United Arab Emirates · Residency by investment
Golden Residence — Investor in Public Investments
Governed by Federal Decree-Law 29/2021 and Cabinet Resolution 65/2022. Stable since 2022; no repricing announced as at July 2026.
The deposit route is the only major residence-by-investment programme in the world that combines a hard-currency-pegged deposit, zero personal tax, no minimum stay and a 1–3 month timeline. For a family that wants a credible tax residence without living anywhere in particular, nothing else clears the bar as quickly.
Qualifying routes
AED 2m deposit in a UAE-licensed bank, or in an accredited investment fund, sukuk or investment bonds; may not be withdrawn for the 10-year permit period
Company assets of at least AED 2m; capital must not be borrowed
Alternative route: contribute at least AED 250,000 per year in tax to the UAE government
The facts
- Minimum investment
- 2M AED
- Total landed cost
- AED 2m locked investment plus roughly AED 10–15k in government fees for the principal, and about AED 6k per dependent; legal and PRO fees typically AED 15–40k for a family
- Timeline
- 1–3 months — DLD/GDRFA quote 7–10 working days once inside the UAE and documents are complete; realistic end-to-end including medical, Emirates ID and dependants is 1–3 months
- Physical presence
- None. Golden Visa holders are exempt from the standard rule that a residence permit lapses after 6 months outside the UAE — this is the single most valuable feature of the programme.
- Family
- spousechildren of any age (no age cap since the 2025–2026 rule relaxation)parentsunlimited domestic workers
- Permanent residency
- None. The Golden Visa is a renewable 10-year permit, not permanent residency. There is no permanent residence status in the UAE.
- Citizenship
- None by right. UAE nationality is available only by nomination from a Ruler's Court, Crown Prince Court, Executive Council or the Cabinet — it cannot be applied for.
- Language test
- Not applicable — no application-based route to citizenship exists
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- clean criminal recordmedical fitness test inside the UAEvalid health insuranceapplicant must be physically inside the UAE to complete biometricscapital must not be borrowed
- The AED 2m deposit is locked for the full 10 years — withdrawal terminates the permit. It is not a liquid asset, and the return on a UAE deposit is unlikely to beat what the same capital earns elsewhere. Price the opportunity cost.
- A Golden Visa is NOT tax residency. Your home country will apply its own tie-breaker tests; the visa alone will not defeat an HMRC, ATO or Finanzamt residence challenge without real substance.
- The UAE Federal Tax Authority requires 183 days of physical presence to issue a Tax Residency Certificate for double-tax-treaty purposes, even though domestic tax residency can be established at 90 days. The 90-day route buys you a domestic TRC, not a treaty one — advisers routinely conflate the two.
- The UAE has been a CRS participant since 2018 and signed the CRS 2.0 addendum on 11 August 2025, with expanded exchange (including crypto-assets) starting 2028. Bank secrecy is not what the marketing implies.
- Golden Visa holders are still subject to the 9% corporate tax if they carry on a licensed business, and to natural-person corporate tax where business turnover exceeds AED 1m per calendar year.
- Aggressive unlicensed agents dominate this market. The ICP has stated that no external advisory body is an approved party in the application process and has threatened legal action against promoters.