UAE Residence Visa: Every Way to Get One in 2026

A UAE residence visa is the right to live in the country beyond a tourist stay, get an Emirates ID and open a personal bank account. There are many routes to one, each with its own conditions. Below are all the main options as of October 2026, based on official sources: the government portal u.ae, ICP, Dubai’s GDRFA and the Abu Dhabi Residents Office.

I’m a guide and I don’t process visas. But I’ve lived in the Emirates for more than 15 years, and I know that a move usually starts with a trip: to look at neighbourhoods, schools, the commute to the office. Think of this article as a map to take with you to the official services.

In short: every route in one table

Route	Visa length	Main condition
Employment	2 years	Your employer applies
Your own company	Usually 2 years	A licence and a visa quota
Green visa	5 years	Skills, income or investment
Remote work	Set by ICP	Salary from 3,500 USD
Family	Tied to the sponsor’s visa	Sponsor earns from 4,000 AED
Golden visa	5 or 10 years	Investment, talent, study
Retirement	5 years	Age 55+, income or assets

1. Employment

The most common route. A standard work visa is valid for two years and can be renewed. The employer applies, not the employee: they get the work permit and the entry permit and take you through the medical test and the Emirates ID. The visa is tied to your employer, so plan any job change together with your visa.

2. Through your own company

A company owner or partner can get a visa through their licence, usually for two years. It’s the clearest route for entrepreneurs, but it costs money: at Meydan Free Zone, for example, an investor visa costs from 4,000 AED as of October 2026, and with the company immigration card and related fees the first visa comes to about 7,850 AED. More in my article on how to set up a company in Dubai.

3. Green visa: 5 years without a sponsor

The green visa is issued for five years, doesn’t need a sponsor and lets you sponsor your family. The categories:

• Skilled employee. A valid contract, a level one, two or three job under the Ministry of Human Resources (MOHRE) classification, a bachelor’s degree and a salary of at least 15,000 AED a month.
• Freelancer or self-employed. A freelance permit from MOHRE, a bachelor’s degree or specialised diploma, and self-employment income of at least 360,000 AED a year for the previous two years, plus proof of financial solvency for the whole period.
• Investor or partner. The conditions are set by ICP and the emirates’ visa authorities; check them before you apply.

The thresholds above are published by the Abu Dhabi Residents Office. In Dubai you apply through GDRFA.

4. Remote work

If you work for a company outside the UAE, you can live here on the remote work visa, officially the virtual work visa. To apply through ICP you need health insurance, a medical test result, proof of employment abroad and a salary certificate showing at least 3,500 USD a month. In Dubai the service is run by GDRFA.

Before applying for any visa, check how long your passport is valid and have scans of every page with your details ready. Photo: ChelizTolyattida, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

5. Family: sponsored by a resident

A resident can bring a husband or wife, unmarried daughters, sons under 25 and children with special needs. The sponsor needs a salary of at least 4,000 AED a month, or 3,000 AED plus accommodation. Green visa holders can sponsor first-degree relatives.

Family members over 18 take a medical test at an accredited centre. Family visas are tied to the sponsor’s visa: if it’s cancelled, the dependants’ visas are cancelled too. After expiry or cancellation they have six months to get a new visa.

A foreign spouse, parent or child of a UAE citizen can get a five-year visa without having to work; the citizen is then the sponsor.

6. Property

Buying property is another route to residency. Among the golden visa categories, u.ae lists investors with capital of 2 million AED or more, including through property. The details on mortgages, joint ownership and off-plan property are covered in a separate article, the golden visa through property. The rules change most often here, so check them with the Dubai Land Department (DLD) and GDRFA on the date of the deal.

7. Golden visa: 5 or 10 years

The golden visa is a long-term visa without a sponsor. With it you can stay outside the UAE for longer than the usual six months and sponsor your family. The categories, according to u.ae:

• investors: capital from 2 million AED; 10 years for public investment. For property worth 2 million AED or more, the ICP service states 10 years, although the u.ae portal still says 5, so confirm the length when you apply (more in my article on the golden visa through property);
• entrepreneurs: 5 years, with an innovative project and a letter from an incubator or an authorised body;
• exceptional talents and rare specialists: 10 years for doctors, scientists, inventors, artists, executives, athletes and PhD holders;
• outstanding students: 5 years for top school graduates, 10 years for top university students;
• humanitarian pioneers and frontline workers: 10 years.

You can check whether you qualify through the ICP service. For creative professions the recommendation comes from the Ministry of Culture.

8. Retirement visa

A five-year visa is open to retirees aged 55 and over who have worked at least 15 years in the UAE or abroad. You also need one of two things: property and savings of at least 1 million AED, or an annual income of at least 180,000 AED. If you apply in Dubai, the income threshold is higher: 240,000 AED a year.

9. Study and other visas

Students live in the UAE sponsored by resident parents or an accredited university; universities help with the paperwork. There’s also the 10-year blue visa for people who have made an exceptional contribution to protecting the environment.

How the process works

Most visas follow a similar sequence:

1. An entry permit, or a change of status if you’re already in the country.
2. A medical test at an accredited centre.
3. Biometrics and the Emirates ID application.
4. The residence visa is issued.

Every resident must have an Emirates ID. You use it for the e-gates at UAE airports and for government services. You can renew it up to six months before it expires. If you’re more than a month late, the fine is 20 AED a day, capped at 1,000 AED. From age 15, renewal includes fingerprints at an ICP centre.

As I explained to my followers in my stories back in 2022, the Emirates ID replaces your passport here in most situations: without it a resident can’t buy a SIM card, open a bank account or even get into some buildings as a guest. The process has become far more digital over the years: back in 2021, at one free zone office, I was surprised to find a screen where I expected a person at the desk.

After the visa, the next step is a UAE bank account: without residency and an Emirates ID, most banks won’t open a personal account.

How I can help

I don’t process visas or advise on relocation. But if you come to see the country before you decide, I’ll show it to you. A Dubai city tour gives you a sense of the districts and distances, and a day in Abu Dhabi shows you the capital, which many people consider for living. If you want to understand what Dubai was like before the skyscrapers, join my walk through Old Dubai.

This is not legal or investment advice: rules and prices change, so check them before you act.

Checked on 11 October 2026. Sources: u.ae, Abu Dhabi Residents Office, the Meydan Free Zone website; applications go through ICP and GDRFA.