UAE investment visa

Real estate, a business, investment funds: money placed in any of these can support a UAE investment visa, provided the applicant meets the requirements set for the sum committed and for the standing claimed. Either form, golden or green, gives the foreign national a permit of long duration.

Most often the query means the golden permit, which gives long-term standing and ties it to no single employer. Property investors are among those it admits, as are persons committing money to certain public investments. Ten years is the outer term named by the government's own portal, the figure varying with category.

What the phrase denotes in law

Business practice uses the phrase freely, yet in law no single permit corresponds to a UAE investment visa. Whether a foreign national may reside here on the strength of capital rests on the residency category chosen, on what character the money has and on compliance with the conditions the legislation lays down.

Golden Residency, the long-term permit, is one route open to investors. ICP (Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship) puts the term at five years or ten, fixed by the category into which the applicant falls, and adds that the programme calls for no sponsor. It does not follow that buying Emirati property, or taking a share in a local company, carries a right of long residence by itself.

Each category imposes its own requirements: how much money, of what character, attested by which documents, and against what further circumstances. Property investors, for one, must show the acquisition of a single asset or several whose combined value reaches two million dirhams or more. Investors in public investments have other ways of proving the money, among them a deposit, a company holding, or evidence that tax has been discharged at the prescribed level.

Beyond those, an investor route carries additional financial and corporate criteria, laid down for the category in question. An entrepreneur intending to register a company on Emirati territory cannot work from the investment figures alone. What the entrepreneur must settle is whether the activity meets the criteria of a given residency category, and which documents will establish the entitlement.

An investor's UAE golden visa

Among the most sought-after routes stands a ten-year permit, and either of the two bases below opens it:

• share capital of two million dirhams or more;

• two million dirhams or more placed in approved investment funds, or in other qualifying instruments.

The file requires a passport still running for six months or longer on the day of filing, health cover in force with an insurer named on the list Emirati immigration authorities approve, and whichever document evidences the investment basis behind a UAE golden visa:

• a bank letter addressed to the competent division of ICP, confirming that the applicant holds the required deposit or the investment funds;

• proof of the capital contributed or invested at the prescribed level, together with statements of personal and corporate accounts over the last six months.

The golden permit through property

Persons who have committed money to Emirati real estate fall into this category, provided the value condition attached to it is satisfied. Property held must reach two million dirhams or more in aggregate, and that footing then supports a UAE golden visa.

Residence on this footing rests on the purchase of:

• a single property;

• several properties, each registered to the applicant;

• completed property;

• property still under construction, where it meets the prescribed requirements and the necessary documentary evidence exists.

The file carries the passport in copy, with six months or longer left to run from the day of filing, and a current medical insurance contract with an insurance organisation which the competent Emirati authorities have accredited and admitted to the service of applicants. Alongside them the file carries documents establishing title and value, among them:

• a certificate of valuation, or another such document, which the authorised property registration body draws up as the competent migration authorities require;

• for property under construction, the developer's letter stating the value, plus a sale and purchase agreement signed by the parties and certified by the developer.

The golden permit for skilled professionals

Foreign specialists face requirements on education, professional standing and income before they reach a UAE golden visa:

• earnings of thirty thousand dirhams a month, or higher;

• higher education at bachelor level or above, or an equivalent qualification the country's competent authorities recognise;

• professional activity carried on in the capacity of a qualified specialist.

The file then carries:

• the employment contract, copied and certified in the prescribed manner;

• a higher education diploma at bachelor level or above, having passed whatever legalisation or certification its use here calls for;

• a statement of the personal account covering the last six months, evidencing income at the level required;

• medical insurance in force, taken with an insurer from the approved list;

• a passport still running for six months or longer.

Important. For investor and specialist categories alike one condition holds throughout: the request must reach the authorised division while the applicant is lawfully in the country.

Investors and specialists on the UAE green visa

Green residence is long-term as well. Foreign nationals qualify for it either on the strength of money committed to a business, or on qualification and income as a skilled specialist.

Residence on the strength of an investment

Dubai and the remaining emirates open an investor visa to investors and to company partners who put one million dirhams or more into the company's share capital. Documents recording the contribution of the required capital establish that participation. Green Residence for an investor lasts five years at most, once the investor satisfies the remaining requirements of the migration authorities.

Bank statements of individuals and of legal entities over the last six months may serve as further evidence, since they allow the source of the money and its movement to be traced. Where an investor or partner takes part in several companies, or holds a number of licences, assessment of the sum invested follows the corporate structure in place and the requirements applying to it.

Residence for a qualified specialist

Foreign specialists who satisfy the requirements on qualification and employment, and on income, are admitted likewise to the UAE green visa. Its principal conditions:

• earnings of fifteen thousand dirhams a month, or higher;

• a valid employment contract consistent with the basis claimed;

• higher education at bachelor level or above, or an equivalent qualification.

Documents covering identity, qualification, the employment relationship, income and medical insurance accompany the application. Material drawn up outside the Emirates brings in requirements: legalisation and certification, and translation into Arabic or into English. Which formalities apply in a given case follows from what kind of document it is and from the country that issued it.

Important. Here too the applicant must be present at the moment of filing, unless the procedure applied states otherwise.

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The application procedure, stage by stage

Residence on capital comes only where the money committed matches the requirements of a particular category. Settling the basis, and evidencing it, therefore precedes any filing for a UAE investment visa. The stages below trace how a file moves.

Step 1. Fix the category and the legal basis

Two questions open the matter: which category of investor the file belongs to, and which form of investment supports a claim to the matching standing. Real estate is among the commonest bases relied on. Value and title rest on papers the competent property registration body issues, which for Dubai means the Dubai Land Department.

Step 2. Test the investment against the requirements

Once the category is fixed, the money committed goes through a legal and documentary check. On a purchase of property what matters is the contractual or actual price paid, evidenced as such, and confirmation that the investment is of a kind the competent government body recognises for residency purposes. Where the investor owns several assets, a check has to establish whether their combined value may be counted. Shared ownership raises the further question whether the price of the share belonging to the applicant clears the minimum threshold.

Mortgage finance behind the purchase changes the picture: the applicable rules, and the way the investor proves entitlement, will depend on how the transaction is structured and on the procedural formalities of the particular emirate. An encumbrance, the method of financing and the registration status of the asset are accordingly worth checking before an application is lodged. On corporate investment the file must establish the size of the investor's actual stake, the ownership structure of the company, a licence in force, financial indicators and the other circumstances the category lays down.

Step 3. Assemble the documents

The next stage covers what goes both to identity and to the investor visa's lawful basis. A standard set includes:

• ownership documents for the investment asset, or proof of a corresponding participation in the investment structure;

• documents putting a figure on what was invested;

• a photograph in the prescribed format;

• a valid passport;

• medical insurance, where the particular procedure calls for it;

• confirmation of an address in the country, where the chosen category imposes that requirement;

• other documents the competent authority prescribes.

A complex ownership structure makes the file worth checking before lodging, to be sure it shows the investment in exactly the form the chosen residency category requires. That holds especially for money spread over several properties, for shared ownership and for assets vested in a company.

Step 4. File with the competent state authority

Once the papers are together, an application travels through the state system proper to the place and the category of the filing. Federal procedures run on ICP, whose services are reachable through the regulator's official site and through the UAEICP mobile application. In Dubai, GDRFA Dubai (General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs) sets the procedures, and its own service channels carry them.

Step 5. Formalities and fees

An investor can arrange residence through the electronic system, or through the service centres the state provides. What the whole procedure costs varies with the residency category, with the place of lodging and with the particular set of formalities required. Beyond the state fees themselves, the outlay extends to translation and legalisation, the medical formalities, the Emirates ID, the entry permit, and the representative's fee where the investor engages professional support.

Step 6. Complete the residence status

After preliminary approval the investor completes what is still owed on the residence formalities and on the Emirates ID. Resident standing follows once every requirement has been met; its length is set by the category chosen.

Investment residence is best treated as a composite legal procedure in which meeting the financial threshold is not by itself enough. What is granted rests on proof of lawful entitlement to the investment asset, of its value, of the ownership structure and of compliance with every additional condition of the category. Which authority confirms the investment, which documents count as proof of compliance and in what order the filing proceeds are all worth settling in advance. That is what keeps a formally sufficient sum from failing because the evidence does not come in the form the state requires.

Documents behind an investor visa

Documents differ with the basis on which the standing is claimed. As a rule the file must establish identity, the investment itself, and that the chosen category's conditions are met.

The basic document is a valid passport, and it must run for six months or longer. Medical insurance in force locally is required alongside it. Where the claim rests on real estate, the evidence of title, and of the asset meeting the value requirement, carries the greatest weight.

In the federal route the competent registration body confirms in writing, for the file, that the investor owns a single property or several whose combined value reaches two million dirhams or more. Certain cases call for a valuation certificate as well, issued by a valuer licensed by the Land Department of the emirate concerned. Mortgage finance and other encumbrances are questions to check against the procedure and the emirate in question.

For a share acquired in a business, both the size of the stake and its character must be documented for a UAE investor visa. Under the procedure applied the list runs:

• a commercial or industrial licence in force;

• the company's incorporation documents;

• a certified financial report;

• proof that the applicant stands as investor or as partner;

• evidence of how much capital the investor contributed, or of what that stake is worth;

• tax registration records and proof that the fiscal obligations attaching have been discharged;

• further confirmation for companies registered in free economic zones.

Where the basis is an investment held as a bank deposit, the file carries evidence that the funds are present and that their placement observes the conditions prescribed. The deposit has to be blocked for the prescribed period, and disposal of the money is limited by what the residency programme concerned lays down.

What investment residence gives its holder

Lawful standing in the Emirates, held without an employment tie to any particular employer, is what a foreign investor obtains under UAE residency by investment. The category chosen, and whether the requirements set are met, decide which further possibilities open with that standing.

The family's residence

Category and prevailing rules determine whether the investor may arrange the same standing for the family. Spouse and children may then live here lawfully; so may parents and other relatives, in the cases the legislation names.

Freedom to choose the professional and business activity

Investment residence does not tie standing to a particular employer. That counts especially for entrepreneurs who run a business themselves, own assets, or pursue investment activity of their own here.

Banking once residence is in place

Resident standing makes dealings with Emirati banks and other financial organisations considerably simpler. On an approach to a bank, the outcome of the compliance check settles the terms of any financial product, together with what the bank knows of the client's cash flows and its assessment of solvency. That procedure weighs compliance with know your customer and anti-money laundering requirements.

Long-term planning

Entrepreneurs and owners of capital take an interest in the Emirati investment visa where they look at the country as a place of long residence, of business and of asset management. Keeping the standing and renewing it depend on the programme's conditions continuing to be met.

Where applications go wrong

Those who mean to settle in the region, and build business and personal interests here on a long horizon, are the people served by UAE residency by investment. Meeting a given financial criterion is not enough, though. Identifying the applicant's category correctly comes first; the money committed must satisfy the requirements in force; and the file must let the competent body confirm the entitlement. In practice a large share of the trouble arises before filing even begins, out of a misread investment or a misunderstood category.

Mistake 1. Assuming that any property purchase, or any company registration, carries the entitlement

Acquiring property does not by itself confer the golden permit. Applicants in that category must meet the prescribed criteria and establish them; in particular, the competent registration body must issue a document stating what the asset or assets are worth.

Beyond the price named in the sale and purchase agreement, other things count. What value the competent body recognises for residency purposes, who owns the asset and whether the ownership structure conforms to the requirements all weigh in the assessment. Several properties, shared ownership or other features of title make the question one for individual assessment.

Registering a company here likewise carries no automatic entitlement to Golden Residency, the two being separate legal procedures. Investors in that category face requirements as to the value of the stake, the financial reporting to produce and the other supporting material.

Mistake 2. Reading two million dirhams as what the visa costs

Neither a visa fee nor a state duty is what that figure names. It is the investment criterion, and it goes to what the asset is worth under the requirements of the programme. Arranging an investor visa costs a separate sum, taking in state fees, the medical examination, medical insurance and the other payments the procedure lists.

Mistake 3. Buying first and checking afterwards

Foreign investors often acquire a property outright and only then look into whether the money committed will support a claim to long residence. Where the buyer has residency in view, the requirements attaching to the investment repay checking before closing the transaction. Whether the asset clears the minimum threshold, how title will be registered, whether the share belonging to the investor may be counted and which documents the registration body will issue are all matters to establish first.

Transactions with several owners, and property acquired with financing, call for separate attention. Certain forms of encumbered property may be acquired, but the structure of the particular transaction must satisfy the migration service's requirements and the procedures the land departments of the emirates apply.

Conclusion

Residence on an investment is reachable by more than one route, and the investment category settles what the investor must demonstrate. For the private investor the option most sought after is the golden permit taken through property worth two million dirhams or more. Investors with larger capital have further bases open to them: investment funds, a share bought in a company, bank deposits. Entrepreneurs have separate categories: Golden Visa, Green Residence.

Current requirements repay checking immediately before filing, and that goes for the administrative formalities, the fees, the papers to produce and the technical order of processing. Our team has practical experience of handling investment and migration matters in the region.

That lets us take account of how local procedure actually runs, of what the authorities require and of the features of dealing with them that matter in preparing and arranging residence. At every stage we handle a UAE investment visa: settling the suitable basis, checking the investment in advance, preparing the papers and dealing with the departments concerned.