Dubai Entry Visa and Residence Permits: Work, Green and Golden Routes

It is easy to assume there is one Dubai visa and that an agent handles it. There are several residence routes, each with its own conditions, and picking the wrong one can cost you time. Here is how they differ.

The routes, side by side

Employer-sponsored: the normal path

If you are moving for a job, this is your route. The company applies for your work permit, you enter on an entry permit, and the residence visa is issued once you are in the country. Your part is a medical fitness test, Emirates ID biometrics, and signing what you are given.

Two things are worth knowing. First, the visa is tied to that employer. Once it is cancelled or expires, GDRFA gives you a grace period to stay in the country: 60 days for a standard private-sector residence permit, although ICP gives skilled workers at levels 1 to 3 90 days, so confirm yours when the permit is cancelled. Second, the company must pay for your health insurance and cannot deduct the cost from your salary. Our insurance guide covers the details.

The Green Visa

The Green Visa arrived with the visa rules that took effect on 3 October 2022. It lasts five years, can be renewed, and is self-sponsored: your employer is not your visa sponsor. ICP lists three groups who can apply: skilled employees, freelancers and self-employed people, and investors or business partners. The skilled-worker version still needs a work permit under a valid UAE employment contract, so your job still matters. If the visa is cancelled or expires, GDRFA gives you 180 days to stay. For an employer-sponsored permit, GDRFA Dubai lists 60 days, but ICP’s cancellation page gives skilled workers at levels 1 to 3 90 days, so check which applies to you.

For employees, ICP sets a minimum salary of AED 15,000 a month, not a maximum, along with a bachelor’s degree and a job at MoHRE skill level 1 to 3. Freelancers need a MoHRE freelance permit, a degree or specialised diploma, and at least AED 360,000 a year of freelance income over the previous two years. If you earn AED 30,000 or more and work at a senior (level 1 or 2) grade, look at the Golden Visa salary route instead. It lasts ten years rather than five, but it asks for six months of salary bank statements and is cancelled if your salary falls below AED 30,000 or your contract is cancelled.

The Golden Visa, and the number people misread

Ten years, renewable, self-sponsored. The main routes are property, a bank deposit or investment fund, a salary of at least AED 30,000 a month, or recognition as an exceptional talent. ICP also lists company investors and large taxpayers, entrepreneurs, scientists and specialists, outstanding students and graduates, humanitarian pioneers and frontline workers.

That DLD total is made up of the medical test (AED 700), a 10-year Emirates ID (AED 1,153), the residence permit (AED 2,856.75), Dubai Land Department fees (AED 4,020) and administrative fees (AED 1,155). On the deposit and salary routes, GDRFA Dubai lists a residence permit fee of AED 1,100, rising by AED 100 for each year beyond two. Its list also has AED 10 each for the Knowledge and Innovation fees, AED 500 if you apply from inside the country and AED 20 for delivery. The Emirates ID and the medical test are not in that list.

Mortgaged property (financed through an approved local bank) and off-plan units (bought from an approved developer) can also qualify when their total value reaches AED 2 million. For a mortgaged property, Dubai Land Department asks for a bank letter showing the amount paid, and its service page says that amount must reach AED 2 million.

Sponsoring your family

Once you hold residency, you can sponsor dependants. Unless you hold a Golden Visa, you need a minimum income, and it is the same whether the sponsor is a man or a woman.

If the wife is the sponsor, GDRFA also asks for the father’s no-objection. The parent figures and the Golden Visa exemption come from the April 2026 family visa guide by Emirates 24|7, not from an official page, so confirm them with GDRFA before you rely on them.

What actually happens, in order

1. Step 1Entry permitIssued before you travel, or converted from a visit visa if you are already here. Valid for a fixed window in which you must complete the rest.
2. Step 2Medical fitness testBlood test and chest X-ray at an approved medical fitness centre. The result is sent to you by SMS and email.
3. Step 3Emirates ID biometricsFingerprints and photograph. The card is the document you will actually use every day, more than the passport.
4. Step 4Health insuranceCompulsory in Dubai: a policy must be produced when your residence visa is issued and again at every renewal. If you are employed, your employer must arrange it and pay for it.
5. Step 5Residence visa issuedFrom this point you can open a bank account and sign a tenancy.

The sequence matters more than the speed. Get your residence visa and Emirates ID first: Dubai Land Department asks for the applicant’s Emirates ID to register a tenancy contract (Ejari) at a trustee centre. Our banking guide picks up where this one ends.