• 2 days ago
Tell Me Why podcast host, Maria Botros, is joined by Gulf News Living in the UAE Editor, Huda Tabrez, to discuss different visa options for residents in the Emirates.
* Golden visa offers residency for 5 or 10 years
* UAE Green Visa, made for highly skilled professionals, has a validity of 5 years
* There are 3 categories for the UAE Green Visa
* Residents can visit Amer centers for immediate assistance

Read the full story here:

See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Transcript
00:00There was a huge like you know update of the UA visa system that was done more recently
00:05and there are so many options available to people now. We had the press conference in Abu Dhabi
00:10which the Immigration Authority in the UAE, if you're just new to the UAE, you would have heard
00:16of ICP but that's the Immigration Authority. So the full form is Federal Authority for Identity,
00:21Citizenship, Customs and Port Security and referred to as ICP for short. So the ICP actually
00:28had a huge press conference where they announced the updated visa system and there are so many
00:33options available now to people and I wouldn't be surprised if people don't know that they might
00:37have an option that could apply to them for a different type of a visa or a long-term visa
00:43or a visa that suits their needs better.
00:51All right Huda is with us in the studio, the living in the UAE expert here at Gulf News and
00:57living in the UAE expert in my life. Whenever I have any questions it's always,
01:01Huda can you help me with this? Huda can you please tell me that?
01:04Yeah so technically just the editor and then I try to get information from the authorities
01:09which if like you know I need to check or something or if I know that they've announced
01:12something that I can tell you more easily. Right, you're still my expert don't try. Okay
01:17so Huda you're joining us today because we're going to talk about the different types of visas.
01:22Now to my surprise when I was researching this before we had our chat I found out that there
01:27are like 11 categories. There was a huge like you know update of the UA visa system that was
01:34done more recently and there are so many options available to people now. We had the press
01:39conference in Abu Dhabi which the immigration authority in the UAE if you're just new to the
01:45UAE you would have heard of ICP but that's the immigration authority so the full form is federal
01:50authority for identity citizenship customs and port security and referred to as ICP for short.
01:57So the ICP actually had a huge press conference where they announced the updated visa system
02:02and there are so many options available now to people and I wouldn't be surprised if people
02:06don't know that they might have an option that could apply to them for like you know a different
02:11type of a visa or a long-term visa or a visa that suits their needs better. I was just going to say
02:16a lot of people don't know the different types of visas. I mean I don't want to assume on behalf
02:21of anyone but for instance myself me myself I was looking up all these different types of visas.
02:27First of all I didn't know that they existed. Second of all I still don't know what each visa
02:32means or is exactly like I don't know who qualifies for what and I think that's why
02:37it's important to have you in with us today. I know today we're not going to be able to cover
02:41all 11 but we will have you back to discuss the rest. The other ones that are like you know perhaps
02:47for a different group of people that might be more relevant. Exactly a bit more specific
02:51than the general public. So today we're going to talk about the ones that the general public can
02:56and the most popular to be honest. Okay perfect. Okay so before we get started tell us what the
03:01different visas are. So you could categorize visas as either a residence visa or a visit visa. So
03:09we'll first of all narrow down to residence visas. Then within residence visas you've got
03:14visas that your company would apply for you or you could apply for yourself and with the updated
03:19system there were a lot more visas that you could apply for yourself which is a self-sponsored visa.
03:24Golden visa, green visa, investor visa all of those come under self-sponsored visas where you
03:30are the sponsor of the visa that you hold. So that was an option that was really opened up
03:35very like you know wide for people with the latest update. Then you've got the different
03:41categories of residence visas. Even within self-sponsored you've got the golden visa
03:46which is extremely popular. You might know someone who's gotten a golden visa and you
03:50might be curious about can I apply for it, what are the requirements, which category can I apply
03:54under. Exactly we're going to get into that because that's one of the most important ones.
03:58Right and I've got a lot of people who've asked me personally as well and a lot of readers write
04:02and asking what about this aspect of the golden visa, what is the salary requirement for the
04:06golden visa. Those are very very common questions because the 10-year visa was a huge kind of
04:13option that residents wanted to get because it gives them that long-term stability, it gives
04:17you that option to sponsor yourself which has its benefits which we'll talk about in detail.
04:24And if you're changing jobs I mean your visa is still valid. Yeah exactly. Sorry did I take your
04:28question? Because I was going to mention that but I was like perhaps like you know we'll go
04:33into that in depth. Exactly. But earlier if your company was sponsoring your visa. Yeah. If you
04:38change jobs your visa would change along with your work permit. Exactly. So now you can just kind of
04:44it gives you more flexibility as a professional. Right. And it opens up what they said when they
04:49announced it is to make the job market more competitive. Right. Which it does. Of course. So
04:54that's the whole idea. So you've got benefits, you've got the golden visa, you've got the green
04:58visa, you've got the two-year like you know the regular employment visa as well. So and within
05:04these there are different subcategories. So we can kind of go into them in depth one by one. Okay.
05:09But let's we can just perhaps focus on these to kind of keep the conversation more focused and
05:15more helpful for people. Yeah I think so too. I think let's pick three that we can discuss today
05:20the more common ones. Let's say like the green visa, the golden visa, and the remote working
05:26visa which is also another interesting one. That's very cool. It's a really cool one and it's
05:30been making headlines and we will get into that. So before we get into the other two let's discuss
05:36golden visas since you brought it up. I know that there are two categories within the golden visa.
05:41So that it when I was researching there's a five-year one and there's a 10-year one. Right.
05:46Yeah. So that's that really depends on the kind of within one category that applies which is the
05:54investor category. Okay. And even the investor category has a lot of like aspects to it. So
05:59depending on your investment you might get a five-year or a 10-year visa. Oh okay. But primarily
06:04the golden visa for a majority of the categories is a 10-year visa. Right. And the categories I
06:10think the first few people who got the golden visa apart from the like you know the big business
06:14owners etc were the frontline workers. I was just gonna say yes. Like you know during the whole
06:19pandemic and and the way they worked like you know like we all experienced how the UAE kind of
06:24was on top of everything during COVID and how the frontline workers were really frontline. Yes. It
06:29was very specific the golden visa. It wasn't for everyone and only certain people could get it and
06:36you were granted it rather than applying for it. And I remember in the beginning it was it was very
06:41very rare for someone to have a golden visa but now it's been opened up to everyone. A lot of
06:46people and a lot of categories that you can apply under. So that's great news for people who want to
06:51like you know it's literally a second home for a lot of people. So they want to live long-term,
06:55they want to get more options and this system actually allows them to do that. I want to say
06:59it's not even a second home it's home. Like for me it's just home you know. Exactly that's the only
07:03home. So that's the beauty of the UAE. Okay so you were saying there are certain categories. So what
07:07qualifies me for a golden visa? Is it the industry that I'm working in? Is it a salary bracket? What
07:13is it exactly? It could be either one of those or an investment. Okay right. So you've got the
07:18categories of frontline workers. So if you're a healthcare professional. Okay one rule of thumb
07:25that we can follow for golden visa is how do you apply for it? What are the documents I need? And
07:30the one rule of thumb you need to keep in mind is you need supporting documents to
07:36make you eligible for any one of the categories. So once you're supporting documents sorry could be
07:41that rule of thumb. If you're a doctor the supporting document would be a recommendation
07:45letter from either the ministry of health or department of like DHA in Dubai. If you're a
07:50frontline worker so like someone from the medical field. From the medical field. If you're a healthcare
07:54professional the authority that governs the industry will give you a recommendation letter.
07:59Right. If you are a journalist or a DJ or an artist the culture authority of the emirate
08:08or the ministry of culture and youth would give you a recommendation letter. You have to be
08:12exemplary in the field for example. So that's the one thing that like you know people
08:17have really contributed to the community. We had I had interviewed somebody who said that she'd done
08:24everything under the sun when it came to like you know performance or like she was an emcee.
08:30She was a youtuber. She was like you know she had hosted events. She also did a little bit of art.
08:36She was an RJ and she's like I didn't know if like you know which one thing should I highlight.
08:41So what she did was she created her portfolio of work and went to Dubai culture and said this is
08:46this is all the work that I've done. Can you like you know do you think I can apply for the golden
08:50visa and they gave her a recommendation letter and she was on the golden visa when we spoke a
08:55couple of years ago. Amazing. Yeah so that was that was pretty cool. So what is the supporting
09:00document that you can provide. If you are a healthcare professional a recommendation letter
09:05from the health authority of either the UAE or the emirate. If you are an investor so you could
09:11have the Dubai land department help you with the golden visa if you're invested in Dubai.
09:15In Abu Dhabi you'll have like you know the Abu Dhabi department of economic development or they've
09:19got a residence office there you could get like you know your recommendation letter and the process
09:24made easier. Right. If you're a student the ministry of education could give you so you're
09:29you're a like you know high performing student the ministry of education tells you here's the
09:33letter that you can use to kind of provide as a supporting document. So if it's like you know so
09:40different categories depending on which industry you're in you could get that recommendation letter.
09:46Right. The other option is if I have an investment of say 10 million dirhams in the UAE or 2 million
09:52dirhams in some cases I can actually put that investment kind of the papers in as a supporting
09:59document. Or if I earn a certain salary it could be 30,000 it could be 50,000 depending on which
10:08category you're applying under. So there's one for professionals and there's one for executive
10:11directors. Okay. So like depending on that category the salary requirement might be a little different.
10:17Okay. And then you can kind of just provide that proof of your work experience of your salary
10:23certificates etc. So in a nutshell if I'm not within a salary bracket I need to get a
10:28recommendation from the ministry responsible or overlooking my industry. So if I'm a journalist
10:35or someone working in journalism would be the media offices. Yeah. And then if it's art or if
10:42it's like you know if I'm a DJ or a social media entrepreneur or whatever it would be the art
10:48and culture authority. Okay. So that's just in a nutshell. Okay. What else do we need to know like
10:55what are the perks of a 10-year visa or like the golden visa? So there are quite a few perks. So the
11:01extended long-term residency is the main attraction. Of course. Of the visa. But what happens is you can
11:07then sponsor your family for that same duration. I was just going to ask about that. Yeah. And that
11:13could like a lot of students have sponsored their parents now. That's nice. And which is like you
11:17know a really interesting like you know moms can sponsor their kids, their husbands, husbands can
11:22sponsor their wives and children. You can also sponsor your parents but when it comes to parents,
11:30grandparents or like you know in-laws the rules can be a little different. So the 10-year visa
11:36might not be applicable in some cases. But for your immediate family for sure you can kind of
11:41apply for like you know the 10-year visa. You can sponsor as many domestic workers as you'd need.
11:48Okay. So there's no limit on the number of domestic workers. One really important
11:54benefit of the golden visa is that you can stay outside the UAE for over six months
11:59and your residence visa will continue to be valid. Whereas usually if you stay outside the UAE for
12:05more than six months the residence visa becomes invalid. But for golden visa holders that doesn't
12:11apply. But past six months that's when it becomes to be questioned or is it okay? Yeah so a regular
12:18residence visa if you have a regular residence visa back when they were being stamped on your
12:22passport you'd see that line at the bottom saying staying outside the UAE for more than
12:28six months would invalidate the visa. That doesn't apply to golden visa holders. So you can stay
12:33longer than six months outside of the country and everything's fine. Okay. Yeah. All right. That's
12:37one of the benefits. We've got quite a few benefits honestly. We mentioned the one in the
12:43beginning of the flexibility just knowing that if you change jobs it's self-sponsored. Yeah you're
12:49self-sponsored, your family's fine, everyone's fine until you find another job or whatever. Yeah.
12:55Also it's a bit dark but really helpful if I pass away. If I'm a golden visa holder and I pass away
13:03my family doesn't need to kind of cancel their visa. They can stay for that permit for that
13:08extension. The duration left after your pass. Okay. So it doesn't kind of, they were under
13:15my sponsorship for example but they can still continue staying on the visa. Okay. Which is
13:20also kind of like you know it's really helpful to know that like you know that's taken care of.
13:25You have a lot of planning for like you know death and stuff, your bills or whatever. Of course.
13:29This is one thing that you can also keep in mind. At a time of turbulence like that's the last thing you want to
13:33think about or worry about. So yeah of course. Okay. Is there anything else that people should
13:39know about when it comes to the golden visa? Off the top of my head these are the main kind of
13:44like you know benefits. Okay. Also like the job flexibility is a huge thing like you said.
13:48I can move around, get another job and I don't have to worry about the visa being applied for again.
13:53Of course. And now when we're talking about renewal, is it automatically renewed or do you
13:58have to reapply all over again? You have to reapply all over again. Okay. And you have to still be
14:02eligible. So you have to meet the eligibility criteria. Right. So it's a 10-year visa if you want to
14:06get it for another 10 years. It's the same thing which category are you going to apply under. So
14:11are you a professional or do you still work in that field or do you have the investment that
14:16kind of got you the golden visa? So it is subject to being eligible to the category.
14:23Right. And the same documents have to be submitted and so on and so forth. Yeah. Okay. Moving along.
14:29So pick a category. Okay. And then if you're still not sure, log on to the ICP website, log on to the
14:35GDRFA Dubai website and they actually have very easy quizzes that you can kind of fill in. Oh nice.
14:41And they'll tell you yeah you might be eligible for the golden visa. That's nice. Abu Dhabi
14:45residence office has a really helpful website. So depending on which emirate you're in, you could
14:49either go online and check okay do I fall under this category. One of my friends said hey I'm a
14:54PR professional. Can I like you know apply for and I'm like you'll need a recommendation letter
14:59and like you know find out which authority can provide it to you or you'll need a salary like
15:04you know minimum salary requirement. So check those things either online. We have a lot of
15:09explainers on for example how to apply through Dubai culture, how to apply it through different
15:14like you know authorities. So Gulfnews.com slash living in UAE would be also helpful or go to an
15:21AMR centre, go to a typing centre. They're extremely helpful. You can ask them about the
15:25categories and once you know that then you can kind of take the next steps. Okay I'm eligible.
15:30Let me start with the application form. Right and they can always write you right? They can always
15:34write to us. We always welcome reader questions, reader feedbacks. They give us such interesting
15:40insights into what people need and that's essentially what we're here for to kind of get
15:44those answers. So readers at Gulfnews.com is the email address. You can literally follow us on any
15:50social media platform. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn and just write to us
15:55and we'll look into it. Amazing. We're going to repeat that again at the end of the show so that
15:58people you know can remember that. Okay so we've covered golden visas. Now let's move on to the
16:05green visa. What is that? To be honest when I first heard about that I was like what does that even
16:10mean? And green visa to me was extremely interesting because if I don't have that
16:16qualification like a lot of people might not have the salary requirement. Right. You don't qualify
16:21for the 10-year visa. You still have another option for a self-sponsored visa and a slightly
16:26long-term visa compared to the two or three years that you normally get through the five-year green
16:31visa. Okay. So we've got a green visa for professionals. We've got green visa for
16:36freelancers and we've got green visa for like you know entrepreneurs etc. So as a professional
16:42if for example my friend if she didn't qualify for the golden visa she could perhaps check for
16:46the green visa and that would still be something that would like you know be taken care of for the
16:50next five years so you don't have to renew your visa etc. And you can sponsor people. You can
16:55sponsor your family on it as well. So the green visa if you want to go into a little bit more
16:59detail we can kind of pull up the details but it's I think it's a great option for people who
17:05might not have the qualifications for a golden visa but still want a long-term option. I was
17:10just going to say so it's is it a bit more like inclusive of different categories? It's more widely
17:16applicable. Okay. So you've got a golden visa golden visa for outstanding talents or specific
17:24professionals so data or AI but when it comes to yeah for golden visa so it's a specific category
17:29that you're applying to. For green visa it's professionals. Okay. So it's it's a wider
17:35application of the like you know requirement which is really I think it's a great thing for
17:40people who might not have the option to go for a golden visa but they're working like you know
17:46professionals and they have different kind of expertise. Okay. And they want some stability.
17:52I actually have a question for both so the green and the golden. Would your company be able to apply
17:58for you or do you have to do it individually? Would you be able to request your company to apply
18:04for a golden visa for you? You can request them it depends on your relationship with the company.
18:09Okay. From my experience the people who I've seen apply for it have done it themselves because you
18:15cover the cost for the visa. Okay. You are the sponsor of the visa so you have to pay for it.
18:19You can just go directly and apply for it yourself. Okay. Or you could ask a typing center or an
18:26expert like you know a visa expert to kind of apply it for you or if you're an investor you
18:31have a business setup consultant they can apply it for you. Anybody can help you with it. There
18:36are a lot of options. You could ask your company for it but really I mean companies already have
18:42their own kind of like you know like you know work going on in HR so I mean if they help you
18:47with it great but I mean it really depends on the relationship you have with them. And it's easy to
18:52do it individually so it's not like you need to go through your company. Very easy. So you just basically
18:57look at the list of documents. I'll just quickly run through what you need to do right. First of
19:02all go to a typing center and just ask them and they'll give you the whole list. Your photograph,
19:06your passport copy, your Emirates ID, your labor card, your IBAN number. If that's something that
19:11you know people like you know might not have like you know at hand just keep your IBAN number ready.
19:16Tenancy contract, spouse etc like if you're applying for your spouse you'd need their
19:21certificates. Those are the basic things which like if you quickly search online or through
19:26your email you'll have copies of them ready or you could have them on an app like the UA pass
19:31has all those things right like you know available for you. Get all those documents in. The IBAN
19:37number is interesting because in case your application is rejected you might get some
19:41refund of the application fee. So just give that your IBAN number, make the application
19:47form payment and then they'll just review the documents. They say okay the initial thing is
19:53approved. You'll have to get your medical test done, apply for your Emirates ID which is also
19:57for 10 years and that's it. That's basically it and now the visas aren't being stamped either on
20:03your passport. So once you get your Emirates ID that's your primary proof of residence.
20:08So it's really easy. How long does it take to get processed? I mean do you know is there like a rough
20:15estimate or is it just? It doesn't take long. Now it would be hard for me to give you a specific
20:20timeline because it really depends on what might be happening right now. So it might be a little
20:25longer, a little less. I know people who've gotten it in a week. Okay fair enough. I mean it's just
20:31like a regular visa. I thought maybe it would take longer because it's like not really. So what takes
20:35long is getting the documents in place and getting that approval document. So a lot of people who we
20:40spoke with said getting all the attestations done. The student was like I had to get all my
20:44like you know qualifications attested through the Ministry of Education or if I was coming from
20:49another country from that country's embassy etc. That took long but the visa process itself was
20:55the quickest thing. Or making a portfolio if you're an artist like that will take long and
21:00applying for the letter. But the visa itself does not take very long. Okay so just to recap
21:07we've got the 10-year visa which is the golden visa and then we've got the green visa which is
21:12you know is a wider pool of applicants allows a wider pool of applicants which also gives you the
21:18opportunity to have a longer a slightly longer a residency visa than the usual visa because it's
21:23five years. Okay the next one. Remote work. Yes that is the most interesting. Like who qualifies
21:31for that? Is it investors? Is it a business owners? Like who can apply for me? What's interesting is
21:37why do people want it and it's literally like it's the UAE. You know it's the UAE lifestyle which I
21:43would like to enjoy even if I don't have a job here. I have a great job in X country. Yeah but I
21:49want to live in the UAE because it offers that kind of quality of life. And we've seen that it's
21:54attracted so many people. Yeah and you can you don't have to be an investor. Okay you could be
22:00an IT professional who can can work remotely. Okay and just come to the UAE. You need to fulfill a
22:07salary requirement. I'll just reconfirm how much it is. I think it's 18,000 dirhams. So it's called
22:12the virtual working program or the remote work visa. And essentially like the proof of employment
22:19is 3,500 dirhams sorry 3,500 US dollars per month salary. Just provide your payslips for the past
22:27three months. If you're a business owner you can also apply for it and then you'll just have to
22:31provide how much you earn monthly from your investments. Okay and the visa is issued for a
22:38year. It's renewable and you can just easily live in the UAE and work for any country in the world.
22:44It's wonderful. Honestly I've actually met people that have it. Right. And they were saying they get
22:50the best of both worlds now. Exactly. They I mean if they live in countries that are you know
22:55predominantly winter countries. I mean they get the sunlight. They get everything. Your long sun.
23:01Yeah your long sun and they get the good weather. They get the you know the the the Dubai life or
23:07the UAE life and at the same time they've kept their jobs because they were working remotely
23:12anyway in their home countries or whatever. And it might be a great job. Yes. But you want to live
23:16like I said I have a great job but I want to live in the UAE because it offers that quality of life.
23:21You can do that as well. Like I said the new visas that have been issued are actually catering to so
23:27many needs that people have. It's it's really interesting. So do find out if you can actually
23:32qualify for a longer term visa or move to the UAE even if you don't work here. Okay. Okay. So
23:38again let's recap because there's so much information that we said. It's a huge umbrella.
23:43Okay. Yeah. The golden visa is a huge umbrella. Yes. And that would require for each category
23:48we have specific articles for investors for real estate investors non real estate investors. Right.
23:54We've got specific articles for that because it is pretty pretty wide. Yes. You've got doctors.
24:00You've got the artists. You've got all of those people. So within the golden visa you've got a
24:06huge umbrella. Right. And different benefits. Right. A 10 year visa. Yes. Mainly. Then you've
24:12got the green visa which is for professionals for freelancers. And that's a separate category
24:18altogether. And how do you apply for your family sponsorship under a green visa. So because these
24:25are like huge like you know topics we have very specific detailed guides on each category. Okay.
24:32So that really helps. Just go quickly and just do a search on it. Green visa freelancer. Like I'm a
24:38freelancer but I don't want to get a two year visa. I want to get a five year visa. You'll get
24:42the article and it's going to kind of summarize all the information that you need from a reader
24:47friendly perspective as well. Okay. Not plugging stuff in but it actually really helps. I've heard
24:51people say that it actually helps to kind of just get all the information I need in one place.
24:55Right. Right. Right. No plug it. It's gulfnews.com slash living in the UAE. Living in UAE. Exactly.
25:01And that's just that's how it is. I mean you want to get the information please visit the website
25:06or email us on readers at gulfnews.com. That's right. Is that correct. That's right. Okay.
25:11So 10 year visa or the golden visa is 10 years. There are categories or salary brackets. Okay.
25:18Green visa is a five year visa and it has a wider pool of applicants or allows a wider
25:24pool of applicants. And then we have the remote working visa. Right. Which is a one year visa
25:30renewable obviously year on year and is for anyone that has a salary bracket of 18000 dirhams
25:37or 3500 US dollars. And if you're a business owner you just have to present your yearly earnings.
25:46Yeah. Or your proof of investment or sometimes there's another category where if you pay a
25:52certain amount of taxes so you can get a letter from the federal tax authority as well. So there
25:57are really a lot of ways in which you can actually get a long term visa or a residence option in the
26:03UAE. Perfect. Okay. Last question. What's your advice to people that might be confused. Like
26:08let's say I'm right now thinking of applying for a golden visa but the green visa also seems
26:14interesting. What's your advice. Like if I'm confused or if I want to know more.
26:18You could literally just ask yourself some basic questions like
26:24what could I possibly qualify as a professional a business owner a freelancer. What kind of a
26:31professional. And if you just log on to like you know the living in UAE section and type golden
26:36visa you literally see a whole in-depth explainer and just scroll through it and just stop where
26:43it's relevant to you. So if you're an IT professional just stop there and see what
26:48are the requirements available. You could also just go and speak with an expert around the corner
26:55like around the street. You might have a typing center like you know next door. Go speak with
27:00them. The information is easily available. Yes it's it can be overwhelming when you're not actually
27:06speaking to someone but the moment you start speaking to an expert it really becomes very easy
27:12to kind of like you know understand. Yeah Huda thank you so much. We have so many other visas
27:17that we're going to discuss. I'm going to bring you back on because there's like a retirement
27:21visa there's a student visa there's there's so many different types that we will actually also
27:25address because I think those are a bit unfamiliar to a lot of people and I feel like I didn't know.
27:33You might not know that there's a visa that's applicable to you. Exactly exactly and it's
27:37always good to share that information because some people just don't have that information but
27:42when they do they can actually use it and it will be. If I can just again request people just
27:48follow us on social media. We promote these stories. They're very easy to follow. Facebook,
27:54Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok. Yes and if you have questions just drop a message there. We
28:00are checking all of the questions so we can actually just kind of send you the link to a
28:04story or do a new story if it merits the kind of like a question you've asked. Amazing and again
28:10readers at gulfnews.com if you choose to email us questions concerns Huda is always here to ask
28:19anything living in the UAE to answer all these questions. Huda thank you so much for joining us.
28:23Thank you very much Maria. Always great talking to you. Thank you.

Recommended