UAE Golden Visa: Are You Eligible for the 10-Year Residency?

The UAE Long-Term Visa, more commonly known as the UAE Golden Visa, has been one of the hot topics in the country ever since its launch. In the UAE, foreigners typically have renewable visas that are only valid for a few years, linked to jobs. Over the last two years, the government has made its visa program more stable, giving some categories of businessmen, students, and professionals longer residencies.

The new UAE visa regulations mandate candidates and persons of various occupations to apply for a “10-year UAE residency visa” or a “5-year UAE residency visa.” In particular, firms beyond free zones will still be wholly operated by foreigners. The golden visa is now available for all Ph.D. holders, medical doctors, as well as computer, communications, programming, electrical, and biotechnology engineers.

Overview of the UAE Golden Visa

As compared to the traditional two-year residence visa, the Golden Visa offers citizenship for five to ten years. Business visas are part of the Golden Visa scheme, which requires permanent residents and visitors to receive long-stay visas for themselves and their dependents. Based on a variety of requirements defined by the Federal Office for Identity and Citizenship, these dependents can include the mother and aunt.

Business visas are based on the principle of permanent residency since the applicant satisfies the terms and requirements of each extension period (every five years). Expats who live and operate in the UAE typically hold a two or three-year revolving residency visa.

The UAE began awarding 5- and 10-year renewable visas to some international businessmen, traders, chief executives, scientists, and excellent students in 2019, after first revealing a long-term visa strategy in 2018.

Expansion of the UAE 10-year Residency Golden Visa Eligibility

The scope of professionals who can secure the 10-year Golden Citizenship Visa has been extended by the UAE. The Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has declared that more technical groups will be qualifying for 10-year golden residency visas. The advantage of the Golden Visa applies to partners and infants. Both groups are expected to provide a legitimate work contract with preference in the UAE in a specialized field.

Categories Eligible for the 10-Year Visa

Below is the complete list of professions that can apply for the Golden Visa.

1. Ph.D. degree holders: Within the regulations, the Golden Visa would be granted to practitioners with a Ph.D. degree. The candidate must possess a Ph.D. degree from one of the world’s top 500 universities.
2. Doctors: The authorities also grant a 10-year visa to be acquired for all physicians. It would help the nation deal with the pandemic easier and fix the country’s medical practitioners’ deficiencies. The Golden Visa will be awarded to doctors who specialize in viral epidemiology, Sheikh Mohammed stated.
3. Engineers: All engineers in the fields of computers, software, programming, electrics, electronics, active technology, AI, and Big Data will receive a Golden Visa in order to recruit talent in this advanced area.
4. Highly qualified individuals: The UAE also offers a 10-year visa to highly qualified individuals who have achieved high scores of 3.8 or more from approved universities.
5. Researchers/Scientists: It includes scientists and scholars who are experts in their respective fields. Scientists must be certified by the Council of Emirates Scientists or the Mohammed Bin Rashid Scientific Excellence Medal holder.
6. Inventors: The UAE also offers golden visas to inventors, but they must obtain a patent of value, which adds to the UAE’s economy. Patents must be approved by the Ministry of Economy.
7. Artists: Creative individuals in the field of culture and art will be awarded the golden visa. Creative individuals in culture and art must be accredited by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development.
8. Investors: A golden visa can also be sought by international investors who have invested Dh10 million or more. This investment can take the form of an investment fund deposit, the formation of a business, or an investment in the real estate sector or in some other strategic sector. Golden visas under this program have already been granted to a number of Indian, Pakistani, and Arab investors.

The requirements for a UAE 10-year gold visa for general investors are subject to the following conditions:

• Public investments either through deposits or via a company amounting to no less than AED 10 million
• Out of this total investment, more than 60% has to be in non-real estate assets
• The investor should hold full ownership of these assets. Anything under a loan or mortgage cannot be taken into consideration. In the case of loaned/ mortgaged assets, he/she can prove that they reserve the rights of investments for three years as a minimum.
• The asset should not be embroiled in any claims or financial disputes.

These general investors are eligible for a UAE citizenship visa for 10 years, which can be extended. The visa is also valid for 10 years for dependents. If your key asset is a business, you may have investors, given they have each spent AED 10 million too. For the Executive Director and one advisor, you will even get a 10-year UAE Golden Visa. You should not stay out of the country for longer than 6 months, equivalent to other residence visas in the UAE.

Categories Eligible for the 5-Year Visa

Below is the list of professionals who can obtain a 5-year visa:

1. Entrepreneurs: This category includes those having an existing project with a minimum capital of Dh500,000, or those who have the approval of an accredited business incubator in the country. The entrepreneur is allowed a multi-entry visa for six months, renewable for another six months. The long-term visa includes the spouse and children, a partner, and three executives.
2. Outstanding students: This includes students with a minimum grade of 95 percent in public and private secondary schools, university students within and outside the country having a distinction GPA of at least 3.75 upon graduation. The long-term visa includes families of outstanding students.

Planning on Moving to the UAE?

Since it is one of the safest countries in the world, the UAE Golden Visa, which gives citizens a type of residence permit in the UAE, is an incredibly attractive policy. This initiative would enable more expatriates to spend their investments in the UAE, which would allow both the nation and the investor to prosper tremendously. At Riz and Mona Consultancy, our visa experts will help you get your golden visa in only a few days. In this area, we have more than a decade of participation and expertise and we can make the visa process hassle-free. For further details, feel free to contact us.