United Arab Emirates: Updates on New Visa Schemes and Regulations

November 4, 2022

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Country / Territory

At a Glance

  • Following the introduction of new immigration regulations in July 2022, certain measures have become effective, including changes to residence permit validity, overstay fines and sponsorship requirements.
  • Additionally, certain visa categories of the newly-implemented Advanced Visa System are now open to applicants, including the Visit Visa for Exploring Job Opportunities, Visit Visa for Exploring Business Opportunities and the Green Residency Visa (Green Visa).
  • Several parts of the new visa schemes and regulations remain unclear or have not been enforced yet, but further developments are expected in the coming months. 

The situation

As an update to the new immigration regulations and Advanced Visa System in the United Arab Emirates implemented in July 2022, the government has implemented some of the immigration regulations and visa categories, and has implemented significant changes to the visit and residency visa systems.

Note that only certain services are currently available to individual applicants and businesses and many legislative changes brought by the new regulations have not been enforced yet.

The following visa categories are now available to applicants on the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) and Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) electronic portals:

 

Visa Category Details
Visit Visa for Exploring Job Opportunities

      • Self-sponsored, single-entry visa issued for stays related to jobseeking for up to 60, 90 and 120 days (in-country extensions available, for a total stay of 180 days). Eventually, multiple entries may become available for this visa, though the portal only offers a single-entry option at this time.

      • The government has not yet published the list of allowable activities for this visa type.

Note that this visa is referred to as the ‘Exploring Job Opportunities Visit Visa’ in the GDRFA portal and ‘Job-Seeker Visa’ in the ICP portal.
Visit Visa for Exploring Business Opportunities
      • A self-sponsored, single-entry visa issued for stays related to business/investment opportunities, with stays of up to 60, 90 and 120 days (in-country extensions available, for a total stay of 180 days). Eventually, multiple entries may become available for this visa, though the portal only offers a single-entry option at this time.

Note that this visa is referred to as the ‘Exploring Business Opportunities Visit Visa’ in the GDRFA portal, and as the ‘Investment Opportunities Visa’ in the ICP portal.
Green Residency Visa (Green Visa)
      • Self-sponsored visa, allows residency for up to five years (renewable).
      • Suitable for freelancers, highly-skilled workers, investors and business partners (though the government has not published exact eligibility criteria). Applications are open to foreign nationals who are currently in the United Arab Emirates under visitor status, or whose previous residence permit expired or has been cancelled.

Although the visa application process is open in the GDRFA portal, visa approvals are not being granted yet.

The application processes for the above visas varies by Emirate – please contact your immigration representative for more information.

Note that several visas that were available in previous regulations have now been reclassified and renamed but are lacking precise guidelines, making it difficult to understand their purpose and if they are new visa categories. We will issue an update when this is clarified.

Category Details
Residence Permit validity
      • Standard residence permit. Permit validity has been reduced to two years for applicants in free zones, down from three years. 
      • Golden visa. Validity has been revised to solely 10 years, where previously the validity depended on the category of visa issued.
      • Expired or canceled visas. The maximum allowable period of stay in the United Arab Emirates after residence permit expiry or cancellation is currently unknown but is anticipated to be up to 180 days
Overstay fines The overstay fine is now AED 50 per day for all categories of visitors and residents. Previously, the fine for residents was AED 25 per day, and the fine for visitors was AED 100 per day.
Sponsorship of sons The maximum age to allow sponsorship of sons has been increased to 25 years, where previously the age limit was 18 years old. 
  • Diverse candidate pools and self-sponsorship. The roll-out of these new visa categories is intended to attract a broad range of workers seeking flexibility in their work arrangements, as many of these visas do not require employer sponsorship.
  • Long-term residency. The increased validity period for Golden Visas provides the possibility for more foreign talent to consider long-term residency in the United Arab Emirates.
  • Goals of legislation. Through the new regulations and visa categories, the UAE government is seeking to facilitate the entry of visitors through new immigration options and to attract a diverse pool of highly qualified foreign nationals. The government originally announced these plans in April 2022. Previously, foreign nationals’ residency was tied to a sponsor (typically an employer), and self-sponsored visa options were rare. This also meant that, except in exceptional cases, long-term residency was very limited.
  • Attracting wealth to the region. The United Arab Emirates has attracted the largest number of high-net-worth individuals globally in 2022, mainly due to open immigration policy and an attractive market for investors. It is estimated that over 65,000 foreign nationals were granted the 10-year Golden Visa by the end of July 2022.

Fragomen expects these regulatory changes and visa categories will create a diverse and competitive labor market in the United Arab Emirates.

Provisions related to certain visa categories (as stated) lack detailed eligibility requirements. Fragomen will continue to publish forthcoming criteria as it is released.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected]. 

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