instance, NMC clinics in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi have JCI accreditation.

Foreign residents of the UAE can purchase residential or commercial real estate on a mortgage. Housing loans are provided only with a down payment of at least 20%. The maximum mortgage loan amount is AED 10,000, which is around $2,700,000.

The mortgage rate depends on the loan’s total amount, the financing term, the borrower’s official income and the down payment’s size. The minimum rate at First Abu Dhabi Bank, which works with foreigners, is 3,99% per annum.

Immigrant Invest is a licensed agent for citizenship and residence by investment programs in the EU, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Middle East. Take advantage of our global 15-year expertise — schedule a meeting with our investment programs experts.