Getting your Dubai visa and residency
How UAE residency actually works, the steps from entry permit to Emirates ID, and how to bring your family with you.
Your Dubai residency comes through your company. Once your trade licence is issued, the visa itself is a short, defined process: an entry permit, a medical, your Emirates ID, and the stamp. Most people complete it within days of arriving.
How residency works
You do not buy a visa on its own. It is tied to your company. Set up the licence, and the licence gives you the right to sponsor residency visas, for yourself and for others.
The steps
- Entry permit. Issued once your licence is in place. It lets you enter and start the process.
- Medical. A quick fitness test. We use fast-track lanes so there are no long queues.
- Emirates ID. Your biometrics and national ID. This is the one step that finishes over the following days.
- Visa stamp. Your residency is confirmed.
You can operate your business almost immediately. The ID simply lands a little after.
Your family
Once your own residency is in place, you can sponsor your spouse, children, parents, and domestic staff. Each is its own application, and we handle the whole household together so nothing falls through the cracks.
How long
The active steps are usually done within a week of arriving. We run them alongside your banking rather than one after another, which is why it moves quickly.
What it costs
Visas are priced per person, so your number depends on how many people you are bringing. We do not list fixed prices here because they change. The cost calculator gives you your exact figure based on your family size.
Want it walked through? Speak to an advisor.