GlobeQuest

United Arab Emirates visas and residency

Who can visit United Arab Emirates without a visa, and the 4 long-stay routes that let you actually live there.

Short stay

Visiting United Arab Emirates, by passport

How the 198 passports we track get in. A visitor entry is never permission to work, study or settle — that is what the routes further down are for.

United StatesVisa-free · 90 daysUnited KingdomVisa-free · 90 daysIndiae-VisaCanadaVisa-free · 90 daysAustraliaVisa-free · 90 daysGermanyVisa-free · 90 daysFranceVisa-free · 90 daysNetherlandsVisa-free · 90 daysIrelandVisa-free · 30 daysSpainVisa-free · 90 daysItalyVisa-free · 90 daysPortugalVisa-free · 90 daysPolandVisa-free · 90 daysSwedenVisa-free · 90 daysSwitzerlandVisa-free · 90 daysSouth Africae-Visa
Long stay

How you actually move to United Arab Emirates

Work / sponsoredHigh confidenceVerified August 2026

Employment residence visa (employer-sponsored)

The default route: a UAE employer, mainland or free zone, sponsors your residence visa and work permit.

What you need
  • Employment contract with a licensed UAE entity
  • Entry permit issued by your employer before you arrive
  • Medical fitness test (blood test + chest X-ray)
  • Emirates ID biometrics
  • Attested degree certificate for regulated professions
How long it lasts
Typically 2 years (3 in some free zones), renewable.
Path to permanent residence
There is no naturalisation route in practice. Long-term stability comes from switching to a 5-year Green Visa or 10-year Golden Visa rather than from time served.
Cost
Mostly employer-paid; medical and Emirates ID fees run a few hundred dirhams.
Processing time
2–4 weeks from arrival.
Worth knowing
  • Free-zone and mainland sponsorship differ in what they let you do outside your employer.
  • The visa ends with the job, with a grace period to find a new sponsor or leave.
Sources:u.ae — UAE Government PortalICP — Federal Authority for Identity & Citizenship
Digital nomadHigh confidenceVerified August 2026

Virtual Work (remote work) residence visa

Remote employees and business owners earning abroad who want to be based in the UAE without a local sponsor. Self-sponsored.

What you need
  • Proof of employment with a non-UAE employer (contract of 1+ year) or ownership of a non-UAE company for 1+ year
  • Minimum income of about USD 3,500/month — around USD 5,000/month for business owners
  • Six consecutive months of bank statements evidencing that income, tightened from three on 27 January 2026
  • Valid health insurance with UAE coverage
  • Passport valid 6+ months
How long it lasts
1 year, renewable annually.
Path to permanent residence
None directly; it is a renewable residence, not a route to settlement.
Cost
Application, medical, Emirates ID and insurance — commonly a few thousand dirhams all in.
Processing time
Days to a few weeks once documents are complete.
Worth knowing
  • Income consistency is assessed across all six months — one strong month among five weak ones fails. The six-month window replaced a three-month one in a GDRFA procedural update on 27 January 2026.
  • No UAE business licence or free-zone registration is required, which is the main draw over the Green Visa.
  • Holding this visa does not by itself make you UAE tax-resident. Under Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 there are three alternative tests — 183 days in the UAE in any 12 months; or 90 days plus UAE nationality, residence or GCC citizenship together with a permanent home, job or business here; or the UAE being your usual place of residence and the centre of your financial and personal interests. A Tax Residency Certificate is issued against one of those, not against the visa.
Sources:u.ae — UAE Government Portal
Freelance / self-employedMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Green Visa (self-sponsored, 5 years)

Skilled employees, freelancers and self-employed professionals who want residence not tied to an employer.

What you need
  • Freelancers and self-employed: a freelance/self-employment permit from the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation, a bachelor's degree or specialised diploma, and either annual self-employment income of at least AED 360,000 in each of the prior two years or proof of financial solvency for the whole stay
  • Skilled employees: a valid employment contract, classification in MOHRE occupational skill level 1, 2 or 3, a bachelor's degree or equivalent, and a salary of at least AED 15,000 a month
How long it lasts
5 years, renewable for the same term. It is self-sponsored — no UAE national or employer sponsor is involved.
Path to permanent residence
No settlement route, but it decouples your residence from any single employer.
Cost
Permit plus visa fees; higher than an employer-sponsored visa because you carry them yourself.
Processing time
Several weeks.
Worth knowing
  • Green Visa holders can sponsor family, which the older freelance permits did not reliably allow.
  • The Green Visa replaced the pre-2022 patchwork of freelance permits and employer-tied categories. Guidance describing UAE residence as only ever employer-sponsored or investor-sponsored predates that reform.
Sources:u.ae — UAE Government PortalICP — Federal Authority for Identity & Citizenship
InvestmentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Golden Visa (5 or 10 years)

Investors, entrepreneurs, and people classed as exceptional talent — scientists, senior professionals, outstanding students and graduates, some creatives and athletes, humanitarian pioneers and frontline workers.

What you need
  • Real-estate investors: property worth at least AED 2 million, including off-plan purchases from approved developers and mortgaged purchases through specified local banks — 5 years
  • Public investors: capital of at least AED 2 million, or an establishment paying at least AED 250,000 a year in tax — 10 years
  • Entrepreneurs: an innovative or technical project, endorsed by an accredited incubator or the relevant emirate authority — 5 years
  • Specialised talents and rare specialisations — doctors, scientists, inventors, executives, athletes, PhD holders, creatives — nominated with recommendation letters or accredited credentials — 10 years
  • Outstanding students: 5 years for secondary-school high achievers, 10 years for university graduates
How long it lasts
5 or 10 years depending on the category, renewable.
Path to permanent residence
The most durable status available; still a renewable residence rather than citizenship.
Cost
Category-dependent, and dwarfed by the underlying investment where one is required.
Processing time
Weeks, longer for nomination-based talent categories.
Worth knowing
  • The Golden and Green visa framework replaced the older investor and partner visa tiers in 2022 and the eligible categories have been widened repeatedly since. Anything describing a pre-2022 UAE investor visa is describing a superseded programme.
  • Not every Golden Visa is ten years. The property route is five; the ten-year grants sit with public investment and the nominated talent categories.
  • Property-based eligibility depends on the valuation, not the purchase price.
Sources:u.ae — Golden visaICP — Federal Authority for Identity & Citizenship
On the ground

Where you'd land in United Arab Emirates

Dubai

Tax-free magnet for global talent and founders.

Full Dubai guide
Abu Dhabi

The UAE's capital — sovereign wealth, Louvre-and-desert culture, and a calmer alternative to Dubai.

Full Abu Dhabi guide
Sharjah

The UAE's culture emirate — dry, a third cheaper than Dubai, and running its own tenancy law.

Full Sharjah guide
Ras Al Khaimah

Mountains, freehold beaches, the UAE's cheapest free-zone licences — and the country's first casino resort.

Full Ras Al Khaimah guide
Al Ain

Abu Dhabi's inland garden city — oases, aflaj and the UAE's first World Heritage site, with the Omani border running through the neighbourhood.

Full Al Ain guide
Fujairah

The UAE's only Indian Ocean coast — mountains, the country's best weather, and one of the world's three biggest bunkering hubs, all outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Full Fujairah guide

United Arab Emirates at a glance

Capital
Abu Dhabi
Population
11.5M
Languages
Arabic
Currency
AED