UAE Golden Visa for doctors
A doctor is not given a Golden Visa by the job title. ICP publishes two routes that can apply: a recommendation for healthcare specialists from the relevant ministry or local authority, or the skilled-professional test (MOHRE levels 1 or 2, a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, a valid UAE work permit and contract, and a monthly salary of at least AED 30,000). A licence to practise is part of working as a doctor. It is not, on its own, the visa.
Which published route can apply
Hospital recruiters often describe “a Golden Visa for doctors” as if it were a form with one line. ICP’s guide is a set of categories. Match the category before you attest a stack of certificates.
| Route | What ICP publishes | What this page will not assume |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare specialist | Recommendation from the relevant ministry or local authority | A hospital offer, a DHA or DOH licence, or years of experience as an automatic approval |
| Skilled professional | MOHRE level 1 or 2, degree, UAE work permit and contract, salary at least AED 30,000 a month | A lower salary “because doctors are different”, or a salary paid outside the contract |
| Scientist or researcher | Recommendation from the Emirates Scientists Council, if the work is research rather than clinical practice | A PhD alone. See the researchers page if that is the real file |
The only monthly salary figure on this page is the AED 30,000 ICP publishes for skilled professionals in MOHRE occupational levels 1 and 2, together with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent and a valid UAE work permit and contract. This page does not invent a salary for a job title.
Which ministry or health authority nominates is a question for that body. THAJ will not invent a list of hospitals that “guarantee” a nomination. If you are still outside the UAE with no employer and no nomination, the property or investor routes may be the honest alternative. They are on the eligibility page.
What to line up before a doctor’s file is opened
These are signals, not a secret scoring system. If you cannot point at one published route, stop.
Eligibility signals to gather before anyone files
- The name of the route: healthcare nomination, or skilled professional. Write it down.
- For the salary route: the MOHRE occupational level on the contract, not the prestige of the specialty.
- The monthly salary as the contract states it, against AED 30,000. Allowances are not a figure this page will add up for you. Ask the authority if you want them counted.
- A degree that can be attested if the route requires a bachelor’s or equivalent.
- A current licence to practise where you actually work. Treat it as employment evidence the nominating body may ask for, not as the Golden Visa category.
- Health insurance, which ICP requires for several categories including specialists.
A consultant and a general practitioner do not have different dirham thresholds on the ICP page we cite. Specialty does not create a private fee or a private salary. If someone quotes one, ask them to point at the government page.
Document themes
Themes we see in doctor files. The authority’s checklist on the day is the real list.
- Passport, photograph, and Emirates ID or current residence permit if you already have one.
- Degree certificate and transcripts, attested if the route or the nominator requires it.
- The nomination or recommendation letter, if you are on the specialist route, naming you.
- UAE employment contract and work permit, if you are on the skilled-professional route, with the salary and job level readable.
- Licence to practise and good-standing evidence, if the nominating health authority asks. Do not send a licence instead of a missing nomination.
- Health insurance for you and, where the category requires it, your family.
Where a UAE authority asks for attestation or legal translation, that paperwork is coordinated as PRO work. The nominating body can ask for more than this list.
How an application usually moves
Match a published category
Write down which ICP route you are using: a specialist nomination, the Emirates Scientists Council, or the skilled-professional test. Do not file under a job title alone.
Collect the evidence that route names
Passport, photo, the degree or recommendation the route actually requires, and health insurance where ICP lists it for that category.
Nomination or direct file
Specialist and scientist routes go through the competent council, ministry or local authority. The skilled-professional route needs the UAE work permit and contract in place.
Authority decision, then residence steps
Approval is the authority’s. After it, applicants abroad use the entry window ICP describes; residents change status. Then medical, biometrics and Emirates ID.
Medical fitness, biometrics and Emirates ID follow the same order as every other category. Read the application process and the rejections guide before you book travel around an approval you do not have yet.
Family, the job, and time outside the UAE
A Golden Visa holder can sponsor a spouse, children of any age and parents, and ICP also refers to domestic workers. Health insurance for family members is an investor-category condition and is wise to have ready for other categories too. The permit is not an employment visa tied to one sponsor: ending a job is not described on the ICP page we cite as an automatic cancellation, but renewal still means the category conditions are checked again. Time outside the UAE is covered on keeping the visa while abroad. A Golden Visa does not replace your licence to practise and it does not let you work in a clinic that has not credentialed you. It is a residence permit. Clinical practice stays with the health authority.
Frequently asked questions
Do all doctors in the UAE qualify?
No. You need a published category: a healthcare nomination, or the skilled-professional test including AED 30,000 a month where that route is the one you use.
Is there a special doctor salary for the Golden Visa?
ICP does not publish one on the page we cite. The AED 30,000 figure belongs to the skilled-professional route generally, not to a doctor-only table.
I have a DHA licence. Is that the visa?
No. A licence to practise is how you work. The visa category is the nomination or the skilled-professional test.
Can I include my spouse and children?
Yes once you hold the Golden Visa. Sponsorship rules and documents are on the family page. A licence in your name does not sponsor them by itself.
Official sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on 26 October 2026. Rules and fees can change; the authority’s current page always prevails.
- Golden Residency Guide — Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP)
- Golden visa — eligible categories — The UAE Government portal (u.ae)
- Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation — services — MOHRE
- ICP smart services — Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP)
Name the route before you attest certificates
Tell us whether you have a nomination or a UAE contract. We will say which file it is.