Long-term UAE residence visa. The criteria for obtaining it.

As known, the maximum validity period of the UAE resident visa has been limited by two or three years depending on local regulations of Free Trade Zones or the UAE authority's rules for the mainland. As soon as it expires you need to re-apply to extend its validity, along with making proper payment.

What has changed?

In 2019, the UAE implemented a new system for long-term Residence Visas. The new system enables foreigners to live, work and study in the UAE without the need of a national sponsor and with 100 percent ownership of their business on the UAE’s mainland. These visas will be issued for 5 or 10 years and will be renewed automatically.

In 2020, to attract foreign business, the RAKEZ administration (FTZ of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE) developed a proposal to support its clients in obtaining long-term visas in their area, adapting the system and adding a few more benefits on their own.

Let’s see, who is eligible to obtain the 5- and 10-years Residence Visa and what criteria and requirements an applicant should comply with.

There are three categories of such applicants on the RAKEZ’s list:

• The Investors;
• The CEOs;
• The UAE-based property owners;

Where only the first two categories are enabled to obtain a 10-years Visa, while the third one is allowed only a 5-years Visa.

On their own behalf, RAKEZ offers these three categories of individuals the following privileges:

• dedicated account manager;
• services at your doorsteps for a year;
• priority processing of up to 20 requests;
• VIP queue pass for PRO in all RAKEZ Service Centres;
• and a free dependent visa (for the first two categories only).

Service is a nice bonus, but one free Residence Visa looks like a really quite serious privilege, is it?

The privileges given by the Federal Authority for long-term visa holders also vary. 

The greatest benefits are offered to the investor. 

• Firstly, long-term visa eligibility can be extended to his/her spouse and children.
• Secondly, the long-term visa eligibility can be extended to one executive director and one consultant sponsored by the same company.
• The investor will be eligible to apply for up to 3 visas from the domestic help category.

As for CEOs and property owners, their privileges are limited only to extending their visas to spouse and children.

If you liked everything and wouldn't mind getting such a visa for yourself, wait a while, please.

As can be guessed there is something that is expected from the applicant too. The very fact you are an Investor, CEO or UAE-based property owner is not considered to be enough.

So let us review the requirements the applicant should meet.

1. An investor applying for a 10-year visa should match at least one of the following criteria:

• Owns a UAE company with a capital of AED 10 million or more.
• Partner in a UAE company with a share value of AED 10 million or more.
• Has a UAE based investment fund with a deposit of AED 10 million or more.
• Has a UAE based investment fund with a deposit of AED 6 million or more and owns a UAE based property of the gross value of 4 million or above.

It should be noted that the invested capital indicated should not be on a loan basis.

So, if you have no problem matching any of the criteria listed above, then to apply for your 10-years visa you would need as little as passport copy, visa copy (if available), Emirates ID copy (if available), proof of investment and payment of an administrative fee for your visa. If you need the same sort of visas for close relatives, the payment should be made for each family member's visa but one of them, which is an incentive from RAKEZ to you.

2. If you are a CEO in a company registered in the UAE and would like to apply for a 10-year visa, you should fit all of these conditions:

• Hold a bachelor's degree
• Have 5 years of experience as a CEO in the current company
• Earn a salary of AED 30,000 or above

Everything is alright with this? If yes, we are really very happy for you! Now one step is left to apply for your 10-year visa. You would need the following:

• Passport copy
• Visa copy (sponsored by the same company and indicating a CEO position)
• Emirates ID copy
• Translated and attested educational certificate
• Medical insurance copy
• Experience certificate showing 5 years in CEO position in the same company
• Salary certificate
• Payment for your visa, and, if necessary, your close relatives' visas are also to be paid. Except for one visa covered by RAKEZ.

3. If you own a real estate in the UAE of the gross value of AED 5 million or more you are eligible for applying for a 5-year resident visa in RAKEZ. But with the proviso the real estate investment should not be on a loan basis.

All the above gives you an almost complete idea of how to obtain a long-term resident visa in RAKEZ. Details we let you know upon request. Please, do not hesitate to ask.

It is open to add that in the near future, probably, similar proposals from other FTZs are expected to come. But it is unlikely the conditions would be more accessible since all of the above requirements for applicants are established by the Federal Authority for Identity and citizenship of the UAE.

The other FTZs would only be capable of encouraging you with their loyalty system offers, just the way RAKEZ did it. Therefore, we are quite certain the main criteria for you still remains the choice of FTZ itself. Since running a business on favorable terms is the most crucial factor for a businessman, is it?