How I Got the Golden Visa in Dubai: Requirements, Cost and Real Experience

Getting the Golden Visa in Dubai marked a before and after in my life in the United Arab Emirates. It is not just a “piece of paper”; it is the key to a level of stability that very few visas can offer, but the road to getting it is not easy.

It involves money, gathering a lot of documentation, travel and time, not only when it comes to submitting the paperwork, but above all when it comes to properly analysing which type of visa best fits your personal or professional situation.

In my case, I was granted the Golden Visa for exceptional talent within the Web3 and cryptocurrency sector. Although Dubai’s system is surprisingly agile, I had to deal with different obstacles and costs that are important to understand before going for it.

In this article, I share my real experience: what the Golden Visa is, what advantages it has over a standard visa, how much it cost me, which steps I followed and whether, after everything, I believe it was worth fighting for.

Table of contents

What Is the Dubai Golden Visa?

The Golden Visa is a long-term residence visa in the United Arab Emirates. Its main advantage is that it allows you to live in the country for 10 years.

It also allows you to open bank accounts, rent a home, hire professional services and settle in a much more stable way than you could with a traditional visa.

Unlike a standard visa, where a company sponsors you, this one is not linked to any company.

With a standard visa, if the company applying for it on your behalf closes down, stops sponsoring you or decides to end its working relationship with you, you can lose your residency. On top of that, as with many traditional visas, you need to enter the country at least once every six months to keep it active.

With the Golden Visa, these problems disappear. You are your own sponsor. You do not depend on any company. So, if you are an entrepreneur, investor or work independently, it is much more attractive than a standard visa.

Benefits of Having the Golden Visa in the United Arab Emirates

The main benefit of the Golden Visa is the stability it offers. Having a 10-year residence visa allows you to plan long term.

You do not have to worry about renewing it every few years, and you do not depend on third parties to maintain your status in the country.

It also allows you to issue standard visas for family members and, in certain cases, for domestic workers; something that can be very useful if you are planning to move with your family or settle in the Emirates long term.

Another interesting advantage is access to certain benefits linked to long-term residents, such as the Esaad Card, issued by Dubai Police, which offers discounts in shops, restaurants, hotels, airlines and other national services. It is not that any of this should be the deciding factor when choosing it, but it all adds up. Especially if you are planning to live there permanently and make the most of the services the country offers.

Ways to Get the Golden Visa in Dubai

There are different ways to get the Golden Visa. Depending on your profile, your financial situation, your education, your professional experience and the type of activity you carry out, you will need to follow one route or another.

In my specific case, I got it for exceptional talent, but, as we will see later, there are other options.

Golden Visa for Special Talents

The Golden Visa can be granted to people the country considers to have exceptional talent in areas such as science, technology, entrepreneurship, culture, art, sport or innovation.

It is therefore quite common to find people with this visa who stand out in fields such as mathematics, cybersecurity, technology, artificial intelligence, Web3 or cryptocurrencies.

To prove my special talent, I had to document both my experience and my career within the Web3 and crypto sector. So, if you think you may qualify for this visa, you will need to prepare your profile very carefully.

As you can imagine, it is not enough to state in the application that you have talent. You have to prove it by attaching your CV, your career path, your projects and your achievements. All the documentation that supports it must be perfectly structured so that the authorities reviewing it can quickly verify that everything you say is backed by documented evidence.

Golden Visa for Outstanding Students

Students with brilliant academic records can also apply for this type of visa.

These are usually granted to people who have studied at very prestigious universities or who have achieved very high grades, so if you have an outstanding academic background, this could be an interesting route.

Golden Visa Through Real Estate Investment

Another way to apply for the Golden Visa is through investment, with the most common option being to buy a property in the United Arab Emirates for a certain minimum value, which may vary and currently sits at around 2 million dirhams, approximately 550,000 dollars at the current exchange rate.

This option is a favourite among people who want to invest in real estate and, at the same time, obtain residency in the country.

Golden Visa Through Business Investment or a Startup

Finally, you can also obtain this visa through business investment. If you have a startup valued above a certain threshold or if it has received investment from a recognised fund, you may be eligible for the Golden Visa.

This option is very much aimed at entrepreneurs with scalable projects, tech companies or businesses with a certain track record.

Since every case is different and every procedure has an associated cost, what I recommend, if you want to make sure you do everything properly from the beginning, is to speak to a specialised lawyer.

How Much It Cost Me to Get the Golden Visa

When I applied for it, the price of the Golden Visa was 12,000 dollars. This is a figure that, in general, tends to increase over time.

It is important to know that, unlike what happens with other types of visas or countries, depending on your profile, the lawyer you use or the route you choose, you will end up paying one amount or another.

Be wary of anyone who gives you a fixed price right away, because not all cases or routes cost the same, and not all applications require the same level of preparation.

In my case, having the help of a lawyer specialised in visas was key. She helped me organise the documentation, prepare the application, structure my CV and highlight the points that could be most interesting to the government.

No matter how strong your profile is, if you do not present it well, you can miss out on the Golden Visa. It is not simply about meeting a series of requirements and attaching them to the application. The application must be well organised and explain your case clearly and convincingly. Otherwise, the most likely outcome is that it will not be granted.

What the Golden Visa Application Process Was Like

As is usually the case with this kind of process, everything started with preparing the documents.

First, I had to gather all the necessary information about my career, experience, professional activity and merits. Once everything had been collected, my lawyer organised the application and sent it to the government.

After reviewing my case, I received pre-approval. That is when you have to travel to Dubai to continue with the in-person procedures.

It is important to bear in mind that, at this stage, you enter the country as a tourist, so there are still many things you cannot do yet as a resident.

For example, you cannot rent a long-term home, open bank accounts or get a mobile phone line until you obtain your Emirates ID, the United Arab Emirates identity document, and to get that, you need to have the visa approved.

I was lucky enough to stay at a friend’s house during those first few days. If you cannot do that, book a hotel room or an Airbnb as you would for a holiday until you complete the process.

Medical Tests and Fingerprints

Once in Dubai, my lawyer booked me in for the required medical tests, which, luckily, were quick.

I had to have a chest X-ray and a blood test, which only took a few minutes.

A few days later, they confirmed that everything was fine. My lawyer told me that the next step would be to have my fingerprints taken. Once again, everything was very agile and quick.

Once the medical tests and fingerprinting were completed, almost everything was done. All that was left was to wait.

The Biggest Obstacle: Waiting Times

In my case, the process took a little longer than usual. Just as I was processing my Golden Visa, the immigration department was quite saturated due to an amnesty related to people in an irregular situation within the country. That made the waiting times longer.

It was not a serious problem, but it is worth keeping in mind because, although the system in Dubai is usually very efficient, occasional delays can happen. That is why I recommend not planning everything down to the last detail.

So, if you are going to apply for the Golden Visa, do not assume that you will have everything ready in just a few days, because it may move quickly, but it may also take longer.

What I Could Do After Getting the Golden Visa

Once the visa was approved and my Emirates ID was underway, everything changed. I was finally able to rent my home, get a local phone line and start opening bank accounts.

A few days later, my Emirates ID, the local ID card, arrived at my lawyer’s office, and I received in my email inbox the access instructions for UAE Pass and UAEICP, the two apps that allow you to complete all the bureaucratic procedures from your mobile phone.

Until you are a resident, many doors remain closed, but once you obtain the documentation, moving around Dubai becomes much easier: you can rent or buy an apartment, manage banking and financial services, hire the services you need for your personal or professional life and complete bureaucratic procedures from your phone. In short, you can organise your new life.

Is the Dubai Golden Visa Worth It?

It depends on your personal and professional profile and, at the same time, on your needs and goals. For me, it is worth it, but for someone else, it may not be.

If your goal is to live in Dubai long term, do business, open bank accounts, develop a global strategy or move freely in and out of the country, the Golden Visa will help you a lot.

In my particular case, one of the major advantages I have compared with other visas is that I do not need to have a company in Dubai to maintain my residency.

Setting up and maintaining a company there can come with a considerable annual cost, so if you do not need that structure to carry out your activity, the Golden Visa allows you to obtain your residence visa without depending on any local company.

In addition, because it is valid for 10 years, it gives you a lot of peace of mind when organising your short, medium and long-term plans.

It can also be interesting if you apply flag theory. In other words, if you organise your residency, tax situation, companies, bank accounts and lifestyle across different countries to have more flexibility and efficiency.

That said, if you only want to spend some time in Dubai, try out the city or live there for a few months to see whether it is your place or not, I would not get into such an expensive process.

Speak to a lawyer specialised in visas in Dubai, make realistic calculations for both the process and life here and, above all, analyse very carefully why you want it.

Keep in mind that, just as the cost of living changes, the costs of the process also change. Requirements can also be updated, and depending on your profile, the process may be quite different from that of someone you know who has already got it.

Conclusion: My Experience With the Golden Visa in Dubai

Getting the Golden Visa in Dubai involved a significant investment, but in my specific case, it has been very much worth it.

It has given me stability, allowed me to establish my tax residency in the United Arab Emirates without depending on a company, and made it possible for me to rent a home, open bank accounts and organise my life in Dubai much more comfortably.

The process was not especially complicated, but it does require preparation, money and a lot of patience.

The first thing is to find out which route fits you, then prepare the documentation properly and, finally, travel to Dubai, undergo the medical tests, register your fingerprints and wait for final approval.

If you have a profile that matches the requirements and you want to use Dubai as a long-term base, the Golden Visa can be a very powerful tool. If you are only attracted to it because of what you see on social media or if you have a lot of doubts, think it through.

Dubai offers many opportunities, but, as with everything in life, making the decision to leave everything behind and come here requires careful analysis and as much information as possible.