Pillar
Diagnostic tool
Dubai Golden Visa eligibility: which residence route fits your case
Two property thresholds exist side by side, and they do not lead to the same permit. This checker tells you which one your situation reaches, what the application requires next, and the condition that cancels one of the two permits but not the other. For the full picture, start with our guide to UAE residence visas.
The difference that decides
Above the higher threshold, the property route opens a ten-year permit that is not cancelled by a long absence. Between the lower and the higher threshold, it opens a two-year permit that lapses after six consecutive months outside the UAE.
If you do not intend to live in Dubai all year, it is this difference that should shape how much you spend on the property, not the stated term of the permit.
Check your situation
Five questions. The checker shows which routes are plausibly open to you, how long each permit lasts, what the application requires, and the conditions that cause applications to fail. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is sent.
The checker is not running
The property route turns on two value thresholds. The long property route opens from AED 2,000,000 of property value, for 10 years. The short property route opens from AED 750,000, for 2 years.
The costliest difference is not the term: a 2-year permit is cancelled after 6 months in a row outside the UAE; the Golden Visa is not. Read the method and assumptions.
The most misunderstood point
The six-month rule, and why it decides everything
An ordinary residence permit in the United Arab Emirates is cancelled when its holder stays outside the country for six consecutive months. This covers the lower-threshold property investor visa, the employment visa, the student permit and the permit sponsored by a company. The permit is not suspended during the absence: it lapses. No notification is sent, and the holder usually finds out at the border, or when dealing with an administrative formality.
The Golden Visa is not subject to this rule. In practice, that is its most useful difference — well ahead of the stated term. It changes the nature of what you are buying: on one side, a residence that assumes you are actually present; on the other, a residence that holds while you live elsewhere.
The trade-off is clear, and it should be stated: the higher threshold requires significantly more capital. The price gap between the two routes does not buy four extra years of permit, it buys freedom of movement. For a buyer who will actually live in Dubai, the short route may be enough and costs far less. For a buyer who will stay based elsewhere, it is an expensive trap dressed up as a good deal.
The periods and the counting method for this rule are among the points we have verified as a priority before any final publication. We treat the mechanism as certain, and its value as still to be confirmed.
What the threshold measures
The three most common routes, side by side
The table compares what really changes from one permit to another. All values are working values, not confirmed.
| What changes | Golden Visa, property route | Property investor visa | Employment visa |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry threshold | AED 2,000,000 of assessed value | AED 750,000 of assessed value | No wealth threshold, an employment contract |
| Permit term | 10 years, renewable | 2 years, renewable | 2 years, tied to the contract |
| Who sponsors you | No one, the permit is yours | No one, the permit follows the property | Your employer |
| Six-month absence rule | Does not apply | Applies, the permit lapses | Applies, the permit lapses |
| What ends it | No longer meeting the conditions at renewal | Selling the property, or too long an absence | The end of the contract, or too long an absence |
| Dependants | Sponsorship possible, one application per person | Sponsorship possible, one application per person | Sponsorship possible, subject to salary and housing conditions |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Four things the threshold does not tell you
The threshold is measured against the value assessed by the Dubai Land Department, not the price in your contract. The two can differ in either direction, and a valuation may be requested. Buying at a listed price just above the threshold therefore guarantees nothing.
An off-plan property does not necessarily count straight away. A construction, registration or payment stage may be required. It varies by project and over time. This is the most common mistake we see: a payment plan signed on the promise of a residence that will only come later, or not at all if construction slips.
A property financed by a mortgage is treated differently. A letter from the lender, the share of the price already paid, and sometimes an assessment on the net value. That percentage is checked case by case with the lender, and it is precisely the figure that circulates incorrectly.
Combining several properties is sometimes accepted, but not guaranteed. If it is your only way to reach the threshold, we have it confirmed before you buy the second property.
Method and assumptions
How this checker decides
We start from what you hold, not what you plan
The route open to you depends on your actual situation today: a property, a company, an employment contract, a nomination, an enrolment. An intention to buy gives you no entitlement.
We compare the property value with the two thresholds, in this order
The higher threshold first, then the lower one. Above the higher threshold, both routes are open and we show the more favourable one first. Below the lower threshold, no property route is open and we say so, with the exact gap still to close.
We downgrade the result as soon as a condition is not met
An off-plan property, or one financed by a mortgage, moves the route from ‘plausible’ to ‘subject to conditions’. We would rather give you a cautious result that makes you ask the question than a certainty that makes you sign.
We show the absence rule in every case
Even when it does not apply to you, because it is the difference most easily missed, and the most expensive to discover too late.
Every figure we show has been checked
Where we know the mechanism but not the value in force — the construction stage accepted for an off-plan purchase, the share paid on a mortgaged property, a licence’s visa quota — we describe the mechanism, and we give you the figure once it has been verified for your file.
The eleven values used, and their status
They are all gathered in the checker’s ‘Assumptions behind the result’ block. The three that actually drive the logic — the Golden Visa threshold, the investor visa threshold and the permitted absence period — are input fields you can change to see the effect on the result immediately. The other eight, permit terms and salary thresholds, are shown in full in the same place.
None of these values is confirmed to date. Each is marked ‘to be verified’ in our internal register, with the authority to consult for each one. Visa thresholds are set by the ICP, can be revised by Cabinet decision, and are applied case by case by the GDRFA in Dubai. A threshold that is correct today can be wrong in six months: that is why they are editable rather than fixed in the code.
The calculation runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or stored anywhere other than in the page address and your browser’s local storage, so that your values are still there when you come back.
Limits
What this checker does not tell you
A tool that does not name its blind spots creates new ones. Here is what it does not look at, and what often weighs more than a threshold.
- Your history. A previous refusal, an entry ban, an unresolved employment dispute or an unpaid debt in the UAE weighs more than a threshold reached. The tool knows nothing about them.
- Your nationality. Depending on your passport, additional checks and timelines differ. The checker does not ask and makes no assumption.
- The cost. Application fees, medical examination, health insurance, Emirates ID, valuation fees, filing fees: none of this is priced here. These are real amounts, not round numbers.
- Your tax position. A residence permit does not make you tax resident. Leaving your home country’s tax system, any tax your home country charges on departure, and the burden of proof all remain yours, and are handled with an adviser in that country.
- The authorities’ discretion. Two files that look identical on paper can receive two different answers. No tool replaces the GDRFA’s review.
- Time. The rules change by Cabinet decision, without notice. A result obtained here is as current as our assumptions, not as the law in force when you read it.
For these six reasons, the tool’s output is called ‘indicative eligibility’ and nothing more. Before you commit to a purchase, cancel an existing permit or bring your family over, we review your actual situation.
Questions buyers ask us before they purchase
Does an off-plan property qualify for the Golden Visa?
Not automatically. A property under construction may not qualify until it reaches a construction, registration or payment stage that varies by project and over time. This is where we see buyers go wrong most often: they sign a payment plan counting on a residence that will only come later, or not at all if construction is delayed. We have the required stage confirmed before you sign, project by project.
Is the threshold based on the price I paid?
No. It is based on the value assessed by the Dubai Land Department, which can differ from the amount in your contract, in either direction, and a valuation may be requested. Buying at a listed price just above the threshold therefore guarantees nothing: it is the assessed value at the time of application that counts.
Can I combine several properties to reach the threshold?
Combining is sometimes accepted, but it is not guaranteed and its conditions change. If combining is your only way to reach the threshold, we treat it as an unknown and have it confirmed for your file before you buy the second property, not after.
Does a property financed by a mortgage count?
It is treated differently. A letter from the lender is usually required, and the share of the price already paid is taken into account. That percentage is checked case by case with the lender, and it is exactly the kind of figure that circulates incorrectly. We confirm it before building your financing plan on it.
What happens if I leave the UAE for more than six months?
An ordinary residence permit — property investor visa, employment visa, student permit, permit sponsored by a company — is cancelled after six consecutive months outside the country. It is not put on hold, it lapses, and no one tells you. The Golden Visa is not subject to this rule: in practice, that is its most useful difference for anyone who will not live in Dubai all year. We have the exact period and how it is counted verified with the competent authority before any final publication.
Does the Golden Visa end my tax residence in my home country?
No. A residence permit is not tax residence. Tax residence is not declared, it is proven, and the tax authority of the country you are leaving has its say: your home, the centre of your economic interests, how long you are actually present. Leaving your home country’s tax system is prepared with an adviser there, before you leave. It is the point most often overlooked, and the most expensive to put right.
Do I need to be in Dubai to obtain the permit?
Yes, at some point. The medical examination and the Emirates ID biometrics take place in person. Part of the file can be prepared remotely, but we plan the trip with you and prepare a complete file before you travel: coming back a second time for a missing document costs more than anticipating it.
Independent advice
Have your case reviewed before you commit to a purchase
Send us your situation as you entered it here. We go through your assumptions and tell you what holds, what still needs confirming with the ICP, and the list of documents to gather for your application.