Requirements last checked against the UAE government portals on 17 September 2026. Thresholds are set by the authorities and can change.
Setting up a company in the UAE and living there are two separate decisions, and they run on different visas. This page explains the residence visas a business owner actually meets: the one your company gives you, the ones your employees hold, the long-term options you may qualify for, and the visa that brings your family. Every requirement below comes from the UAE authorities.
The UAE issues many visa types. These five are the ones that come up when you set up and staff a company.
Who it is for: employees of the government and private sectors, sponsored by the company that hires them.
Duration: two years, renewable, subject to the terms set by the visa-issuing authorities.
The employer applies, not the employee, and the visa stays attached to the company. Before it can sponsor anyone, your company needs to be registered as an employer, hold a company file with the immigration directorate, and have an approved quota.
Who it is for: owners and partners in a UAE company.
The company you own is the basis for your own residence. This is the visa most of our clients hold, and it is issued as part of the setup rather than as a separate exercise.
The Golden visa is a long-term residence visa valid for five or ten years, renewable, and it does not need a sponsor. A holder can stay outside the UAE for longer than the six months that normally apply before a residence visa lapses, and can sponsor family members including spouses and children.
Investors, in public investments or real estate. Ten years for public investments, five years for real estate. Minimum capital of AED 2 million; property ownership, or contribution to an establishment paying at least AED 250,000 annually in taxes.
Entrepreneurs. Five years. Proof of an innovative or technical project, documents proving the project value, and a letter from a business incubator or the relevant authority in the emirate.
Exceptional talent or rare specialisations. Ten years. Doctors, scientists, inventors, creatives in culture and arts, executives, athletes, PhD holders and specialists.
Outstanding students. Five years for high school achievers, ten years for top university students. Certificates of excellence and recommendation letters from the school or university.
Humanitarian pioneers and frontline heroes. Ten years. Certificates of appreciation, humanitarian contribution documentation, or at least five years of service.
The part most buyers get wrong: the same AED 2 million buys different durations depending on where it sits. Public investments give ten years. Real estate gives five.
Who it is for: skilled employees, freelancers and self-employed people, and investors and partners.
Duration: five years, renewable. No sponsor is required, and the holder can sponsor family.
Skilled employee route: a valid UAE employment contract, an occupational classification in levels 1 to 3 under the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, a bachelor’s degree or higher, and a monthly salary of at least AED 15,000.
Freelance route: a freelance or self-employment permit from the ministry, a bachelor’s degree, specialised diploma or equivalent, and annual income from freelance work of at least AED 360,000 in each of the previous two years.
The distinction that matters to an employer: the UAE government describes the Green visa as being for skilled employees on self-sponsorship, while the standard work visa is for employees sponsored by their employer. That is why the two sit differently against your company’s quota.
Who it is for: the family of anyone holding a valid UAE residence visa.
Who can be sponsored: spouse, unmarried daughters, sons under 25, and children with special needs.
What the sponsor needs: a valid residence permit and a minimum salary of AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 plus accommodation.
What the family needs: family members over 18 must pass a medical fitness test at an approved centre in the UAE. To sponsor a spouse, an authenticated marriage certificate in Arabic, or translated into Arabic by a certified translator, is required.
An employment visa ties you to the company that sponsors it. A Golden or Green visa does not, which means it survives a change of employer.
Employees you sponsor consume your company’s quota. Someone on a Golden or Green visa does not, because nobody sponsors them.
AED 2 million in real estate gives a five-year Golden visa. The same amount in public investments gives ten years.
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