On October 3, the UAE government implemented new executive regulations to streamline and broaden eligibility for the current 10-year Golden Residence Visa. The laws also significantly lower the needed investment sums and broaden the eligibility for long-term visas to include direct family members.

The goal of the move is to draw and keep top talent in the UAE while enhancing the UAE's reputation as an ideal place to live, work, and invest. In addition to pay and bonus structures, some companies in the UAE are also include 10-year Golden Visas in their recruitment packages for critical roles or specific abilities.
 

In order to enable expats to live, work, and study in the UAE without needing a native sponsor or a minimum stay restriction, the UAE began issuing five- and ten-year renewable visas in 2019. According to the new regulations, those who meet the eligibility requirements for the UAE Golden Visa will be given a 10-year residency permit. Eligible individuals include investors, business owners, exceptional talents, scientists, professionals, outstanding students and graduates, humanitarian trailblazers, and frontline heroes.
 

Real estate investors who buy a property, or one or more off-plan properties, from recognized local real estate firms are eligible to apply for a Golden Visa.

Professionals from all fields, including medicine, engineering, business, law, education, and the social and human sciences, as well as information technology, will also be eligible.

Based on the advice of the Emirates Scientists Council, qualified scientists and researchers are expected to display outstanding achievements and influence in their profession. A PhD or a Master's degree in engineering, technology, the biological sciences, or the natural sciences is required of applicants, as well as "significant research achievements."
 

Talented persons in culture, the arts, sports, digital technology, or creators and innovators in other disciplines will qualify as "exceptional talents." Awards will be given only on the basis of talent, independent of educational background, work situation, monthly pay, or professional level, and based on the suggestion or approval of a federal or local government entity.

High-achieving students in secondary schools in the UAE, outstanding graduates from universities in the UAE, or graduates from the top 100 universities worldwide will be considered outstanding students and graduates based on a set of criteria that includes academic performance (cumulative average), graduation year, and university classification.

The new regulations would enable holders of Golden Visas to sponsor their spouses, children, and other family members, regardless of their age, as well as an unlimited number of domestic workers, in addition to safeguarding their right to remain in the UAE for a term of ten years.
 

In the event of the death of the principal visa holder, family members will be allowed to remain in the UAE until the end of their permit length, eliminating the previous physical presence criteria to keep a Golden Visa.

Investors, businesspeople, professionals, and individuals with remarkable skills can live and work in the UAE under their own sponsorship through the Golden Visa program, free from contractual obligations to any one employer.