United Arab Emirates.
How United Arab Emirates sells citizenship and residence for investors: 4 programmes, 2 of them open today. Every number and rule below links to the document it comes from.
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- numbers
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- prices and rules
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- events
- 25
- documents and articles
Citizenship by nomination
Sells citizenship, and with it a passport.
Official name: UAE citizenship by nomination for investors and talents (amended Executive Regulation of Federal Law No. 17 of 1972 on Nationality and Passports)
No price: citizenship is by nomination only, and nobody can apply or buy it (programme notes).
Notes from the research
Not a citizenship-by-investment programme with a price: candidates (investors who own UAE property, doctors, scientists, inventors, artists, and their families) cannot apply; they are nominated by Rulers' and Crown Princes' courts, executive councils or the Cabinet. Dual nationality allowed; citizenship can be withdrawn if conditions are breached. No numbers of grants have been published. Announced by WAM on 30 Jan 2021; the amended regulation itself was not found.
Prices and rules
What is measured
No published numbers found for this programme. That is itself worth knowing: see the notes and the documents below.
Golden visa
Sells the right to live in the country (a “golden visa”), sometimes leading to citizenship later.
Official name: UAE Golden Visa (الإقامة الذهبية - golden residence; long-term residence for investors, entrepreneurs and talents)
Property worth at least AED 2 million (10-year golden residence, Res. 65/2022, in force 3 Oct 2022; Dubai and Abu Dhabi pages agree). The same AED 2 million applies to a bank deposit or a company share (t-9712802f47, t-accf082b73). Mortgaged or off-plan property counts if AED 2 million has been paid. Government fees excluded (about AED 9,885 in Dubai).
Notes from the research
Long-term residence without a sponsor. Created by Cabinet Resolution 56/2018 (in force 3 Feb 2019; permits issued from 21 May 2019): investors AED 10 million (10 years) or AED 5 million in property (5 years). Replaced by Cabinet Resolution 8/2021 (text not found), then by the annex to Cabinet Resolution 65/2022 (in force 3 Oct 2022): 10-year permits, AED 2 million in property, bank deposit or company share, or AED 250,000 a year in taxes. Issued by ICP federally and by GDRFA in Dubai. Gives no path to citizenship: there is no residence period that leads to naturalisation; citizenship is only by nomination (see are-citizenship-nomination). Official counts are press figures covering all golden-visa categories, mostly Dubai only; no investor-only series is published.
Prices and rules
What is measured
- Long-term ("golden") residence permits issued, all categories12
- Existing investments of people identified as eligible3
- People identified as eligible for an investor residence scheme3
- Number of nationalities among applicants1
- Investment by programme investors1
- Golden visas issued1
UAE green residence for investors and partners (الإقامة الخضراء للمستثمر أو الشريك; Cabinet Resolution 65/2022 art. 41)
Sells the right to live in the country (a “golden visa”), sometimes leading to citizenship later.
Notes from the research
Five-year residence permit, renewable, without a sponsor or employer, for a foreigner who comes to the UAE as an investor or partner in a commercial project (Cabinet Resolution 65/2022, the executive regulation of Federal Decree-Law 29/2021, arts. 33(2), 38(2), 39(2) and 41; issued 12 Jul 2022, in force 3 Oct 2022). Conditions: the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) approves the investment under an investor classification system set by its chairman; the investment or partnership must reach the ratios set by a decision of the chairman (capital held in several licences is added up); and the local authority approves and licenses the activity. The regulation prints no amount and the chairman's decision is not stored, so no price is recorded. Holders may sponsor first-degree relatives, and their parents may be included. The government news agency WAM (18 Apr 2022) says it replaces an earlier investor residence valid for 2 years only; that earlier permit's start and terms are not in a stored document. launched is the in-force date of Res. 65/2022. Current status not confirmed: the stored consolidated text (date of consolidation not shown) still contains art. 41. No counts of green residence permits for investors were found.
Prices and rules
What is measured
No published numbers found for this programme. That is itself worth knowing: see the notes and the documents below.
UAE residence for retired foreigners with property or deposit (تصريح إقامة الأجنبي المتقاعد; Cabinet Resolution 65/2022 arts. 51-52)
Sells the right to live in the country (a “golden visa”), sometimes leading to citizenship later.
Notes from the research
Five-year renewable residence without a sponsor for a retired foreigner who worked at least 15 years before retiring (in or outside the UAE) or is at least 55, and who owns UAE property worth at least AED 1,000,000 (purchase or market value, as valued by the emirate's competent authority; mortgaged property counts if at least AED 1,000,000 of the mortgage has been paid off) or holds a deposit of at least AED 1,000,000, moved to a UAE financial institution within 60 days of the permit unless invested in the UAE (Cabinet Resolution 65/2022 arts. 34(3), 46, 51-52; in force 3 Oct 2022). The same article also accepts a fixed annual income of at least AED 240,000 instead of property or deposit; that option rests on income and is recorded only as one of this permit's rules (METHODOLOGY decision 15). No stored document shows whether a retiree permit existed before this regulation, so launched (the regulation's in-force date) may be later than the first retiree permit. Out of scope and not recorded: the separate residence for property owners on a monthly income of AED 10,000 with no property minimum (art. 53; decision 15). Current status not confirmed beyond the stored consolidated text. No counts found.
Prices and rules
What is measured
No published numbers found for this programme. That is itself worth knowing: see the notes and the documents below.
All the numbers we have for United Arab Emirates
Pick what you want to see. Each dot is one number from one document; click anything to open its source.
What happened, and when
The 25 documents behind this page
- 2026-07 · GovernmentGolden visa · The Official Portal of the UAE Government (u.ae), TDRA
- 2026-07 · News66 الف اقامة ذهبية في دبي خلال 6 اشهر (66,000 golden residences in Dubai in six months) · Al Khaleej (newspaper, Sharjah)
- 2025-08 · NewsOman to launch new golden visa scheme for investors · The National
- 2025-01 · Newsالإمارات تصدر 500 ألف إقامة ذهبية في 2024 (UAE issues 500,000 golden residences in 2024) · Al Khaleej (newspaper, Sharjah)
- 2024-04 · News«إقامة دبي» تصدر 158 ألف إقامة ذهبية خلال 2023 (Dubai residency directorate issues 158,000 golden residences in 2023) · Al Khaleej (newspaper, Sharjah)
- 2024-02 · International organisationJurisdictions under Increased Monitoring - 23 February 2024 · Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
- 2023-01 · GovernmentAbout 80,000 Golden Residency were issued · General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs - Dubai (GDRFA Dubai)
- 2023-01 · GovernmentUAE golden visas issued in all categories increased to 79,617 in 2022: GDRFA · Emirates News Agency (WAM)
- 2022-11 · GovernmentGDRFA Dubai issues more than 152,000 golden visas, 16m transactions handled between 2019 & 2022 · General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs - Dubai (GDRFA Dubai)
- 2022-07 · Law or regulationقرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (65) لسنة 2022 بإصدار اللائحة التنفيذية للمرسوم بقانون اتحادي رقم (29) لسنة 2021 في شأن دخول وإقامة الأجانب (Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2022 issuing the Executive Regulation of the Entry and Residence of Foreigners Decree-Law) · UAE Cabinet; UAE Legislation Platform
- 2022-04 · GovernmentUAE Cabinet approves Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law on Entry and Residence of Foreigners · Emirates News Agency (WAM)
- 2022-03 · International organisationJurisdictions under Increased Monitoring - March 2022 · Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
- 2021-09 · Law or regulationمرسوم بقانون اتحادي رقم (29) لسنة 2021 في شأن دخول وإقامة الأجانب (Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021 on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners) · UAE President; UAE Legislation Platform
- 2021-01 · GovernmentUAE grants citizenship and passport to investors, professionals, special talents · Emirates News Agency (WAM)
- 2020-04 · Law or regulationتعديلات التشريع: قرار مجلس الوزراء بشأن تعديل بعض أحكام قرار مجلس الوزراء في شأن تنظيم تصاريح الإقامة للمستثمرين ورواد الأعمال وأصحاب المواهب التخصصية (amendment of 15 April 2020) · UAE Legislation Platform (uaelegislation.gov.ae)
- 2019-07 · GovernmentDLD grants five-year Golden Visa to 20 investors · Emirates News Agency (WAM)
- 2019-06 · GovernmentGDRFA: 400 Gold Card UAE visas issued so far · Emirates News Agency (WAM)
- 2019-06 · GovernmentICA issues first UAE Permanent Residency 'Golden Card' in Abu Dhabi · Emirates News Agency (WAM)
- 2019-05 · Government‘Golden Card’: Permanent residency system for UAE’s expats launches · Emirates News Agency (WAM)
- 2018-12 · Law or regulationقرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (56) لسنة 2018 في شأن تنظيم تصاريح الإقامة للمستثمرين ورواد الأعمال وأصحاب المواهب التخصصية (Cabinet Resolution No. 56 of 2018 regulating residence permits for investors, entrepreneurs and specialised talents) · UAE Cabinet; published on the UAE Legislation Platform (uaelegislation.gov.ae)
- 2018-10 · International organisationResidence/Citizenship by investment schemes (list of potentially high-risk CBI/RBI schemes) · OECD
- 2018-05 · GovernmentUAE Cabinet approves new long-term visa for international investors and professional talents... and 100% investors’ ownership by year end · Emirates News Agency (WAM)
- · GovernmentIssuing a golden residence permit (investors) · General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs - Dubai (GDRFA Dubai)
- · GovernmentAbu Dhabi Golden Visa - Investors · Abu Dhabi Residents Office (ADRO)
- · GovernmentRequest for Golden Visa (Investor) · Dubai Land Department
Who buys passports and golden visas, what they cost, and what happens when governments change the rules. Written from this data, in the newsletter.