Dubai Golden Visa 2026: The 4 Ways to Get It and What It Means for Tax
The 4 ways to get the 10-year Dubai golden visa in 2026: property or a bank deposit of AED 2 million, your company or your career, what it costs, and what it does for tax.
The UAE golden visa lets you live in Dubai for 10 years. You do not need an employer or a company to sponsor you, your family can live there on it, and you do not lose it when you spend most of the year abroad. The route everyone knows is property: buy AED 2,000,000 of it, about $545,000, and keep it.
Property is only one of 4 ways in. If you own a company in the UAE, earn a senior salary there, or you are a doctor, a scientist or an AI specialist, you may not have to buy anything. Which route fits depends on what you already have, money to invest, a company or a career, and none of them decides on its own where you pay tax.
- Length
- 10 years, renewable
- Sponsor
- None needed
- Time outside the UAE
- No limit
- Property
- AED 2,000,000, kept for the life of the visa
- Bank deposit
- AED 2,000,000, frozen, plus a home in Dubai
- Company
- A share worth AED 2m, or AED 250,000 of tax a year
- Salary
- AED 30,000 a month, basic pay
- Visa fees, property route
- About AED 10,000 for 10 years
What the golden visa gives you
Unless you are a Gulf national, you need a residence visa to live in Dubai or anywhere else in the UAE. Normally that visa comes through a sponsor, either your employer or your own company. It usually runs for 2 years and it is tied to that sponsor.
The ordinary visa also has a rule that matters if you travel a lot: if you are outside the UAE for more than 180 days in a row, it is cancelled automatically.
The golden visa works differently. It runs for 10 years, and you can renew it for as long as you still meet the conditions. You do not need a sponsor, and there is no limit on how long you can be outside the UAE: the visa stays valid until it expires, wherever you are. So you can hold it as a backup. You do not have to live in the UAE now, and you can move there whenever you want.
| Compared | Ordinary residence visa | Golden visa |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsor | Your employer or your own company | None |
| Length | Usually 2 years | 10 years, renewable |
| Time outside the UAE | Cancelled after 180 days in a row | No limit, valid until it expires |
| Leads to a passport | No | No |
Your family is covered too. You can sponsor your spouse and your children, whatever their age, and as many domestic staff as you need. If something happens to you, your family can stay until their own visas run out.
The UAE also looks after golden visa holders abroad. If you lose your passport while travelling, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues a document to fly back to the UAE within 30 minutes, at no charge, valid for 7 days and for that one journey. There is a hotline for golden visa holders that is open 24 hours a day, and help with evacuation if there is a crisis where you are. Those are services a country normally keeps for its own citizens.
It is still a residence visa, though. It does not lead to a UAE passport, because UAE citizenship is by nomination only.
The 4 ways to get it
| Compared | Property | Your company | Bank deposit | Your career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it takes | AED 2,000,000 of Dubai property | A share worth AED 2m, AED 250,000 of tax a year, or a Dubai Future Foundation nomination | AED 2,000,000 in a UAE bank deposit or UAE bonds, and a home in Dubai | A basic salary of AED 30,000 a month, a nomination, or a recent top degree |
| Money tied up | AED 2m, which you cannot sell | None beyond the company | AED 2m, frozen | None |
| Fits when | You want Dubai property anyway | Your UAE company is large or pays real tax | You would rather hold cash than property | You work in the UAE or stand out in your field |
1. Property
If you buy property in Dubai worth at least AED 2,000,000, about $545,000, you get the golden visa for 10 years. It can be one property or several that add up to AED 2,000,000.
You do not have to live in it, and you can rent it out. But you have to keep it. The Dubai Land Department registers a restriction on the property, so you cannot sell it while you hold the visa. That ties up AED 2,000,000 in Dubai property for as long as you want the visa.
2. Your company
The second way is through your company, and there are 3 versions of it.
The first is based on what your company is worth. If your share of a UAE company is worth at least AED 2,000,000, you can get the golden visa for 10 years. That value has to be supported by the company's audited accounts: it is your share of the company's net assets, after its debts, not what you think the business would sell for. And it is decided case by case. The residency authority looks at the size of the company, how many people it employs and how solid its finances are.
The second is based on the tax your company pays. If it pays at least AED 250,000 a year in tax, about $68,000, you also get 10 years. From corporate tax alone, a company gets there at about AED 3,200,000 of profit, about $860,000. A company using the small business relief pays no corporate tax at all, so this version does not work for it. Our guide to tax in Dubai explains how that relief works.
The third is the entrepreneur route, and it is for technology and innovation businesses. In Dubai you need a nomination from the Dubai Future Foundation, and a business with at least AED 1,000,000 of revenue a year, about $270,000, or to have founded one and sold it for at least AED 7,000,000, about $1.9 million. A normal e-commerce, agency or consulting business usually will not qualify.
Which of the 3 works for you depends on how your company is set up and what it pays. That is why the company and the visa are worth planning together.
3. A bank deposit
If you put at least AED 2,000,000 into a deposit at a UAE bank, or into UAE bonds, you get the golden visa for 10 years. You also need a place to live in Dubai.
The money is frozen: you cannot take it out while you hold the visa. It still earns interest, and there is no property to manage. So it is the same AED 2,000,000 as the property route, only in a bank instead.
4. Your career
The fourth way is your career, and there are 3 versions of this too.
The first is your salary, if you work for a company in the UAE. You need a bachelor's degree, a senior role, such as a manager, an executive, or a professional in law, engineering or IT, and a salary of at least AED 30,000 a month, about $8,200.
That is your basic salary. Allowances, such as housing and transport, do not count, so a package of AED 40,000 a month on a basic salary of AED 25,000 does not qualify. You do not need your employer to sponsor you, but you still have to meet this route's employment and salary conditions. If your salary drops below AED 30,000, or your contract ends, the golden visa is cancelled.
The second is a nomination, for people who stand out in fields the UAE wants. A doctor licensed in the UAE can be nominated by the health authority. For AI and digital technology, the nomination comes from the Emirates Council for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transactions. For inventors, it is the Ministry of Economy. For scientists, it is the UAE Scientists Council, which asks for a master's from a top 250 university or a PhD from a top 500 one, and a strong research record.
You do not have to invest anything; what counts is your standing in your field. But the nomination is not the final approval. The residency authority still decides.
The third is a degree from a top university. It works if you graduated in the last 2 years, from one of the top 100 universities in the world, with a GPA of at least 3.5. That visa cannot be renewed, so if you graduated a while ago, a good degree on its own will not get you the golden visa.
How you apply
- 01
Apply
For property in Dubai, through the Dubai Land Department, in person: only the applicant can attend, not a representative. For the other routes, online or at a government service centre. - 02
Enter the UAE
If you are not in the UAE yet, you first get an entry permit and finish the process once you arrive. - 03
Medical test and Emirates ID
In the UAE you take a medical test and give your fingerprints for your Emirates ID, the ID card every resident carries. You also need UAE health insurance. - 04
Sponsor your family
Once your visa is issued, you can sponsor your spouse, your children and your staff.
On the property route, the fees for the visa itself come to about AED 10,000, and they cover the full 10 years.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Medical examination | AED 700 |
| Emirates ID, 10 years | AED 1,153 |
| Residency permit, 10 years | AED 2,856.75 |
| Dubai Land Department fees | AED 4,020 |
| Administrative fees | AED 1,155 |
| Total | AED 9,884.75, about $2,690, for the full 10 years |
Your family's visas cost extra: AED 5,774.50 for each 10-year family permit, plus AED 318.75 once to open the family file. None of this includes the health insurance, or the cost of buying the property.
What it means for your tax
The UAE does not tax your personal income. There is no tax on your salary, your dividends or your capital gains.
So does the golden visa make you tax resident in the UAE? No. The visa decides whether you can live there, not where you pay tax.
There are 3 ways to become UAE tax resident, and you only need one:
- your home and your life are based in the UAE
- you spend 183 days there in any 12 months
- you spend 90 days there in any 12 months, with a valid residence visa, and either a home in the UAE or a job or business there
This is where the golden visa helps. On an ordinary visa your 90 days have to be spread across the year, because you cannot be away for more than 180 days in a row. The golden visa has no such rule.
The rest of the year matters too. Every country has its own residency rules, and some can treat you as resident well before 183 days. If you spend most of your time in one high-tax country, that country can still tax you, and the golden visa does not change that.
Questions
How much do you need to invest for the Dubai golden visa?
AED 2,000,000, about $545,000, if you go through property or a bank deposit. The property has to be kept and the deposit stays frozen for as long as you hold the visa. The company and career routes need no investment of that kind.
Can I get the golden visa without buying property?
Yes. There are 3 other ways: through your company (a share worth AED 2,000,000, AED 250,000 of tax a year, or a Dubai Future Foundation nomination), through a frozen bank deposit of AED 2,000,000, or through your career (a basic salary of AED 30,000 a month, a nomination, or a degree from a top 100 university in the last 2 years).
How long is the Dubai golden visa valid?
10 years, and you can renew it as long as you still meet the conditions. The version for top graduates is the exception: it cannot be renewed.
Do I have to live in Dubai to keep the golden visa?
No. There is no limit on how long you can be outside the UAE, and the visa stays valid until it expires, wherever you are. An ordinary residence visa is cancelled after more than 180 days in a row abroad.
Can I rent out the property I bought for the golden visa?
Yes, but you cannot sell it while you hold the visa, because the Dubai Land Department registers a restriction on it. A property you rent out also does not count as your home for UAE tax residency.
Does the golden visa make me tax resident in the UAE?
No. You become UAE tax resident if your home and life are based there, if you spend 183 days there in any 12 months, or if you spend 90 days there with a valid residence visa and a home, job or business in the UAE. The golden visa helps with the 90-day test only because it has no 180-day rule.
Can my family live in Dubai on my golden visa?
Yes. You can sponsor your spouse, your children whatever their age, and domestic staff without a limit on their number. Each 10-year family permit costs AED 5,774.50 on the property route, plus AED 318.75 once to open the family file.
Does the golden visa lead to UAE citizenship?
No. It is a residence visa, and UAE citizenship is by nomination only.
Who the golden visa is right for
The golden visa is a strong backup: 10 years, no sponsor, no rule about time away, and your family included. For someone who really is moving to Dubai, it also takes the pressure off the 90-day test.
What it does not do is decide where you pay tax. If you live in a high-tax country now, that has to be handled first, and it is specific to you: where you live, how you make your money and how you want to split your time. If you are running a business at 7, 8 or 9 figures, or you are a high-net-worth individual, book a consultation and we will work out the route and the setup that fit.
