Visa Rules in the UAE – GUIDE to Understanding in 2023

United Arab Emirates (UAE) is paving the way for a new era of global citizens, with their recently announced Visa system offering more flexibility and opportunities than ever before.

In this article, we explore how these Visas can benefit potential investors, job seekers and visitors alike while outlining what they need to do in order to successfully navigate through them.

Learn all about the Visit Visa, Job Seeker Visa, Visitor’s Visa, Green Visa, and Golden Visa.

Understanding the Different Types of Visas in Emirates

The UAE offers five different types of Visas. Some Visas allow for family sponsorship, and others do not require a sponsor for application. Let’s take a look at each type of Visa.

With the new Visa system in effect, things have become much easier now. Let’s begin understanding the different types of Visas, what kind of Visa suits you better, and what are the advantages of availing these different types of Visas for residents, expatriates, and job seekers. In total, there are five types of Visas.

Under some Visas, you could sponsor your family as well. For application of certain Visas, you don’t even need a sponsor.

• Visit Visa

The first Visa on my list is the UAE Visit Visa, which allows a stay of up to 60 days and can be either a single or multiple entry Visa. It may be renewed for the same length of time.

Visitors planning to visit the UAE can obtain a Visitor Visa online or through travel agents even if they are not in the UAE. This visa allows them to stay here for 60 days.

• Job Exploration Visa or Job Seeker Visa

The second Visa on my list is the Job Exploration Visa or the Job Seeker’s Visa. As I said earlier in the article, UAE is a very interesting market for jobs in various fields, so a lot of job seekers come to the UAE and try their luck in finding a suitable opportunity. To have this Visa, you need not to have a sponsor.

There is a defined skill set to acquire this kind of Visa. If you are a job seeker, you are assessed on the different skill levels. There are Type 1, 2, and 3 skill level which is already defined by the Ministry of Human Resources and Amortization. Depending on your skill set, you could apply for this Visa. It is also open for fresh graduates and students who would like to come in the UAE from all over the world.

Even a seasoned professional could try having a job seeker’s Visa and come to the UAE to apply for suitable jobs, and they may get lucky in finding the right job offer. This Visa did not exist before, and it is particularly for job seekers who would not require a host in the country to have them trying for a job.

• Visitor’s Visa

Now let’s move on to the third type of Visa, which is the Visitor’s Visa. To come on a Visitor’s Visa, you need to have a relative in the country who could sponsor you on a visit. There are certain criteria for inviting relatives over a Visit Visa.

Depending on the duration of your Visitor’s Visa, there are two criteria:

There are two criteria for Visitor’s Visa based on the duration of the stay:

1. Short-term Visitor’s Visa
2. Five-year multiple entry Tourist Visa.

If you’re applying for the long-term Visa, you don’t need a sponsor or a host.

There are so many benefits of having a multiple entry long-term Tourist Visa for five years. The visa permits visitors to stay in the UAE for a consecutive period of 90 days, and it is possible to extend the visa for an additional 90 days.

The only clauses of this Visa are that it should not give you a stay of over 180 days and you cannot exceed the limit of 180 days. Staying continuously in the UAE for 90 days is definitely possible. Another important clause of having a long-term UAE Tourist Visa is that the entrant must maintain a bank balance of US$4,000.

The proof has to be attached with the Visa application that you have US$4,000 in your bank account. For this kind of UAE Visa, and the period that you have to maintain this balance is six months.

So, while applying for multiple entry five-year Tourist Visa in the UAE, you must maintain US$4,000 in your bank account for six months, and as I said the proof has to be attached with the application.

It’s not necessary that the currency has to be in US Dollars – you can also put it at any conversion rate, but the sum has to be the total of US$4,000.

Will this multiple entry Tourist Visa in the UAE allow me to have my family members sponsored?

The answer is yes. You could definitely have your family members, but the same rule applies, which is staying not more than 180 days in the country. But you could continuously stay for 90 days.

There are certain rules for sponsoring your family members on a multiple entry Tourist Visa for five years. If you have a son, you can sponsor him if he’s still 25 years of age (before this limit was 18 years, now it has been extended to 25 years for boys). If you have a girl who is unmarried, then there is no age limit to follow.

This type of sponsorship provides unlimited access to daughters. Children with disabilities are granted a residency permit regardless of their age. So, children of determination are also welcome under this kind of sponsorship, without any age limit.

• Green Visa

Let’s proceed to our next visa category, which is the Green Visa.

This Visa has somewhat similar rules to five-year multiple entry Tourist Visa, but definitely, it has many more benefits. This visa offers skilled workers a five-year residency without requiring an employer or sponsor.

Any skilled individual who has got a job offer from the UAE with a salary of minimum 15,000 Dirhams can apply for Green Visa. They could also sponsor their first-degree relatives for the period of five years time.

This is a good option for Freelancers, independent investors, and also skilled employees who are looking forward to start their career journey within UAE.

• Golden Visa

Let’s discuss the highly desired type of visa in the UAE, known as the Golden Visa. With a Golden Visa, you can reside in the UAE for up to 10 years without requiring a sponsor.

If an individual receives a Golden Visa in the UAE, their family also becomes eligible for a 10-year Golden Visa. As a result, an increasing number of skilled employees are seeking to obtain a Golden Visa in the UAE.

The salary limit for this kind of Visa is Dirhams 50,000 to 30,000. With the salary levels dropping down to about 30,000 Dirhams to fifty thousand Dirhams a month, more of the skilled employees are going towards acquiring the 10-year multiple entry residence Visa for them.

This kind of Visa also have certain skills level, so the people who are keen on acquiring a Golden Visa in the UAE should fall in the first skill set level or the second skill set level to submit an application.

These skill sets are predefined by the Ministry of Human Resources and Amortization. There are various disciplines that makes a talented professionals eligible for this kind of Visa category, such as medicine, engineering, IT, business administration. Through this kind of Visa scheme, the talent from all over the world is welcome in the UAE along with their families.

Through this Golden Visa attractive scheme, a lot of investors also are eligible to get this kind of Visa. They need to invest a property of about Dirhams 2 million to get the Golden Visa. It could be any kind of property, ready to occupy, off-plan, under-construction, or anything that meets this budget. But, in case you are going for off-plan properties, it has to be through a loan from a local bank. It’s just the limit is to buy a Dirham 2 million property through this Visa scheme. You could sponsor your children without any age limit.

Additionally, people having a Golden Visa could have or employ a number of support staff. They could sponsor their Maids, cleaners, or any kind of workers that they want, to start their own business.

The thing to note here is, whenever you apply for a loan for buying a property in the UAE, it has to be a local bank and an approved real estate by the government. So, make sure if you’re planning to have a long-term residency Visa here through buying a property or doing an investment.

Now let me quickly brief you about the limitations. Before, when the Visas used to expire, the expatriate had only 30 days to exit the country, but now with different kind of Visa categories, these limits have become more flexible.

Type of Visa	Description	Time	Cost/Rules
Visit Visa	Allows a stay of 60 days. Could be renewed for a similar period of time.	60 days	Obtainable online or through travel agents
Job Seeker’s Visa	Allows job seekers to come to UAE without a sponsor. Requires a defined skill set to acquire.	Varies	Ministry of Human Resources and Amortization defined Type 1, 2, and 3 skill levels
Visitor’s Visa	Requires a relative in the country to sponsor the visit. Two criteria based on the duration of the stay: short-term and five-year multiple entry Tourist Visa.	Varies	Long-term Visa requires maintaining a bank balance of US$4,000 for six months
Green Visa	Provides five-year residency to skilled workers without having an employer or a sponsor. Skilled individuals with a minimum salary of 15,000 Dirhams can apply.	5 years	Individuals can also sponsor their first-degree relatives
Golden Visa	Allows a stay of 10 years without a sponsor. Requires a salary limit of Dirhams 50,000 to 30,000.	10 years	People should fall in the first skill set level or the second skill set level to submit an application

Visa expiry near? Check this information about

So, on the Visa expiry, one could stay up to six months to renew the Visa or find another employment or decide what kind of next Visa they want, if they don’t want to renew the same one.

The grace period that you get is of six months to do so, which I believe is a very good time to complete all the necessary process.

Conclusion

The UAE has implemented a comprehensive new Visa system, making it easier for expatriates, job seekers, and visitors to stay in the country. There are now five different types of Visas, each with its own advantages and requirements.

With the new system, the grace period for Visa renewal is now six months, allowing for more time to make arrangements.

I hope you liked the article and I hope you got all the information that you were looking for. I’d be leaving all the links of different Ministries that are relevant to these Visa processes under this article.

You could anytime revisit this article to get the detailed information. Do visit these websites as they have all the clear answers to all your queries regarding visiting UAE or different kind of Visa categories.

If you found this article useful, do give it a thumbs up and do share in the comments if you have any additional questions regarding the Visas in the UAE. We are very happy to answer those questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

References:

• Visa and Emirates ID – Official Portal link
• UAE Visa Information link
• UAE Visa information fly – Ethihad Airways link