Dubai Visas

In 30 Seconds

Every route into UAE residence answers a different question. If you run a business, the visa attached to your own company is the fastest and cheapest door, and the one we run end to end. If you are buying property, AED 2 million of Dubai real estate carries a 10 year Golden Visa, and since February 2026 a mortgage no longer disqualifies you. If you are a high earner, salary alone can qualify you. If you are a mid income freelancer, the 5 year Green Visa exists precisely for you. And once any of those is yours, you can sponsor your family. This page maps every route honestly, who each one actually suits, and links the detailed guide for each. Short visits are simpler: UK passport holders get visa free entry for tourism, covered in our short stay guide.

Route 1: the visa attached to your own company

The default for UK business owners, and usually the right one. Your UAE company sponsors your residence visa as part of formation: licence, establishment card, entry permit, medical, Emirates ID, done. It is the cheapest route to residence for anyone already planning a company, it is renewable with the licence, and it is the sequence our published £7,000 all in price covers, licence and first visa together. The full mechanics live on the business setup pillar, the stage by stage timing in the processing time guide, and the fastest real world version in the 72 hour diary. Standard employment visas run on two to three year cycles; the point is not the length, it is that you control the sponsor because you own it.

Route 2: the Golden Visa, 10 years, no sponsor

The UAE's flagship long term residence, renewable at 10 years, with no employer or company sponsorship required. The main doors, per the federal authority's current criteria:

  • Property: AED 2 million. A single property or portfolio whose certified value reaches AED 2 million, roughly £430,000. The February 2026 easing matters: mortgaged and off plan property now qualify on total certified value, without the old requirement to have paid half.
  • Capital: AED 2 million in an approved fund, bank deposit or company capital.
  • Salary: around AED 30,000 a month for skilled professionals with an attested degree.
  • Entrepreneurs and tax payers: routes exist via approved innovative projects from around AED 500,000, meaningful company revenue, or substantial annual tax contributions, and 2026 expansions brought content creators and established freelancers into scope at the same income tier.

The honest note: thresholds and categories move every year, several of the 2026 details above were new this spring, so verify the live criteria before planning around any of them, including ours.

Route 3: the Green Visa, 5 years, self sponsored

The most underused option in the system. Five years, self sponsored, no employer holding your status: skilled employees qualify from around AED 15,000 a month with a degree level role, and freelancers by evidencing roughly AED 360,000 of self employment income over two years. It sits deliberately between the standard employment visa and the Golden Visa, you keep it if you change jobs, and you can sponsor family on it. For a mid income professional who does not want a company, this is usually the honest answer, and upgrading to Golden later carries no penalty.

Route 4: family sponsorship

Once you hold residence through any route above, you can sponsor your spouse and children, and in some cases parents. Costs run around £1,000 to £1,500 per person through our process, and the sequencing around school years is its own discipline, covered fully in the family visa guide. If your family includes UK residents without British passports, the entry rules differ; the BRP holders guide covers that path.

Route 5: freelance permits and the rest

Several free zones sell freelance permits, typically costing in the low thousands of pounds, that license solo work and can carry a residence visa. They suit consultants and digital professionals testing the water, with the trade off that the permit ties your activity to the issuing zone. Beyond these sit the niche routes: student visas, retirement visas, remote work visas, and Dubai's separate two year property investor visa, which reporting this year suggests has dropped its old minimum property value entirely. Niche routes change fast; if one of them looks like your door, that is a verify this week conversation, not a bookmark this article one.

Choosing honestly

The pattern from running these daily: business owners take the company route because it is fastest and they need the company anyway; property buyers take Golden because 10 unsponsored years is worth the capital they were deploying regardless; employed high earners take Golden on salary; mid income independents take Green; and almost nobody should pick a route because a visa firm's margin prefers it. The medical, biometrics and Emirates ID sequence at the end is identical for all of them, and one line applies to every route on this page: the FCDO currently warns of ongoing regional tensions and a risk of further attacks in the region, so check the live advice when planning travel.

FAQs

What is the easiest way for a UK citizen to get UAE residence?

For business owners, the visa attached to your own free zone company: it arrives as part of formation, costs least, and you control the sponsor. For everyone else it depends on income and capital: Golden at AED 2 million property or around AED 30,000 monthly salary, Green from around AED 15,000 monthly.

How much do you need to invest for a UAE Golden Visa?

AED 2 million, roughly £430,000, in certified property or approved capital. Since February 2026 mortgaged and off plan property qualify on total certified value. Salary and entrepreneur routes exist without any property at all.

What is the difference between the Golden Visa and the Green Visa?

Duration and bar. Golden runs 10 years with thresholds around AED 2 million capital or AED 30,000 monthly salary. Green runs 5 years at roughly half the salary bar, or freelance income of around AED 360,000 over two years, and upgrades later without penalty.

Do UK citizens need a visa to visit Dubai?

Not for short tourist stays: entry is granted on arrival for UK passport holders. Residence is the separate, sponsored process this page maps. Our short stay guide covers the visit rules in detail.

Can I sponsor my family on a UAE visa?

Yes, on any of the main residence routes: spouse and children, and in some cases parents. Through our process family visas run around £1,000 to £1,500 per person, and timing around school admissions is the part worth planning early.

How long does a UAE residence visa take?

Two to three weeks end to end is the honest standard through the company route, with our fastest real run at under 72 hours from landing to Emirates ID. Golden and Green applications vary by category, typically weeks when documents are clean.

Not sure which route fits? Book a free call. Twenty minutes, your circumstances, and the honest answer, including when the cheapest route is the right one.

Related guides

References

Visa categories, thresholds and fees change frequently. This page is general information, not immigration advice; verify live criteria before applying.