Your real UAE visa cost.

A UAE residence visa runs from a few hundred dirhams to several thousand, depending on the type. A work visa is roughly AED 4,000–6,000 (plus a refundable AED 3,000 deposit); a family visa about AED 3,500–5,000 per dependent; a Golden Visa on the Dubai property route AED 9,884.75 for the investor on DLD’s published schedule, plus AED 5,774.50 per family permit; a freelance visa AED 7,500–15,000 in year one. Pick a visa type above to see the exact fee breakdown for your situation — every figure below is the same data the calculator uses.

What makes up a UAE visa cost

Whatever the visa type, most of the bill is a stack of common per-person government fees plus a type-specific processing fee and, often, a refundable deposit. The common fees are set federally by ICP and are the same across visa types:

Federal ICP fees, the same across visa types. Set per person; multiply by the number of applicants.

On top of these sit the type-specific charges: a Golden-Visa processing fee, a work-visa entry permit + labour-contract typing + a refundable AED 3,000 immigration deposit, a family security deposit per dependent, or a free-zone licence fee. Health insurance is mandatory and separate from every figure here — budget it in addition (see our health-insurance premium calculator).

Golden Visa: routes, thresholds & cost

The UAE Golden Visa grants 10-year renewable residency (5 years for entrepreneurs) with no sponsor, and lets you sponsor unlimited dependents who can work without a separate permit. On the Dubai property route Dubai Land Department publishes the whole fee schedule — AED 9,884.75 for the investor and AED 5,774.50 for each family residence permit — and each route has its own qualifying threshold:

• Salary: a monthly salary of AED 30,000+ with a valid contract.
• Property: UAE property worth AED 2 million+, fully owned (not mortgage-only).
• Investment: AED 2 million+ in Central-Bank-approved funds, held 3+ years.
• Talent: specialists (doctors, engineers, scientists, artists, inventors) with a PhD/Master’s and 10+ years’ experience, endorsed by a UAE authority.
• Entrepreneur: an approved, incubator-endorsed startup (≥ AED 500,000 project) — a 5-year visa.
• Humanitarian: recognised humanitarian pioneers and frontline workers.

Beyond the fees, the Golden Visa’s real value is what it removes: there’s no employer sponsor, so you keep your residency even if you change or lose your job; dependents can work without a separate permit; and there’s no six-month rule forcing you to re-enter — you can stay outside the UAE for extended periods without the visa lapsing. Students in the top 10% of their class and outstanding graduates from accredited universities can also be nominated, making it a genuine long-term-residency path rather than a job-tied permit.

Work visa cost — and who actually pays

A standard employer-sponsored work visa is valid 2 years and costs roughly AED 4,000–6,000 in government fees, split between employer and employee. The employer typically covers the entry permit, labour-contract typing and the AED 3,000 immigration deposit (refundable on cancellation, per MOHRE Cabinet Decision 7/2021); the employee-side fees are the status change, medical fitness test and Emirates ID. Costs are negotiable and often fully employer-paid.

Work-visa holders can sponsor their own dependents once they meet the family salary threshold (below). Requirements include an attested degree, a medical fitness certificate from an approved centre, and Emirates ID biometrics. Free-zone work visas are issued by the zone authority rather than MOHRE, but the fee anatomy is similar.

Family visa: sponsorship salary & cost

To sponsor family, you must clear a minimum monthly salary. This is a national rule — the same in every emirate — and what changes it is whether your employer provides accommodation: AED 4,000 on its own, or AED 3,000 with accommodation:

National rule to sponsor a spouse/children — the same in every emirate: AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 with employer accommodation. Sponsoring parents is a separate, stricter route (~AED 20,000 or a AED 1M deposit).

Fees run about AED 3,500–5,000 per dependent: entry permit, medical, Emirates ID, status change, plus a refundable AED 2,000 security deposit per visa and mandatory health insurance. Sponsoring parents is stricter — typically an AED 20,000 salary or a AED 1M refundable deposit, plus insurance for both parents. Documents must be attested and translated if issued abroad (marriage certificate, birth certificates).

Renewal, grace periods & overstay fines

Residence visas must be renewed before expiry — start 60 days ahead. Renewal fees depend on the visa type:

Plus medical + Emirates ID if expired. Overstay fine ~AED 125/day after the 30-day grace period.

Add the medical fitness test and Emirates ID renewal if they’ve expired, and a status update. After a visa is cancelled or expires you get a 30-day grace period to renew or leave — you can stay legally but cannot work. Beyond that, overstay fines of about AED 125/day apply for residence visas, and prolonged overstays can trigger entry bans. Renewing on time is far cheaper than the fines.

Freelance visa by free zone

A freelance permit lets you work for multiple clients without an employer sponsor, issued by a free zone. Year-one cost bundles the licence, visa issuance, Emirates ID, medical and immigration card; year two is mostly the annual licence renewal. Costs vary widely by zone:

Year 1 also includes Emirates ID, medical, immigration card and an optional AED 1000 establishment card. Year 2 is mostly the annual renewal.

Add an establishment card (~AED 1,000) if you hold the licence in your own name, and per-dependent fees if you sponsor family — which needs proof of income (typically AED 15,000–20,000/month). Media and creative zones (Fujairah, Sharjah, RAK) are the cheapest entry points; Dubai zones cost more but carry more prestige and easier banking.

How long does a UAE visa take?

Processing time depends on the visa type and whether you apply from inside or outside the UAE:

• Golden Visa: 4–8 weeks — longer for talent and nomination routes that need an authority endorsement.
• Work visa: 3–6 weeks end-to-end — entry permit (2–5 days), then medical + Emirates ID biometrics (a few days), then stamping.
• Family visa: 4–6 weeks, gated by document attestation and each dependent’s medical.
• Renewal: 5–10 working days online via ICP or GDRFA; express options exist for an extra fee.
• Freelance visa: 2–4 weeks once the free-zone licence is issued.

The single biggest delay is document attestation — degree, marriage and birth certificates issued abroad must be attested by the UAE embassy in the issuing country and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which can add weeks if you leave it late. Applying in-country with a status change (AED 500) is usually faster than exiting and re-entering on a fresh entry permit.

The documents and the four steps

Almost every UAE residence visa follows the same four-step path, and the fees above map straight onto it:

1. Entry permit

An electronic entry permit — or a status change (AED 500) if you’re already in the country — authorises the residency process. Employers apply for work permits through MOHRE; free zones and family sponsors apply under their own categories.

2. Medical fitness test

A DHA/DOH-approved medical (AED 320) screens for communicable diseases and feeds results directly into the residency system. Everyone over 18 needs one for a new visa or an expired renewal.

3. Emirates ID

Biometrics — fingerprints and a photo — are captured at an ICP centre and the Emirates ID (AED 270) is issued. It’s your legal identity document and is linked to the visa.

4. Visa stamping

The residence visa is issued (now largely a digital stamp). Refundable deposits are collected at this stage, and the visa is active for its 2-year or 10-year term.

Documents to prepare: a passport with 6+ months’ validity, passport photos, attested educational certificates (work / Golden), attested and translated relationship certificates (family), a tenancy contract or accommodation proof, a salary certificate or bank statements, and a valid health-insurance policy. Having these ready is what turns a six-week process into a three-week one.

How visa costs differ by emirate

Federal fees (Emirates ID, medical, entry permit) are the same nationwide, but the parts set locally differ. Dubai (GDRFA) and Abu Dhabi broadly match on work and Golden visas, but Abu Dhabi’s family-sponsorship salary rules can be applied more strictly. Sharjah and the northern emirates (Ajman, RAK, Fujairah, UAQ) are usually the cheapest for freelance permits and mainland setup, which is why many freelancers licence there and commute. Wherever you apply, the refundable deposits (work AED 3,000, family AED 2,000/visa) are the same — remember they come back on cancellation, so your true net cost is lower than the headline.

UAE visa costs — frequently asked questions