The UAE Golden Visa is a residency program offered by the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to eligible individuals. This program grants the holder the right to live and work in the UAE, and it is designed to attract investors, entrepreneurs, skilled professionals, and students to the country.

The UAE’s ‘Golden visa’ is a long-term residence visa which enables foreign talents to live, work or study in the UAE while enjoying exclusive benefits which include:

• an entry visa for six months with multiple entries to proceed with residence issuance
• a long-term, renewable residence visa valid for 5 or 10 years
• the privilege of not needing a sponsor
• the ability to stay outside the UAE for more than the usual period of six months in order to keep their residence visa valid
• the ability to sponsor their family members, including spouses and children regardless of their ages
• the ability to sponsor unlimited number of domestic helpers
• the permit for family members to stay in the UAE until the end of their permit duration, if the primary holder of the Golden visa passes away.

Requirements for the Golden visa depend on the type of residence, whether investor, talent, entrepreneur, etc.

Investors in public investments

If you invest in an investment fund, you may be granted a Golden Visa for a period of 10 years without a sponsor, subject to the:

• submission of a letter from an investment fund accredited in the UAE stating that the investor has a deposit of AED two million, or
• submission of a valid commercial licence or industrial licence and a memorandum of association stating that the investor’s capital is not less than AED two million
• submission of a letter from Federal Tax Authority stating that the investor pays the government no less than AED 250,000 (two hundred and fifty thousand) annually.Additionally, you must:
• own the invested capital completely; it must not be a loan and
• provide proof of medical insurance for himself and his family (if any).

Real estate investors

If you own a property or a group of properties, you may be granted a Golden visa for a period of 5 years, renewable on the same conditions and without a sponsor subject to the:

• provision of a letter from the land department of the respective emirate stating that he owns one or more properties whose value is not less than 2 million dirhams

• purchase of a property with a loan from specific local banks approved by the competent local entity.

 Entrepreneurs

If you are an entrepreneur, you may get a Golden visa for a period of 5 years, if you own an economic project of a technical or future nature based on risk & innovation. In addition, you must have an approval letter from each of the following:

• an auditor in the UAE stating that the project value is not less than 500,000 dirhams
• the authorities in the emirate stating that the project is of a technical or future nature
• an accredited business incubator in the UAE to establish the proposed activity in the country.