What the visas cost
Go through Step 1 to 6 to start. Pick only what you need and watch your total build as you go.
STEP 2 OF 6
Get the visas
A visa service that gets people legally living and working here: entry permit, medical, Emirates ID, stamping, all coordinated, so residency happens on schedule, without you tracking appointments, statuses, or expiry windows yourself.
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UAE Visas & Residency
Every route into the UAE, explained plainly
Not sure where you fit? We run a free eligibility check and tell you honestly what you qualify for before you commit to anything.
Investor Visa
An investor visa lets foreign business owners and shareholders live in the UAE and run their own company. Because you are sponsored by your own business rather than a third-party employer, you can sponsor yourself, sponsor eligible family members, and hire staff under the company’s establishment card.
Suited to shareholders and partners in a UAE free zone or mainland company.
Employee Visa
An employee visa lets a foreign national live and work in the UAE under the sponsorship of a UAE employer. It is issued for a fixed period and stays tied to the employment contract, so it is renewed, amended or cancelled in line with the employee’s status.
Suited to companies onboarding new staff, and to employees relocating to the UAE.
Golden Visa (10 Years)
The Golden Visa grants ten years of renewable residency with no local sponsor, open to property investors, entrepreneurs, skilled professionals on qualifying salaries, specialised talent and outstanding graduates. Holders can work, study, sponsor family regardless of age, and spend long periods abroad without the visa lapsing.
Suited to property owners, investors, senior professionals and exceptional talent.
What makes us stand out
From setup to growth, backed by 5-star service.
Trustworthy reputation
Individualised solutions
All-around services
Hassle-free, fast and efficient
Excellence and professionalism
Dedicated support
T
Tala Farah
4 reviews · 1 photo
I had a great experience with Choose UAE. The team was very professional, responsive, and clear throughout the entire process. Everything was handled smoothly, and my residence visa was issued much faster than I expected. They kept me updated at every step, which made the whole experience easy and stress-free. Highly recommend.
A
Attair Awais
1 review
Best experience with Dubai visa processing. Special thanks to Mr.ABDUL SUHAIL for his outstanding support. He did a great job with my family’s visa and kept everything transparent. Highly professional and reliable agency!
D
Dhirendra Pratap Ray
7 reviews · 1 photo
I had a great experience with the ChooseUAE team throughout my visa application process. Their professionalism, responsiveness, and attention to detail made the entire process smooth and stress-free. ChooseUAE to anyone looking for reliable and efficient visa assistance.
THE TIMELINE
What happens, day by day
The residence visa process follows the same stages whoever the sponsor is. The clock starts the day we hold your complete document set. Working days throughout.
Preparation
BEFORE DAY 0Eligibility review and quotationShort discovery callWe confirm your shareholding qualifies and which route fits, then put the service fee and government fees in writing before anything is filed.
DAY 0Documents receivedPassport, photo, trade licenseWe check the set is complete and arrange MOFA attestation or certified Arabic translation where needed. The timeline runs from here.
Immigration processing
DAY 1–3Establishment cardHandled by usThe company needs an active establishment card before an investor visa can be filed. Skipped if your file is already active.
DAY 3–7Entry permit issuedHandled by usWe file with immigration. The permit is issued electronically and lets you enter the UAE or change status from inside.
DAY 7–9Entry or change of statusInside or outside the UAEApplicants abroad travel in on the permit; those already here can often change status without leaving.
Medical & Emirates ID
DAY 8–10Medical fitness testOne appointmentBlood test and chest X-ray at an approved centre. We book the slot and take you there.
DAY 8–10Emirates ID applicationHandled by usFiled with the ICP alongside the medical, so the two run in parallel.
DAY 9–12Emirates ID biometricsUsually the same tripFingerprints and a photograph captured at an authorised ICP centre.
Residency
DAY 12–15Residence visa stampedHandled by usOnce medical and biometrics clear, the visa is approved and linked to your passport. You are now a UAE resident.
DAY 17–22Emirates ID deliveredHandled by usThe card is produced and couriered to you, wherever you are.
What we need
Documents required
Passport copy, full spread and clear, valid at least six months.
Passport-size photo, white background, high resolution.
Trade license and company documents the visa is issued against.
Establishment card, or we open one first.
Emirates ID and current visa copy, if you are already a UAE resident.
Health insurance, valid and UAE-issued (we can arrange it).
Routes people ask for by the wrong name
What is real, what is not, and what to avoid
Visa terminology in the UAE is mostly marketing. A few names describe real permits. Others are packaging. Knowing which is which saves you from buying the wrong thing.
Frequently asked
UAE residence visa questions
A residence visa is the permit that allows a foreign national to live in the UAE long term, rather than visit. It is linked electronically to your passport and paired with an Emirates ID, and it is issued through a sponsor: an employer, your own company, a family member, or in certain categories, yourself.
Validity depends on the visa type and the sponsor. Sponsored residence visas are typically issued for 1, 2 or 3 years. Unsponsored, long term visas run for 5 or 10 years, subject to meeting the relevant conditions.
A UAE employer, a company in which you are a shareholder or partner, a UAE citizen, or a family member holding a valid residence visa. Under the Golden, Green and freelance routes, you sponsor yourself and no employer or family sponsor is needed.
No. The entry permit is applied for first and can be issued while you are outside the country. You then travel in on that permit and complete the medical, biometrics and stamping stages inside the UAE.
If you are already in the UAE on a visit or tourist status when your entry permit is issued, a change of status converts you to residence status without leaving the country. Eligibility depends on your nationality and current visa type, and in some cases an exit and re entry is required instead.
It is a blood test and chest X ray at a government approved medical centre, required for anyone aged 18 and over applying for a residence visa. Results must clear before the visa can be stamped.
Yes. Valid medical cover is required before a residence visa can be issued, and the minimum standard is set at emirate level. You cannot complete stamping without it.
The Emirates ID is the national identity card issued by the ICP to every resident. It is compulsory, it is applied for as part of the residence visa process, and you need it for banking, tenancy, telecoms, schooling and most government services.
It is the immigration file that registers your company with the authorities and allows it to sponsor visas. A company must hold an active establishment card, and for mainland employment an open labour file with MOHRE, before any staff or investor visa can be issued.
An investor or partner visa is sponsored by a company in which you hold shares, so you effectively sponsor yourself. An employee visa is sponsored by an employer and is tied to your employment contract, meaning it is cancelled if you leave the company.
The UAE government portal states a minimum monthly salary of AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 plus employer provided accommodation, to sponsor a spouse and children. Requirements can differ for female sponsors and for parents, and are applied at ICP or GDRFA level, so your specific case should be checked before applying.
An expatriate resident may sponsor their spouse, unmarried daughters, sons under 25, and children with special needs. Green Visa holders can sponsor first degree relatives. Parents can be sponsored under separate conditions.
Sons can be sponsored up to the age of 25. Sons of determination, meaning children with special needs, can be sponsored without an age limit.
No age restriction applies to daughters, provided they remain unmarried.
A residence visa must be applied for within 120 days of birth. Applying after that window results in fines.
Yes, where GDRFA conditions are met, including a security deposit for each child and written consent from the biological parent. A stepchild's residence visa is issued for one year and renewed annually.
An attested marriage certificate, issued in Arabic or translated into Arabic by a certified legal translator, alongside proof of income and accommodation. In limited cases a Muslim resident may sponsor two wives, subject to specific ICP conditions.
Sponsoring one parent alone is permitted only where you can evidence that you are their sole provider and that no one remains in the home country to care for them. Parents are otherwise expected to be sponsored together where both are living.
Dependants' residence permits are linked to the sponsor's. If the sponsor's visa is cancelled, the dependants' visas must be cancelled too. Dependants are granted a grace period from the date of expiry or cancellation to obtain a new permit, and a sponsor who fails to renew or cancel them may be fined.
A 10 year renewable residence visa granted without a local sponsor. Holders can sponsor their spouse, children and domestic staff. Common routes include real estate investment from AED 2 million, capital in an approved UAE investment fund, senior employment at a qualifying salary level with an attested degree, endorsed specialised talent, entrepreneurs, and outstanding students.
A 5 year self sponsored residence visa, meaning your residency does not end when your job does. It covers skilled employees meeting the required MOHRE skill classification, degree and salary level, freelancers and self employed professionals holding a valid permit and meeting the income test, and qualifying investors and partners.
Yes, if you meet the criteria for the new category. Your existing visa is cancelled and the new one issued. We run an eligibility check against the current criteria before anything is filed.
As a general rule, a residence visa is automatically nullified if the holder remains outside the UAE for more than 180 continuous days. If that happens, a new entry permit is needed to return.
Yes. Golden, Green and Blue residence holders, and the husband of a UAE national woman sponsored by her, may enter the UAE at any time while their residence remains valid. Other residents can apply to the ICP for a permit to stay outside the country beyond six months, giving a valid reason. Note that this ICP permit service does not apply to Dubai issued residents, who go through GDRFA instead.
It is the legal window in which you may remain in the UAE after your residence visa expires or is cancelled, in order to renew, change status, or depart. Grace periods are category dependent and reach up to six months for some residents. Your exact window is shown on your cancellation document and on the ICP file validity check.
The ICP has standardised overstay fines at AED 50 per day, applying to visit, tourist and residence visas alike. For cancelled residence permits, the fine begins only after your applicable grace period ends. Fines must be settled before your status can be regularised or before departure.
No. Working in the UAE requires a valid residence visa and, where applicable, a work permit. A grace period allows you to remain in the country, not to work.
Not automatically. Tax residency is a separate determination made by the Federal Tax Authority against its own criteria, including actual presence in the UAE. Holding a residence visa on its own does not establish it.
Missing or unattested documents, particularly marriage and birth certificates requiring MOFA attestation and Arabic translation. Also insufficient passport validity, name spelling mismatches across documents, an uncancelled previous UAE visa, unsettled fines, and medical results requiring further review.
No. No UAE residence visa, including the Golden Visa, converts to citizenship. Long term visas are renewable residence permits, granted for as long as the holder continues to meet the qualifying criteria.