The Ten-Year Golden Visa, and the Two Routes We Work With

The ten-year residence visa is real, and it is not only for celebrities and athletes. It is also one of the most misreported topics about living in the UAE. Search for it online and you will find confident answers that disagree about amounts, who can apply and how it works. Most of them are either out of date or made up.

Here is how it works, and the two routes Almas checks and applies for.

What it gives you

The main confirmed benefit: a ten-year residence visa that you can renew, if you meet the property or deposit amount below. The UAE authorities publish the full list of conditions and benefits. These change and depend on your situation. So we send you to their list, instead of repeating details here that we have not checked ourselves.

Who qualifies: the two routes we apply for

Almas works with two ways to qualify. Both need the same amount:

1. AED 2 million in UAE property

You own UAE property worth this amount. This is the more common route and the one most people have heard of, but usually with the wrong amount.

2. AED 2 million in a bank deposit

You get the visa by keeping this amount in a bank deposit. This route suits people whose money is in cash, or who are not ready to buy property in a market they are still learning about.

The UAE authorities also publish other ways to qualify. We do not check or apply for those, so this guide does not cover them. For a ten-year decision, we would rather send you to someone else than give you an answer we are not sure of.

Why applications are refused

It is the same as a business bank account application. Refusals are usually about the quality of the papers and whether they match, not about the person applying.

• Documents that do not match each other. Property valuations, ownership papers and ID documents must all tell the same story.
• Valuations without proof. A number on its own is not a valuation.
• Expired documents. Check every date before you apply.
• Applying in the wrong category for your real situation. This is the most common mistake, and the easiest to avoid.

Three common myths

1. "It is only for celebrities and athletes." No. The property and deposit routes are open to anyone who has the required amount.
2. "You get it by owning a company." Not through the two routes we work with, which are property and deposit. If someone says your trade licence alone qualifies you, ask them which exact rule they mean. Then check it with the UAE authorities before you rely on it.
3. "Once you have it, you can forget about it for ten years." It is a residence visa that you renew, and it has conditions. It is not permanent, and the conditions still matter.

How the process works

Almost all the work is in the preparation. We find out which route fits you, collect the proof so that every document matches, and confirm the category before anything is sent. A well-prepared application goes through easily. A badly prepared one will probably be refused, and a refusal wastes time you cannot get back.

This is why we start by checking if you are eligible, not with an application. It tells you which route is yours, or that neither one fits yet. That is also a useful answer, and it is cheaper to hear it now than after a refusal.

Check if you qualify

An eligibility check will tell you if either route is open to you and what proof you would need. We check this before you commit to anything. Send "VISA" on WhatsApp to +971 52 733 8749.

The amounts and rules are set by the UAE authorities and can change. The figures above are for the routes Almas currently checks and applies for. Confirm your situation before you act on this.