UAE Green Visa application process
A Green Visa application starts by matching one ICP category and collecting only the evidence that category names. Skilled workers file from a UAE contract, a MOHRE level and a degree. Freelancers file from a MOHRE permit and the income evidence. Investors file from proof of the venture and its licences. The current Green Residence Guide does not publish a government fee or a day count, so this page does not invent either. After the category is accepted, medical fitness, biometrics and Emirates ID follow the residence steps the authority sets.
How the file actually moves
Name the category
Write down skilled worker, freelancer or self-employed, or investor or partner. If none of the published tests fit, stop. An ordinary employee residence visa may be the honest document.
Collect the evidence that category names
Passport, photograph, the degree or diploma, and either the employment contract and salary evidence, the MOHRE freelance or self-employment permit and income evidence, or the investment proof and licences. Health insurance is sensible to have ready; where the authority asks for it, it is mandatory.
File through the official channel
ICP publishes the category. MOHRE is the authority named for the occupational level and for the freelance permit. The licensing authority is named for an investor’s venture. THAJ prepares the pack and books what can be booked. THAJ does not approve the residence.
Residence issuance
When the category is accepted, the holder completes the residence steps the authority requires, including medical fitness, biometrics and Emirates ID. Applicants who are outside the UAE enter on the permission that authority issues. This page does not copy an old service manual’s entry-permit fee, because the current guide does not print it.
Family, if the guide allows it
Spouse and children can be sponsored under the approved requirements after the holder’s permit exists. Build that file second. It is not a second Green Visa for each person.
Why there is no fee table
The Golden Visa property route has a published DLD fee table. The Green Residence Guide we cite does not. Medical, Emirates ID and residence charges still exist in practice, and they change. THAJ’s own service fee is quoted in writing after the category is clear. It is not a package price on this page. VAT and corporate tax, if a company is part of the investor file, are an introduction to licensed partners, not a THAJ tax product. The wording we use is on VAT & Corporate Tax Support.
Documents from outside the UAE
Degrees and civil certificates issued abroad usually need attestation and, where the authority asks, a legal translation. DLD’s inheritance service is one published example of that standard: foreign documents must be attested, including by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the relevant embassy, and translated if they are not in Arabic.
THAJ coordinates attestation and translation as PRO work and quotes after seeing the document. Do not pay a third party who claims to sell a Green Visa outside official channels. ICP has already described paid “lifetime” Golden Visa offers as false. The same caution applies here: the permit is issued in the UAE, by the authority.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a Green Visa application take?
ICP’s Green Residence Guide does not print a service time. THAJ will not substitute a number from a different visa.
What does the Green Visa cost?
The guide does not publish a government fee. Authority charges are billed at cost when they are known, and THAJ’s fee is quoted in writing. Nothing on this page is a package price.
Can I apply from outside the UAE?
The category can be prepared before you travel. Entry and the stay while you finish residence steps depend on the permission the authority issues. We do not restate a day count the current guide does not print.
What happens when the five years end?
ICP says the residence can be renewed. Renewal means the category conditions are checked again. It is not automatic, and it does not turn the permit into a Golden Visa.
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)
- Work visa — green visa and the standard employment visa — The UAE Government portal (u.ae)
- Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation — services — MOHRE
- Real Estate Inheritance Registration (fees, documents, foreign-document attestation) — Dubai Land Department (DLD)
- ICP denies granting lifetime Golden Residency to a number of nationalities (8 July 2025) — ICP media centre
Start with the evidence, not a package
Send the contract, permit or licence. We will tell you if a Green Residence file can be built.