Four ways in, each with its own test.
The suspicion behind the question is well placed. The routes are published and clear; the honest part is that you have to fit one. These figures are eligibility thresholds set by the authorities, not what anyone charges, and where a route looks close, the detail under it decides it.
AED 2,000,000
Owning UAE real estate at the value threshold
Assessed on the value recorded by the land department, not a private valuation. Since the policy update of 20 February 2026, a mortgaged property can qualify: the visa is read on the total title-deed value rather than an upfront-payment minimum, with a letter or no-objection certificate from the financing bank. The AED 2,000,000 threshold still holds.
AED 30,000 basic
Qualifying as a skilled employed professional
A minimum basic monthly salary of AED 30,000, with a valid employment contract and a recognised qualification. The word basic carries weight: the base figure counts, not a package inflated by allowances. This route depends on a genuine qualifying role, not on owning a company.
from AED 500,000
Founders, by project and endorsement
Generally built around a project valued from AED 500,000 with endorsement from a UAE-accredited body. A distinct path from holding a trade licence, with its own approval requirements rather than arriving automatically with incorporation.
by nomination
Exceptional talent and specialists
Categories in science, medicine, technology, culture, and the arts, granted by nomination and assessment rather than a single financial number. Real and important, but judged on recognition, not a fixed sum, so they work differently from the threshold routes above.
The visa most setups quietly hand you is not this one.
Two different permits get blurred in the same sentence. One arrives with the licence. The other you earn.
An investor or partner residence visa
Tied to your company, often a two-year permit. Genuine residency that lets you live and sponsor on its own terms. It arrives with the setup.
2-year, company-linkedThe 10-year Golden Visa
Earned on one of the four routes above, against your assets, role, income, or recognition. A trade licence by itself is rarely one of them.
10-year, route-qualifiedThe cost is not a fee. It is a plan built on a permit you do not hold.
It surfaces at the worst moment: at renewal, when you sponsor family on terms you assumed were settled, or when a long decision rests on a visa that was never yours. If the 10-year permit matters to your plans, confirm which route applies before you treat it as covered by the licence.
The right question is not whether a Golden Visa exists for you. It is which specific route you genuinely meet, and whether you need it yet.
That turns on your assets, role, income, and plans, set against the published routes, and the answer is often clearer than people fear once it is laid against your situation. Sometimes a standard investor visa serves you well for now, and the 10-year route is a step for later. We tell you which it is, honestly, rather than selling the version that sounds best. Our Golden Visa page sets out how we assess eligibility and run the application, and the Golden Visa checker gives you a quick first read.