UAE Golden Visa: Step-by-Step Guide to Applying for Six-Month Entry Permit

As you may be aware that recently, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) of UAE announced a hike to the fees for issuing a six-month entry permit for individuals who want to apply for a 10-year UAE Golden Visa.

The announcement was made on Saturday, and the new fee for the six-month entry permit is now AED1,250.

The Golden Visa is granted to several categories of people, including talents such as scientists and specialists, investors in public investments, real estate investors, entrepreneurs, top high school achievers, graduates of accredited universities in the UAE, graduates of accredited universities outside the country, and workers in the first line of defence.

How to Apply for UAE Six-Month Entry Permit?

Here is how you can apply for the six-month entry permit for a UAE Golden Visa:

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Applying for the six-month entry permit can be done through various channels, such as the ICP website, the UAE ICP mobile application, customer happiness centres, and Tasheel typing centres.

Upon submitting the application, the applicant will receive an SMS and email confirming the receipt. All updates regarding the application will also be sent via SMS and email.

Once the entry permit has been issued, the applicant will receive an email with the permit.

Outstanding Specialised Talents

According to the ICP website, outstanding specialised talents include the following professions:

• Doctors and Scientists
• Athletes
• Inventors
• Creative People of Culture and Art
• Specialists in Scientific Fields
• Executive Directors
• Doctoral Degree Holders and Pioneers of Humanitarian Work

Six-Month Entry Permit Fees

As we mentioned above the revised fee for UAE’s six-month entry permit is now AED1,250.

However, it is worth noting that the fee for the six-month entry permit now includes a variety of charges such as AED1,000 for issuance, AED100 for the application, AED100 for smart services, AED28 for e-services, and AED22 for Federal Authority fees.

Documents Required for Golden Visa Application

Documents required for the Golden Visa application include a coloured photograph, a passport copy of the applicant and dependents, proof of eligibility for the Golden Visa, and additional attachments. The Golden Visa applications vary based on which category the applicant is applying for.

Here are the documents required for each category as per the ICP website:

1. For doctors and scientists:

• Approved letter from the Ministry of Health – UAE to practice the medical profession (doctors)
• Valid passport copy
• Valid health insurance

2. For athletes:

• Recommendation letter from the General Sports Authority or one of the Sports Councils
• Valid passport copy
• Valid health insurance

3. For inventors:

• Recommendation letter from the Ministry of Economy
• Valid passport copy
• Valid health insurance

4. For creative people of culture and art:

• Approved letter from the Department of Culture and Arts in the relevant emirate
• Valid passport copy
• Valid health insurance

5. For executive directors:

• Attested university degree
• Experience certificate (minimum 5 years of experience)
• Salary certificate (not less than 30,000 AED)
• Valid work contract
• Valid passport copy
• Valid health insurance

6. For doctoral degree holders:

• Attested copy of the PhD certificate from the Ministry of Education in one of the priority disciplines
• Valid passport copy
• Valid health insurance

7. For pioneers of humanitarian works:

• A candidate should be a pioneer in humanitarian work within one of the following categories:
  • Members who have worked in international and regional organizations, or outstanding employees, for a minimum of five years.
  • Members of civil associations and institutions of public interest, or outstanding employees, for a minimum of five years.
  • Individuals who have received an appreciation award from a local, regional, or international organization that specialized in humanitarian work.
  • Awarded to outstanding humanitarian volunteers with at least five years of service or at least 500 hours of volunteer service.
  • Funders of humanitarian work provide the value of the support not less than (2,000,000) million UAE dirhams or its equivalent.
  • All other categories of humanitarian work are agreed upon between the authority and the Ministry.
  • A minister can also nominate pioneers of humanitarian work.
• Holding a university degree.
• Completing other requirements imposed by a ministry or authority.

8. For investors in public investments:

• Submission of a letter from an investment fund accredited in the UAE stating that the investor has a deposit of (2,000,000) million dirhams.
• Or submission of a valid commercial license or industrial license and a memorandum of the association stating that the investor’s capital is not less than two million dirhams.
• Or to be a partner in a company’s capital with no less than (2,000,000) million dirhams.
• Or submission of a letter from the Federal Tax Authority stating that the investor pays the government no less than AED (250,000) dirhams annually.
• Or submit a letter from the Federal Tax Authority stating that he is a partner in an establishment that pays tax to the government, and his share in the tax is at least (250,000) dirhams annually.

9. For real estate investors:

• Provide a letter from the Department of Land and Real Estate Regulation of the respective emirate stating that he owns one or more properties whose value is not less than (2,000,000) million dirhams and state that the property is not subject to a loan.
• Proof of housing in the country (home ownership/house rental contract).

10. For entrepreneurs:

• A Letter from an auditor in the UAE stating that the project value is not less than (500,000) dirhams (the project owner).
• Provide a letter from the authorities in the emirate stating that the project is of a technical or future nature in which leadership is achieved (the project owner).
• Provide a letter from an accredited business incubator in the UAE to establish the proposed activity in the country (founder of a project).
• Valid passport copy.
• Valid health insurance.
• Proof of housing in the country (home ownership/house rental contract).

11. For high school top-ranked students in UAE:

• Obtaining an excellent grade or an average of 95% from public or private schools.
• A recommendation letter from the Ministry of Education.

12. For graduates of accredited universities in UAE:

• A recommendation letter from the university stating that his GPA is not less than (3.8).
• Duration should not exceed two years since graduation.

13. For graduates of accredited universities outside the UAE:

• The university ranking should not be less than the top 100 universities in the world according to the international classification approved by the Ministry of Education.
• GPA is not less than (3.5) for bachelor students.
• Duration should not exceed two years since graduation.
• Approved certificate from the Ministry of Education.

14. For frontline workers:

• Frontline heroes include nurses, medical assistants, lab technicians, pharmacologists and other cadres approved by the Frontline Heroes Office.

Rejected Applications & Refunds

Applications that are incomplete or contain data deficiencies will be rejected electronically by the authority within 30 days. If an application is returned three times due to data defects or a failure to provide required documents, it will be rejected.

Refunds of fees will only be issued if an application is rejected and will be processed within six months of the application submission date. Refunds may be issued via credit card or check/bank transfer, but only for banks located within the country and within a five-year period.