United Arab Emirates

The UAE Golden Visa is a long-term, self-sponsored residency programme — up to 10 years, renewable — that lets eligible investors, entrepreneurs, professionals, and other qualifying individuals live in the UAE without needing a local employer or sponsor, in a jurisdiction with zero personal income tax.

Introduced in 2019 and substantially reformed in 2022 (which lowered the real-estate threshold from AED 5 million to AED 2 million), the UAE Golden Visa today covers 14 eligibility categories — including real estate investors, public/fund investors, entrepreneurs, business owners, skilled professionals, scientists, doctors, engineers, creative professionals, outstanding students, and others. The most commonly used route remains real estate: own UAE property worth AED 2 million or more, DLD/land-department registered. Since a February 2026 reform, mortgaged and off-plan properties qualify based on their full certified value, regardless of the outstanding loan — removing the previous 50%-paid-upfront restriction. The visa is self-sponsored: it is not tied to employment and is not cancelled if you change jobs, stop working, or spend extended time abroad. Visas are issued for 5 or 10 years depending on category and generally renew automatically while the qualifying criteria continue to be met.

Non-UAE national, 18+; qualifying investment or category criteria met (e.g. AED 2M property/fund/business stake for the investor route); clean criminal record; valid medical/health insurance; UAE medical fitness test; Emirates ID biometrics enrolment; for jointly-owned property, each co-owner's proportionate share must independently reach AED 2M to qualify that person individually; for mortgaged property, a bank/developer No Objection Certificate.

Passport; passport photos; DLD/land-department valuation certificate (property route) or fund/company investment documents; bank NOC if mortgaged; UAE medical fitness test results; UAE-compliant health insurance; Emirates ID application/biometrics; proof of funds/source of investment; family relationship documents (marriage/birth certificates, officially attested) for sponsored dependants.