Golden Visa Eligibility Checker

What the checker is telling you

The Golden Visa is not a single scheme. It is a set of routes with different thresholds, different evidence requirements and, in several cases, different issuing authorities. The checker points you at the route you are most likely to qualify under. It does not confirm eligibility, because several routes are nomination-based and assessed case by case.

The main routes

• Property investors: UAE property from AED 2 million. Off-plan property from approved developers and mortgaged property can qualify once paid equity reaches the threshold, and holdings can sometimes be combined.
• Entrepreneurs: ownership or founding of a project, with a figure commonly cited from AED 500,000, plus approval from an accredited incubator or the relevant authority. Company ownership on its own is not enough.
• Skilled professionals: basic monthly salary from AED 30,000, a bachelor's degree or above, and an occupation on the eligible list.
• Specialised talent: scientists, doctors, cultural figures, athletes and similar, largely nomination-based.

What the tool cannot tell you

Three things decide real applications and none of them fit in a form. Whether your specific occupation appears on the current eligible list, whether your project's accrediting body is recognised for this purpose, and whether your documentation is attested to the standard the authority expects. Those are checks, not calculations.

Sequence matters more than the visa term

Founders routinely wait for a Golden Visa decision before doing anything else, and lose a quarter to it. The faster path is usually an investor visa through your own company, which produces an Emirates ID in weeks and unblocks banking, telecoms and tenancy, while the Golden Visa application runs in parallel. You switch once it is approved.

Residency is not tax residency

A Golden Visa does not automatically make you UAE tax resident, and it does not end tax residency in your home country. Those are separate tests based on days present, permanent home and centre of financial interests, and your home country applies its own rules. If the visa is part of a tax plan, take advice in both jurisdictions first.

Golden Visa categories and thresholds have been expanded repeatedly and several routes have moved to nomination. Always confirm the current category and figures with ICP or the relevant emirate authority before relying on them.