UAE residence visas.
Seven residency routes. One Dubai handler from application to Emirates ID in hand — including VIP biometrics and same-day medical.
What a «residence visa» actually gets you.
A UAE residence visa is not a passport and not a right to work outside your own company. It is a long-stay permit: live in the country, open accounts as a resident, drive, treat your kids in local clinics, and pay no personal income tax. Validity runs from 2 to 10 years depending on which route.
Most people arrive here with one of three jobs to do: «sponsor myself as founder of my own company», «get the Golden Visa for an investment», or «bring my family over». These are different visas with different requirements, and confusing them is expensive: investor visa and Golden Visa are not the same thing, and not every LLC owner qualifies for Golden.
What we do on this page: lay out seven routes as they really behave — who qualifies, what documents are required, the real timeline (not the marketing one), and where VIP biometrics and same-day medical actually work. All numbers are 2026 government fees, verified in April.
After the Emirates ID drops, a separate story begins — renewals, child status updates, address changes at GDRFA, absences over 180 days (which invalidate the visa). Our support team handles that — see the «Ongoing Support» service.
Seven routes, one strategy.
Below: the visas we actually file. Not every GDRFA category (there are more than a dozen, with thin sub-types), but the ones that cover 95% of founder questions. We also handle the narrower routes — Humanitarian, Domestic Helper, Student tied to a specific university — separately.
Investor visa
The default route if you have your own UAE company. Sponsor is your LLC, the quota comes from your license's visa allocation. 2 years, renewable without leaving the country. Most clients start here.
Golden Visa
Ten-year visa with no sponsor required. Routes: AED 2M into real estate, AED 2M into an investment fund, science/arts by nomination, top-tier specialists. Self-sponsoring for spouse and kids. Long, but demanding.
Employment visa
If you are not a shareholder but an employee — even of your own company under a manager structure. Less common for founders; we typically use it to bring in a CTO, COO, or key partner without equity.
Green Visa
Visa for skilled professionals and freelancers with no employer sponsor required. Needs bachelor's degree minimum, contracts, and proof of income from AED 15,000/mo. Good fit for consultants who don't want to maintain a company just for the visa.
Family sponsorship
A resident with income from AED 4,000/mo (with employer-provided housing) or AED 10,000/mo (without) can sponsor spouse and children under 18 (sons; daughters until marriage). Term mirrors the sponsor. Not a separate visa — a status under an existing one.
Property-owner visa
Completed property purchase from AED 750,000 (Dubai Land Department registered) qualifies for a 3-year property-owner visa. From AED 2M, the Golden route opens. A common path for those who want residency without forming a company.
Retirement visa
Aged 55 or older, plus one of: property ownership from AED 1M, passive income from AED 20,000/mo, or savings from AED 1M. Renewable. Demand has been growing among European clients.
Not sure which route? 60 seconds.
Six questions about your profile — citizenship, income, family composition, whether you already have a company. The calculator returns an AED estimate and tells you which of the seven routes actually fits.
Questions we're actually asked.
How long does the visa really take, from application to Emirates ID in hand?
Investor or employment visa through your own company: 7–14 working days with VIP biometrics (medical and biometrics same day, EID the next). Golden Visa: 4–8 weeks because of the nomination steps. Family visa: 10–20 days after the sponsor's EID is issued.
VIP biometrics is an AED 750–1,200 surcharge. Almost always worth it: one trip to Dubai of 3–4 days instead of two trips two weeks apart.
Can I apply for the visa remotely without coming to the UAE?
No. Biometrics and medical are mandatory and performed only on UAE soil. Minimum trip: 3 working days (medical on day 1, biometrics on day 2, EID in hand on day 3). «Remote visas» through intermediaries are not legally issued — that's either a tourist visa, fraud, or both.
Which visa fits me — investor, Golden, or Green?
Investor: you open a company for the visa (or you already have one). 2 years, sponsored by your LLC. Golden: 10 years, no company required, but needs AED 2M investment or talent nomination. Green: 5 years, no company and no large investment required, but needs a bachelor's degree, contracts, and proven income. Most founders start on the investor visa and upgrade to Golden via property after 2–3 years.
What about my spouse and children? Can I bring them right away?
First you get your own residence visa and Emirates ID. Then you apply separately to sponsor your spouse and children. Minimum sponsor income: AED 4,000/mo with provided housing, or AED 10,000/mo without. Sons can be sponsored until 18 (until 25 if studying), daughters until marriage. Family-visa terms mirror the sponsor's.
What's the difference between the property-owner visa and Golden via property?
Property-owner visa: completed purchase from AED 750,000, 3-year term, renewable while you own the property. Golden via property: purchase from AED 2M, 10-year term, mortgage allowed only if you've paid AED 2M from your own funds. An intermediate exists: a 5-year property-owner visa at AED 2M without the Golden nomination. All three are issued by Dubai Land Department in coordination with GDRFA.
What medical conditions can lead to a visa rejection?
Testing covers HIV, hepatitis B/C, tuberculosis, syphilis. Active stages are grounds for visa refusal and deportation. Pregnancy is not a disqualifier but triggers extra paperwork for single applicants. Medications for chronic conditions (psychoactive, opioid) are a separate story — some require UAE Ministry of Health approval to bring into the country.
Before you fly to Dubai, we check medical status separately against a checklist and flag the non-obvious risks.
What happens if I leave the UAE for more than 6 months?
The residence visa automatically lapses if you are out of the UAE for more than 180 consecutive days. You can reapply, but it's a fresh application — medical, biometrics, government fees from scratch. Exception: Golden Visa is not subject to this rule. You can be absent as long as you want and keep the status.
How much does the visa cost in total — government fees plus services?
2026 government fees: investor AED 4,500–6,800 (including medical, EID, change of status), Green AED 5,000–7,500, Golden AED 9,000–11,500. Family visa per member: AED 4,000–5,500. VIP biometrics: +AED 750–1,200. Our fee: AED 1,500–3,500 for the main visa, AED 800–1,500 per additional one in the same filing. Every line item is shown to you before payment; government fees are wired directly.
Related, recent.
Golden Visa via property: what counts, what doesn't.
Off-plan doesn't count. A mortgage with less than AED 2M of your own equity doesn't count. A share of commercial property held through an SPV is contested. Eight scenarios and how GDRFA actually responds.
Green Visa for a consultant: is it really achievable without a UAE company.
We filed twelve Green Visas last year. What successful applicants prepare, which contracts GDRFA accepts, and where the income rule is enforced more strictly than the official guidance suggests.
Family sponsorship: what's left unsaid about income and housing.
The AED 4,000 threshold assumes employer-provided housing; without it, the real bar is AED 10,000+. What GDRFA checks in bank statements and Ejari, and why the actual requirement runs higher than the published one.