The visa routes to Dubai: employer, gold, green or income
No points and no lottery: the UAE right of residence hangs on what you bring. The employer route is the standard, the Golden Visa (10 years) asks for AED 2 million in property or a salary from 30,000 a month, the Green Visa runs on your own income, and there's a route for remote workers and the over-55s. Plus what does not exist: a residence permit without an end date.
5 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
For Dubai you pick a visa route from a menu: through an employer, a Golden or Green Visa, remote work or a retirement visa. The Emirates do not rank you and do not hold a lottery. Whoever knows the Australian and Canadian chapters of this knowledge base therefore has to switch here. There is no points table, there is a menu, and a price per dish.
Below are the routes that are realistic for Dutch people, with the current thresholds. The trap in almost every route is the same. Your residence hangs on the condition with which you came in. If that disappears, a clock starts running.
Which routes are there?
| Route | Duration | The threshold | Grace after the end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer (private sector) | 2 years, renewable | an employer who sponsors | 60 days |
| Golden Visa, property | 10 years | property of at least AED 2 million | |
| Golden Visa, specialist | 10 years | salary of about AED 30,000 per month, bachelor's | |
| Green Visa, highly skilled | 5 years | salary from AED 15,000 per month, bachelor's | 180 days |
| Green Visa, freelancer | 5 years | AED 360,000 per year over two years, bachelor's | 180 days |
| Remote work | 1 year | salary from USD 3,500 per month | |
| Retired (55+) | 5 years | in Dubai AED 240,000 per year, or property plus savings | 60 days |
How does the employer route work?
By far most Dutch people come on a residence permit through their employer. According to the GDRFA, Dubai's immigration authority, it gives two years of residence, each time renewable under the same conditions.
The chain is fast. The GDRFA gives 48 hours for an entry permit, the temporary permit to enter. After landing you have sixty days to complete the medical test, Emirates ID and visa. The fees are hundreds of dirhams: AED 200 for the permit, plus small levies.
The downside is in the word sponsor. If your visa is cancelled, you have sixty days to find something new or leave.
What does the Golden Visa require?
The Golden Visa gives ten years of residence without a sponsor. For Dutch people two doors are realistic.
Property or deposit. You own property worth at least AED 2 million, valued through the Dubai Land Department. A mortgaged property counts. A lien is placed on the property for as long as the visa runs. A deposit of AED 2 million is also possible. But it is frozen for at least two years, and the money may not come out for the whole ten years.
Specialist. You meet four requirements:
- you have a work permit;
- you fall in the first or second occupational level of MOHRE, the Ministry of Human Resources;
- you have at least a bachelor's degree, with a recognition report from the ministry;
- you earn about AED 30,000 a month.
The GDRFA adds something that is missing in recruitment conversations. If the salary falls below AED 30,000 or the contract is ended, the Golden Visa is cancelled.
The big advantage besides the duration: with a Golden Visa you may stay outside the Emirates for longer than the usual six months, without losing your visa.
What does the Green Visa require?
The Green Visa gives five years of residence without a sponsor, renewable. You may sponsor your partner and children with it.
As a highly skilled worker you need:
- an employment contract with a work permit;
- a position in MOHRE's first three occupational levels;
- a bachelor's degree;
- a salary of at least AED 15,000 a month.
As a freelancer you need:
- a MOHRE freelance permit;
- a bachelor's degree;
- income from self-employment of at least AED 360,000 a year over the two preceding years, or demonstrable financial solvency.
The most generous advantage: after expiry or cancellation you have 180 days instead of sixty.
What if you keep your job, or retire?
The remote work visa is the lowest threshold: one year, self-sponsored, for those who work for an employer outside the Emirates and can show a salary of at least USD 3,500 a month.
The retirement visa is for those who have worked for at least fifteen years, inside or outside the Emirates, and are fifty-five or older. Federally a fixed annual income of AED 180,000 is enough. In Dubai it is AED 240,000.
The alternative is property of at least AED 1 million plus a deposit of at least AED 1 million. According to the GDRFA, that deposit must be in the Emirates within sixty days of issue. For this five-year visa the GDRFA lists AED 2,280 in residence fees and AED 575 for the ID card.
What does not exist?
A residence permit without an end date. The government portal lists terms of one, two or three years with a sponsor, and five or ten years without. And almost every route has the 180-day rule. If you are outside the Emirates for more than one hundred and eighty consecutive days, your visa lapses automatically, except with a Golden or Green Visa.
The Emirates give you a lot: speed, net salary, ten years of certainty if your wealth or salary is high enough. A home country you can never lose, they do not give. Whoever knows that chooses more consciously.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but applied to your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines monitored. See the whole journey to Dubai.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- U.ae — the Golden Visa — u.ae
- ICP — guide to the Green Residence (five years, without a sponsor) — icp.gov.ae
- GDRFA Dubai — Golden Visa property and deposit — gdrfad.gov.ae
- GDRFA Dubai — Golden Visa for specialists (salary from AED 30,000) — gdrfad.gov.ae
- GDRFA Dubai — Green Visa for highly skilled workers — gdrfad.gov.ae
- GDRFA Dubai — Green Visa freelancer — gdrfad.gov.ae
- GDRFA Dubai — residence permit private sector (two years, sixty days' grace) — gdrfad.gov.ae
- U.ae — remote working from the UAE — u.ae
- U.ae — the retirement visa — u.ae
- GDRFA Dubai — residence permit for retirees (conditions and fees in Dubai) — gdrfad.gov.ae
- U.ae — general provisions for the residence visa — u.ae
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