UAE Green Visa eligibility
You are eligible for a UAE Green Visa only if you meet one category on ICP’s Green Residence Guide. Skilled workers need a UAE contract, MOHRE level 1, 2 or 3, a bachelor’s degree and at least AED 15,000 a month. Freelancers need a MOHRE freelance or self-employment permit, a bachelor’s degree or specialised diploma, and freelance income of at least AED 360,000 in each of the previous two years. Investors need proof of an investment or contribution in the UAE and the licences that go with it. A job title, a trade name or a property reservation is not a category.
Skilled workers
All four points are on the guide. Missing one of them is a different visa, usually the employer-sponsored employment visa, not a Green Residence with a footnote.
Bring evidence for each line
- A valid employment contract in the UAE. An offer that has not been signed, or a contract for work outside the UAE, is not this line.
- A MOHRE occupational classification in level 1, 2 or 3. The Golden Visa skilled route, by contrast, is levels 1 and 2 only. Level 3 is a Green Visa question, not a Golden Visa salary question.
- A qualification of at least a bachelor’s degree. The guide does not accept a lower certificate for this category.
- Salary of at least AED 15,000 a month, or the equivalent in another currency. This page does not publish a salary for a job title the guide does not name.
Someone paid AED 30,000 in level 1 or 2 can meet the Golden Visa skilled-professional test as well. That is a separate permit. Compare them on Green Visa vs Golden Visa instead of filing both and hoping one sticks.
Freelancers and self-employed people
- A freelance work permit or a self-employment permit issued by MOHRE. A Dubai free-zone freelance permit is a licence product. It counts here only if it is the permit MOHRE and ICP accept for this category. Read freelance permits before you treat them as the same document.
- A bachelor’s degree, a specialised diploma, or an equivalent qualification. This is wider than the skilled-worker degree line, and it is still a qualification, not a portfolio on its own.
- Proof of stable annual income or financial solvency throughout the period of residence.
- Annual income from freelance work in each of the previous two years of at least AED 360,000, or the foreign-currency equivalent.
ICP prints the solvency sentence and the AED 360,000 sentence as separate requirements. This page does not read the solvency sentence as a waiver of the AED 360,000 figure.
Investors and business partners
ICP’s Green Residence Guide prints AED 15,000 a month for skilled workers and AED 360,000 a year for freelancers. It does not print a dirham minimum for investors. This page does not borrow the Golden Visa’s AED 2 million figure, and it does not invent a lower one.
What you can prepare is the proof of investment or contribution, and the licences and approvals for that venture. A mainland or free zone company can be that venture when the licence is real and the contribution is documented. It is not a Green Visa because the trade name exists. If the evidence you have is a personal property title of at least AED 2 million, that is the Golden Visa property route, not this category.
Frequently asked questions
Is AED 15,000 enough for a Green Visa?
It is the salary figure ICP prints for skilled workers, together with a UAE contract, MOHRE level 1 to 3 and a bachelor’s degree. The salary alone is not the category.
Do freelancers need AED 360,000?
ICP says annual income from freelance work during the previous two years must not be less than AED 360,000, or the equivalent in another currency, alongside the permit and qualification.
What is the Green Visa investment minimum?
The Green Residence Guide updated on 12 September 2026 does not print one. THAJ will not fill that gap with a number.
Can my spouse qualify on my salary?
The salary test is the applicant’s. A spouse can be sponsored after you hold the residence, under the approved family requirements. Sponsorship is not the same as the spouse meeting the skilled-worker test.
Official sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Rules and fees can change; the authority’s current page always prevails.
- Green Residence Guide (page updated 12 September 2026) — Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP)
- Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation — services — MOHRE
- Work visa — green visa and the standard employment visa — The UAE Government portal (u.ae)
- Golden Residency Guide — Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP)
Send the contract or the permit
We read it against the category ICP printed, and we say if a line is missing.