UAE Residence Visas, Sorted by Who You Are

The UAE Government Portal lists visas under the authority's own headings, such as work, golden, blue, student and investor. You probably start from a different question. Who am I, and which of these is meant for someone like me?

This guide answers that question first and then explains the routes. It does not assess anyone's eligibility.

Eligibility is determined by the relevant UAE authority. This article describes published requirements and is not immigration advice.

Residence is not the same as a visit

The UAE Government Portal's list of visa types includes residence visas and other visa types. Its hub lists "Golden visa, Visit visa, Work visa, Residence visa, Student visa, Investor visa, Tourist visa, Transit visa, Medical visa, Blue visa". Some of those let a person live in the UAE as a resident. This guide treats visit, tourist, transit and medical visas as outside its scope.

This guide covers residence routes only. If you are coming to look around, attend meetings or explore an investment before deciding, a visit route may be the right first step, and residence can follow.

Three questions that narrow the field

Before reading any route, answer these three.

1. Who sponsors you? The routes below follow a small number of sponsor patterns. An employer sponsors you. A family member sponsors you. For students, a university can. Or you sponsor yourself, which the UAE Government Portal describes, for the green and golden visas, as "the privilege of not needing a sponsor".

2. What is your connection to the UAE? A job here, a family member here, a business or investment here, study here, work for an employer abroad, or retirement.

3. How long do you expect to stay? The UAE Government Portal states that a residence visa "can be for 1, 2 or 3 years on a sponsored visa, or up to 5 or 10 years on an unsponsored visa". The route you choose largely decides the length.

The route finder

Find the row that describes you. The route in the second column is the one to read about next. The sponsor and validity columns are as published by the authority on the date shown at the end of this article.

The table points you to a route. It does not tell you that you qualify. Each route has published criteria, and the authority decides every application on its own assessment.

If you are employed in the UAE

If a UAE employer is hiring you, the route is the standard work visa. The UAE Government Portal states: "The standard work visa is for employees of government and private sectors." It is "valid for two years and renewable subject to terms and conditions set by the visa-issuing authorities", and "The employer must apply for the standard work visa."

Because the employer applies, the employer runs the process. The employer's step-by-step sequence shows how the work permit, entry permit, medical, insurance and Emirates ID fit together.

The UAE Government Portal also states that "Domestic helpers live and work in the UAE on the domestic worker's visa." That route will be covered in its own article in this series.

If you want a long-term route

The UAE Government Portal describes the green and golden visas as carrying "the privilege of not needing a sponsor". It also publishes a long-term blue residence, although the page reviewed does not state its sponsor.

The green visa. The UAE Government Portal describes it as "a renewable residence visa valid for 5 years", with "the privilege of not needing a sponsor". It lists three categories: "Skilled workers", "Freelancers and self-employed" and "Investors and business partners". ICP's Green Residence Guide describes green residence as "one of the UAE's long-term residence categories" and publishes the criteria for each category. The green visa will have its own article in this series, with those criteria in full.

The golden visa. The UAE Government Portal describes it as "a long-term, renewable residence visa valid for 5 or 10 years", adding that "Investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, outstanding students and graduates, humanitarian pioneers and frontline heroes are among those eligible". It also offers "the ability to stay outside the UAE for more than the usual period of six months needed to keep their residence visa valid". The golden visa's categories and criteria will be covered in a dedicated article.

The blue residence. The UAE Government Portal describes it as "a 10-year residence visa" for "individuals who have made an exceptional contribution towards the environment's protection and sustainability, both inside and outside the UAE", with applications through ICP or by nomination from competent UAE authorities.

If you are a family member of a resident

Family residence is sponsored by the resident, not by the family member. The UAE Government Portal states: "Both, employers and employees with valid UAE residence visas can sponsor residence visas for their families." It adds that employees "can sponsor their families regardless of their job titles if they earn a minimum salary of AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus accommodation".

Two published rules shape the family route. The dependant's residence is tied to the sponsor's: "The expiry date of the dependent's residence visa will not exceed that of the sponsor." And family members aged 18 and over complete the medical fitness test like any other resident.

The costs of sponsoring a family are set out line by line in the family visa cost guide.

If you invest, or run a business

The UAE Government Portal's investor visa section currently links to two items: the green visa and a visit visa "to explore investment opportunities". Investors and business partners appear as a green visa category, and investors appear among the groups eligible for the golden visa.

Which of those applies depends on the investment and on the published criteria for each route. The difference between an investor visa and a golden visa is the subject of a separate article in this series. Setting up a business is a licensing process, separate from the visa process.

If you are retiring

The UAE Government Portal states: "Retired foreigners can apply for a long-term visa of 5 years." It publishes conditions based on work history or age, and on property, savings or income. It also sets a separate income figure for applications made from Dubai. The retirement route will be covered in its own article, with the conditions in full.

If you are studying

The UAE Government Portal states that a student can stay in the UAE "either under the sponsorship of his/her parent, who should be a resident of the UAE or under the sponsorship of the accredited university/college he/she is studying at". The page links the visa to "a certificate issued by the university or institute specifying the duration of the study".

If you work for an employer outside the UAE

The UAE Government Portal states: "Foreigners employed outside the UAE are permitted to live here legitimately with a virtual work visa." It describes "The one-year visa" as allowing entry "under self-sponsorship", and lists a requirement for a "salary certificate of a minimum of 3,500 (three thousand five hundred) US dollars or equivalent in foreign currency".

If you own property in Dubai

GDRFA Dubai publishes a service titled "Issuance of a residence permit for the owner of a property". Its conditions include that "The property must be fully constructed; landowners of undeveloped plots are not included" and that "The applicant must have a monthly income of no less than AED 10,000 (ten thousand dirhams)". How property and residence relate is covered in a dedicated article in this series, and every statement about it should be checked with the authority on the day.

Other published routes

Some routes exist for specific personal circumstances. The UAE Government Portal states that "A foreign widow or divorced woman, who is a mother of a UAE citizen, can get a residence visa without having to work in the UAE." It also describes a residence extension for women who are divorced or widowed while living in the UAE on a husband's visa. ICP announced updated conditions for widows and divorcees, and for humanitarian residence, on 29 September 2025. If one of these applies to you, take the current conditions from ICP directly rather than from any summary, including this one.

Rules that apply whichever route you take

Medical fitness. The UAE Government Portal states: "A residence visa requires applicants who are 18 and above to undergo a medical test to prove that they are medically fit."

Emirates ID as proof of residence. ICP suspended the residence sticker "as of April 11, 2022". The Emirates ID "will serve as an alternative to prove his residence".

Time outside the UAE. The UAE Government Portal states that "if an expatriate resident lives outside the UAE for more than 180 days continuously, his/her residence visa will be nullified automatically". The golden visa is described as an exception to the usual six-month period.

Grace periods. When a residence permit is cancelled or expires, ICP publishes grace periods by category. It states a 180-day grace period "for Golden, Green, and Blue Residence holders and their family members, widows or divorced women of residents, students after completing their studies, and foreign-passport holders who are relatives of UAE citizens". It states 90 days for skilled workers in levels 1 to 3 and property owners, 60 days "for residence permits issued with a guarantor or host", and 30 days "for all other categories".

Health insurance. For private sector employees and domestic workers, the UAE Government Portal states that employers must purchase health insurance "as a prerequisite for applying for the issuance or renewal of residency permits", subject to the exceptions stated on the page. In Dubai, it states that "Sponsors are required to get insurance cover for their resident dependents."

Where applications are made

For residence in Dubai, the immigration authority is GDRFA Dubai. Federally, it is ICP. The UAE Government Portal states that visa charges "are stated on each service card on the websites of ICP and GDRFA-D", which is also where each service's requirements are published. Read the service card for the exact service you need, not a general page, because requirements differ between services.

Moving from one route to another

Routes are not fixed for life. A resident whose circumstances change, for example a new employer, a new business or a family change, may move from one route to another. In Dubai, GDRFA publishes a status amendment service for a move made from inside the country, with its own fees and conditions, including "having a new visa" and "cancellation of the previous residence permit". Plan the move as one sequence: the new route applied for, the old one cancelled, and any grace period understood before either step is taken.

Questions to ask before you choose

This list is ours. It turns the published rules into practical questions.

1. Who will sponsor me, and is that sponsor willing and able?
2. Which published criteria does the route set, and which evidence do I hold for each?
3. How long is the route valid, and what must I do to renew it?
4. Can I sponsor my family on this route, and on what conditions?
5. What happens to my residence, and my family's, if my circumstances change?
6. Which grace period applies to me if the permit is cancelled or expires?
7. How long can I spend outside the UAE on this route without affecting my residence?
8. Which authority's service card sets out the requirements, and when did I last check it?

Practical asset: the route-finder worksheet. Write down your answers to five lines before you read any route in detail. (1) Sponsor: employer, family member or self. (2) Connection: job, family, business, study, remote employer, retirement or property. (3) Intended stay: under three years, or longer. (4) Documents you already hold: degree certificate, salary certificate, income evidence, property title, study confirmation. (5) Emirate you will live in. Then take the one or two routes your answers point to, open each route's official page, and list every published criterion in a column beside your own evidence. Any criterion without evidence beside it is your question for the authority. The worksheet narrows your reading. The authority's page, and the authority's decision, settle it.

What this guide does not do

It does not tell you that you qualify, and it does not rank routes. More than one route may fit the same person, and the right one depends on facts only you and the authority can weigh. For the green, golden and retirement routes, whose criteria include salary, income or investment figures, we have pointed you to the authority's own page rather than reproducing the numbers.

If you are also working out what a move costs, the household budget framework for Dubai is the companion to this guide. For how residence connects to the rest of a company's government transactions, see the PRO transaction map.

Information verified against official sources on 18 September 2026.

Talk through your route with RINJAZ. Send us your answers to the five worksheet lines. We can return the one or two published routes that appear to correspond to your answers, the official page for each, and a list of the published criteria for each. This is a route review, not an eligibility decision.

ICP and, in Dubai, GDRFA decide every residence application, on their own assessment and their own timetable. A service provider's role, within whatever its licensed activity covers, is to prepare the application, submit it, coordinate the steps and track it. No provider can promise a visa, and no fee changes the decision.