Do you consider moving to the United Arab Emirates? 80% of the population consists of foreign-born nationals, the United Arab Emirates has been a welcoming country towards their expats. In today's scenario, the welcoming attitude is more present than ever. Recently, the country announced that significant portions of their legal code can make the living environment more favourable for foreign residents. The government also introduced recent visa reforms targeting investors, the top-performing students, entrepreneurs, and individuals with specialised talents to address the vital growth areas for the Emirati economy allowing more foreigners the chance to make the Emirates their home. Are you curious to know? Let’s have a look at it.

Ways to get a UAE residency visa without a job

The UAE residence visa options are available without a sponsor or with a short-term, and long-term duration. It depends on the needs you meet along with the criteria for the available schemes.

How to get residency in the United Arab Emirates?

Foreigners living in the United Arab Emirates have work-based visas by working with the Emirati government or the Emirati-based firm. Most permits are employment-based, where you don’t have an established entity to relocate in Dubai or any of the other Emirates.

The short-term UAE residence visa schemes

The six-month Multiple-Entry Visa: When you purchase a property of 1 million AED (around £197,480.25), you procure this visa (a visit visa) for you and your family members.

How do you qualify for this scheme?

You should have the condition of meeting the minimum property value. When you choose to purchase a property with multiple owners, each of the shareholders must have a minimum. stake of 1 million AED. The property can be any property; the rules of dwelling must be move-in ready at the purchasing time. When it is a visiting visa, you and your dependents can’t have the rights to work in the United Arab Emirates and have to renew every six months.

The use of Two-Year Property Investment Visa

The other option to purchase a property in the United Arab Emirates is to get a two-year multiple-entry residency visa entitling to the driving licence, Emirates ID card, and ability to sponsor your family. The two-year property investment visa scheme has the property value requirements same as the six-month multiple-entry option. When you wish to get a two-year property investment visa, you should not have any mortgages on the property. It should be ready to move in. The property owners must earn a monthly income of 10,000 AED (£1,976.05), but the owners or their dependents have the right to work in the Emirates with this visa.

The options of long-term UAE residence visa

For creating more permanent bonds with the United Arab Emirates, some schemes are a perfect fit for your goals. Here there are two classes of long-term residence visas, a five-year visa without a sponsor and a ten-year visa without a sponsor. When you currently possess residency status in the United Arab Emirates, you may switch to an investor visa as long as you meet the conditions the government stated.

The Five-Year Visa Without a Sponsor

The property investors in the United Arab Emirates opt for a five-year residency visa, but you need to meet the following conditions:

• The investment property must have a gross value of at least 5 million AED (£988,149.98).
• Cannot have any loan.
• Must hold onto the investment for three years.

The Ten-Year Visa Without a Sponsor Those who seek a longer amount of time as UAE residents can pursue the ten-year visa scheme. How does an investor gain eligibility for this scheme? You have to invest 10 million AED (£1,976,245.50). Business partners can qualify as long as their stake is 10 million AED.

What investment would qualify?

The minimum 10 million AED investment can be done in the following ways

• Deposit 10 million AED in an investment fund in the United Arab Emirates.
• Continue the company formation of UAE with 10 million AED of startup capital.
• Have a partnership with a new or already-existing company with a share value of 10 million AED
• The minimum of 10 million AED investment as long as their share in real estate gets capped to 60%

Investments must meet the following conditions

• Prove that you have 10 million AED in financial solvency.
• Investment amount can’t be a loan.
• Must hold on investment for three years.

Gold Card Scheme

In May 2019, the Emirati government announced the Gold Card Visa Scheme - the long-awaited development for those expats looking for a long-term residency. There are four eligible categories to seek the Gold Card status: Investors, Entrepreneurs, Outstanding Students and Specialised Talents. Let's take a deep dive into their full conditions: Seeking to apply for a long-term UAE residence visa but want to live in the UAE while you await your resolution?

The use of Multiple-Entry Six-Month Interim Visa

The non-UAE residents who seek a long-term visa, have a multiple-entry interim visa for six months. This is ideal for foreigners who are looking to live, work or study in the UAE without local sponsorship. The permit has a total ownership stake in an enterprise in the UAE. This visa offers outstanding students, investors, entrepreneurs and talented individuals with the flexibility in completing the Gold Card residency application process when guiding applicants in identifying opportunities to make the right decision for them and their families. This grants the ability to come in and out of the Emirates on multiple occasions.