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To apply for a UAE golden visa, you first prove one category: property or investment of AED 2,000,000, a monthly salary of AED 30,000, a nomination for talent, or top grades. Then you file in one channel: ICP smart services, GDRFA Dubai (online or Amer), or a DLD accredited centre for Dubai property. Fee lines start at AED 1,100 with GDRFA, and decisions take 2 to 10 working days.
Pick your channel first
| Your case | Channel | Decision time |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai property worth AED 2,000,000 or more | DLD accredited centre | 7 to 10 business days |
| Dubai residence file, any other category | GDRFA website, app or Amer centre | 48 hours or 5 days |
| Residence file in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or the northern emirates | ICP smart services | 2 days |
| Abroad, no UAE residence yet | ICP 6-month entry visa, then one of the above | depends on the channel |
Source: ICP Issuing Residency Permit card, GDRFA golden residency pages and the DLD golden visa service page, checked .
Abu Dhabi has its own nomination desk for some categories through TAMM. Our Abu Dhabi golden visa guide covers that route.
Channel 1: ICP smart services
ICP runs the federal route. Its smart services site and app are open around the clock with UAE Pass.
- Log in with UAE Pass and run the eligibility check on the golden services dashboard.
- Choose your category and upload your passport, a photo and proof of eligibility (title deed, bank certificate, salary certificate, nomination letter or attested grades).
- Pay the application, issuance and smart service fees.
- Track the request. ICP lists 2 days for the decision.
- Complete the medical and Emirates ID biometrics.
Channel 2: GDRFA Dubai or Amer
If your residence file is in Dubai, GDRFA decides it. You can file on the GDRFA website or app with UAE Pass, or walk into an Amer centre and have the typist file it.
Nominated categories go to the nominating body first. Dubai Future Foundation handles entrepreneurs. The Ministry of Culture, Dubai Culture or the Emirates Media Council handle creatives. The Emirates Scientists Council handles researchers. GDRFA says plainly that a nomination is not approval. It reviews the file again before issuing.
High school and university graduates in Dubai also need ICP approval before GDRFA issues, and the residence file must belong to Dubai. Humanitarian pioneers get a first approval at the Golden Residency Office in the GDRFA main building, then apply at Amer.
Channel 3: a DLD accredited centre for property
Dubai property owners do not file with GDRFA directly. GDRFA sends this category to the DLD accredited centres: Al Manara Center (Cube), Golden Cube at the Dubai World Trade Centre, EGSH, Alyalayis and Gulf Vision.
- Bring your passport, the title deed or e-Certificate of Title, a photo, your Emirates ID and current residence copy if you have them.
- Only you can attend. DLD does not accept a representative.
- For a mortgaged unit, bring a no-objection letter from the bank showing the amount paid and the balance.
- The medical is done at the centre, and the Emirates ID is ordered in the same visit.
DLD's terms say the applicant must be inside the UAE, yet the same page lists "visiting foreign investor" as an accepted status. Ask the centre before you book a flight. ICP accepts off-plan units from an approved developer, but the DLD and GDRFA pages do not mention off-plan at all. Our golden visa for property owners page has the full property rules.
Applying from outside the UAE
If you live abroad, ICP gives you a six-month, multiple-entry entry visa so you can come in, do the medical and finish the residence.
If six months is not enough, ICP extends it once for another six months. The extension fee is AED 1,000. ICP's card says it "may be extended once for an equivalent period only", so plan to finish inside a year.
ICP does not show the fee for the first six-month visa on a page we could read, so check it on the smart services screen before you pay.
Fees by channel
| Fee line | GDRFA Dubai | ICP |
|---|---|---|
| Residence permit or issuance | AED 1,100 | AED 100 per year of residence |
| Application | not listed | AED 100 |
| Smart service | not listed | AED 100 |
| Knowledge and Innovation Dirhams | AED 10 each | not listed |
| Inside the country | AED 500 | not listed |
| Delivery | AED 20 | not listed |
Source: GDRFA investor and specialist golden residency pages, ICP Issuing Residency Permit card, checked .
GDRFA adds that "the issuance fee increases by AED 100 annually whenever the residency is over two years". It shows no 10-year total, so we do not compute one. The DLD property route is itemised as one package of AED 9,884.75, covering the medical, a 10-year Emirates ID, the residency confirmation, DLD fees and admin fees. See golden visa cost for every line side by side.
On top of that come the medical (from AED 270 in Dubai) and the Emirates ID (AED 100 per year plus AED 100 smart service).
What Dubai agencies charge
Amer and typing centres publish about AED 2,711.75 to AED 2,992.90 for the residence permit stage on the GDRFA route, medical and Emirates ID extra (published prices of 2 Dubai centres, checked ). DLD registration agents publish AED 9,984.75 to AED 10,575 for the property route (2 Dubai firms, same date). These are their prices, not ours.
Documents checklist
- Passport valid for the whole process, and a recent photo on white.
- Proof of your category: title deed, frozen deposit certificate, trade licence and audited accounts, salary certificate with 6 months of bank statements, nomination letter, or attested certificate and transcript.
- Attested degree for the salaried route (Ministry of Education recognition for foreign degrees).
- Health insurance for you and your family. ICP asks investors, entrepreneurs and specialised professionals for it.
- Proof of housing in Dubai for the GDRFA deposit route.
- Emirates ID and residence copy if you already hold them.
Common reasons a file is returned
- Wrong channel. A Dubai property file sent to ICP or a talent file sent without a nomination comes back.
- Salary below the line. AED 30,000 a month must show on the certificate and in the bank transfers. GDRFA cancels the permit later if it drops.
- Loan money as investment capital. ICP wants the capital fully yours, not borrowed. Mortgaged property is a separate case with its own bank letter.
- Unattested degree or grades. Foreign degrees need the Ministry of Education recognition report.
- Joint property. GDRFA counts your own share, which must reach AED 2,000,000 by itself.
How it works with us
Send your passport copy and a line about your category on WhatsApp, or use the form on this page. A visa adviser checks which channel takes your file and whether a nomination is needed first. You get one total price, confirmed on WhatsApp before you pay. The team prepares the upload, books the DLD or Amer visit where needed, files the application and follows it until the residence and Emirates ID are issued. DubaiVisaDesk.com is a private visa service, not ICP, GDRFA or DLD, and those authorities decide every golden visa.
Fees paid to ICP, GDRFA or DLD are not refunded by the authorities if a file is refused. Before you pay, the adviser tells you in writing which part of the total, if any, comes back after a refusal.
Official sources
- ICP Golden Residency guide: categories, the 6-month entry visa, family rules. Checked .
- ICP Issuing Residency Permit card: fee lines and the 2-day time.
- ICP entry visa extension card: the AED 1,000 extension.
- GDRFA golden residency services: Dubai fee lines, nominating bodies, times.
- DLD golden visa for investors: property terms, centres, itemised total.
