UAE Launches Green Visa, Get Complete Eligibility & Benefits of Green Visa

The United Arab Emirates is one of the highly popular migration destinations around the globe owing to its commitment, adaptability, and forward-looking approach. It is one of the rarest examples of a society with a traditional sense of belonging while following a contemporary lifestyle. Factors like pro-business growing economy, modern infrastructure, cosmopolitan lifestyle, long-term political stability are one of the prominent reasons why people are choosing the UAE for professional growth. No wonder, expats and immigrants account for about 90 percent of the Emirates’ population. As UAE’s economy is successfully diversifying itself from the oil sector and focusing on other industries like logistics, tourism, trade, and transportation, the government is looking forward to including more and more foreign workers in its country to boost economic growth. While such a welcoming stance for immigrants was initiated with the launch of the 10-year valid Golden visa, the scheme is further spurred with the new announcement of the ‘Green Visa’ category. Announced recently on September 5th, 2021, the green visa category allows immigrants to stay and work in the UAE without having to be sponsored by any employer.

So, what does this mean for aspirants wishing to move permanently to Dubai, the emerging financial and commercial hub of UAE?

  1. The new green visa in UAE will target investors, highly skilled workers and even students and graduates. 
  2. Green visa holders will not only be eligible for UAE resident visa, but also can sponsor their dependents (parents, spouses, and children up to age of 25). Prior to this, parents could sponsor a UAE resident visa for their daughter until her marriage. Also, sponsoring parents required fulfilling a minimum salary and spacious residence criteria.
  3. With a green visa, you can stay 6 months even after your visa expires or if you lose your job.

Furthermore, the country also announced the launch of a special category called ‘freelance visas’ to facilitate independent businesses and entrepreneurship drives in the country. 

As Dr Al Zeyoudi says “Freelancers will have special dedicated visas…This is to attract experts, retirees and specialized people to niche sectors,” With the freelance and green visa complimenting each other, the government plans to ingest as much skill and talent through the inclusion of investors, scientists, students, entrepreneurs, SMEs, and more.
Now, can golden visa holders gain the same benefits as green visa holders? Before we get in-depth into answering this question, let us first have a quick recap of the UAE golden visa details:
Launched in 2019, the golden visa scheme aims to attract investors, entrepreneurs, and persons with outstanding talent in the field of education, science, medical, and research into UAE’s growing economic sector. Eligibility for golden visa depends on the length of visa validity as mentioned below:

For 10-year-valid visa, following persons are eligible:

  1. Investors with an investment of at least AED 10 million, in the form of a deposit in an investment fund, capital of an established company in UAE and partnership in a new company with a share value. Note: Investments taken as loan would not be considered for eligibility.
  2. Specialized talent and researchers in the field of science and medicine like doctors, scientists, inventors, etc.
  3. Scientists accredited by Emirates Scientists council and inventors with a patent of value approved by the Ministry of Economy.

For 5-year-valid visa, following persons are eligible:

  1. Investors with an investment in a property with gross value of at least AED 5 million. Note that investment should be for at least 3 years.
  2. Entrepreneurs either have an existing project with minimum capital of AED 5 million or have approval of an accredited business incubator.
  3. Students having outstanding academic records such as minimum 95 percent in public and private schools and a GPA of at least 3.75 from graduating university.

Now, coming back to the previous question, the green visa category is not launched as a replacement of the existing golden visa scheme, but rather as a complement. In the words of Al Zeyoudi; tourist visas, green visas, and golden visas are a full package to enable easy provision of resident visas for the UAE. Also, golden visa rules are expected to be modified to ease the existing residency laws so as to benefit the expats.

So, who can avail the new green visa in UAE?

The following category of individuals are eligible to get green visa in UAE:

  1. Investors
  2. Entrepreneurs
  3. Highly skilled individuals
  4. Meritorious students.
  5. Graduates in specialized fields like artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital currencies, etc.

How can Gateway Visas help you to get a UAE residence visa?

With a plethora of social and economic benefits, UAE is an inevitable choice for individuals wishing to be part of a zero-tax jurisdiction. However, we understand that having in-depth insights into the requirements and ways of attaining the residence visas is not an easy process. Gateway Visas, with their extensive foothold and knowledge in the Emirates region have been providing individuals with a unique residency package which includes everything from planning to support for your stay. Our extensive solution covers the requirements for both corporate and individual clients along with that of the UAE government authorities. We will help you identify the most suitable type of company or business for investment, give upfront clarity of potential expenses, and facilitate complete information and investment procedure. 

Contact Gateway Visas, the top Visa and Immigration consultant in Hyderabad, now to initiate a full-fledged consultation for obtaining residence visa in UAE

Scroll to top