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A UAE golden visa is a 10-year residence that needs no sponsor and renews automatically. The main requirements are property or a bank deposit of at least AED 2,000,000, a monthly salary of AED 30,000 with a bachelor's degree, a business with AED 1,000,000 in yearly revenue, or a recommendation as a talent, scientist, top student or humanitarian worker. In Dubai, GDRFA issues it, except the property route, which is filed at Dubai Land Department centers. This page helps you find your route; prices are on golden visa cost.
Which page fits your route
| If you qualify through | Read |
|---|---|
| Dubai property worth AED 2,000,000 | Golden visa through Dubai property: DLD process and the AED 9,884.75 DLD fees |
| Top grades or a recent degree | Golden visa for students: the 95% and GPA rules |
| Salary, deposit, business, talent or other routes | This page, then golden visa cost for the fees |
| None of these | Green visa or retirement visa |
Golden visa categories and thresholds
ICP sets the categories for the whole country. GDRFA applies them in Dubai and adds some local rules. Pick the one route you meet: you only need one.
| Category | What you need |
|---|---|
| Real estate investor | Property worth at least AED 2,000,000 in your name. ICP also lists off-plan units of that value from an authorised developer, but the Dubai DLD and GDRFA pages do not mention off-plan |
| Public investment | At least AED 2,000,000 as a deposit, company capital or shareholding, not funded by a loan |
| Company tax | Your company pays at least AED 250,000 a year in federal taxes |
| Entrepreneur | A UAE SME with revenue of at least AED 1,000,000 a year, or a venture you founded and sold for at least AED 7,000,000 |
| Skilled professional | Salary of at least AED 30,000 a month, bachelor's degree, valid UAE work permit at MOHRE skill level 1 or 2 |
| Scientist | Master's or PhD in the field and a recommendation from the Emirates Scientists Council |
| Exceptional talent | Recommendation letters or approvals from the body for your field. No salary or investment figure is published |
| Outstanding student | 95% in secondary school, or a university GPA of 3.5 or 3.8 depending on the university category, graduated within 2 years |
| Humanitarian pioneer | A contribution of at least AED 2,000,000, or 5 years with a qualifying organisation plus a degree |
| Frontline hero | Certificates of appreciation or evidence of service |
Source: ICP golden residency page and GDRFA golden residence service pages, checked .
Investors, entrepreneurs and specialised professionals also need valid health insurance for themselves and their family.
Property route: the Dubai details
In Dubai the property route runs through Dubai Land Department centers, not GDRFA or Amer counters, and your own share of a jointly owned unit must itself be worth AED 2,000,000. The rules on mortgages, off-plan units and the lien are on golden visa through Dubai property.
Deposit route
The money sits in a UAE bank, or in local sukuk or bonds, and stays frozen for at least 2 years.
Entrepreneur route in Dubai
You need a nomination letter from the Dubai Future Foundation before GDRFA looks at the file. A nomination does not guarantee approval.
Golden visa by profession
There is no list of professions that qualify by job title alone. Most people with a job in Dubai apply through the skilled professional route, and the deciding points are the AED 30,000 salary, the degree and the MOHRE skill level on the work permit. Talent routes are for people recognised in their field.
Doctors and healthcare staff
Doctors are named among exceptional talents, so they can apply with the recommendation or approval their field requires. A doctor earning AED 30,000 or more a month can also use the skilled route, adding the licence to practise to the documents.
Engineers and science specialists
Engineering and science specialists are listed under exceptional talents. Engineers on a salary of AED 30,000 with a degree and skill level 1 or 2 can apply as skilled professionals.
Executives and managers
Executives appear in the talent list. In practice the salary route is the simpler file for a manager employed by a UAE company.
Creatives, athletes and inventors
People in culture and arts, athletes and inventors apply as talents. Each needs the recommendation letters that the relevant authority asks for. No income threshold is published for them.
Scientists and PhD holders
Scientists need the Emirates Scientists Council recommendation. PhD holders are named in the talent list too.
Students and graduates
Top secondary school students and recent graduates apply through the outstanding student route. Note the 2-year limit after graduation; the grade rules and documents are on golden visa for students.
Documents for the salary route
GDRFA lists these for skilled professionals in Dubai:
- passport
- employment contract or salary certificate showing AED 30,000 a month
- 6 months of bank statements
- degree, with a Ministry of Education equivalency if it is from abroad, or attested if it is from the UAE (certificate attestation explains that step)
- licence to practise, if your job needs one
If your salary drops below AED 30,000 or the contract ends, the permit is cancelled. Plan for that before you change jobs.
Family, domestic workers and time abroad
A golden visa holder can sponsor a spouse, sons and daughters of any age, and parents. That is wider than a normal family visa in Dubai, where sons are usually sponsored only up to 25. Golden holders can also sponsor domestic workers under the usual UAE rules: see the maid visa in Dubai for those steps.
You can stay outside the UAE for longer than 180 days without losing the residence. No upper limit is published. If the main holder dies, the family can stay until their own permits expire. After expiry or cancellation, ICP gives golden holders and their families a 180-day grace period.
What it costs, in one line
GDRFA's own fee for a non-property golden residence is AED 1,100 plus small charges, and the medical test, 10-year Emirates ID and insurance come on top. The property route has its own DLD fee schedule. Both are broken down on golden visa cost, with family members.
Why golden visa files stall
Most delays come from the same few gaps. Check these before you apply:
- Joint property. Your own share must be worth AED 2,000,000. A couple owning a flat of that value together does not qualify on that flat.
- Value on paper. GDRFA goes by the DLD property status certificate, not the price you paid or an agent's estimate.
- Borrowed money. The public investment route does not accept capital or deposits funded by a loan.
- Short bank history. The salary route asks for 6 months of statements. Fewer months means the file waits.
- Foreign degree. A degree from abroad needs a Ministry of Education equivalency, which takes its own time.
- No nomination. Dubai entrepreneur files are not looked at without the Dubai Future Foundation letter.
- No insurance. Investors, entrepreneurs and specialised professionals must show health insurance for the family too.
After you get it
The residence renews automatically, so there is no two-year renewal cycle like a normal visa. Keep the condition you qualified on: the property you used cannot be sold, and a salaried holder must stay on AED 30,000 or more. Family members' permits follow yours. If the main holder dies, they can stay until their own permits expire.
Where to apply and what you can do alone
For most routes you can apply yourself in the GDRFA app or website with UAE Pass, or at an Amer center. The property route goes to a DLD center instead. GDRFA says investor and entrepreneur files take about 5 days and skilled or scientist files about 48 hours. The skilled route is often simple enough to file alone if your documents are clean. The property and nominated routes have more back and forth. If you do not meet any golden threshold, look at the green visa or the retirement visa.
Filing your golden visa with the partner team
Send your category and the documents for that route. The partner team checks them against the GDRFA list and points out what is missing, usually an equivalency certificate, a DLD property certificate or the 6 months of bank statements on the salary route. Then they type and submit the application, book the medical and Emirates ID biometrics, and follow up with GDRFA until the residence is issued. Family members go in the same request. You do not need to learn the GDRFA app or wait at an Amer counter. One total price comes first, with the GDRFA fees and the service charge itemised.
