What comes to your mind when you hear the term “Golden Visa UAE”?
Golden visa is a term that is being heard with increasing frequency these days. It is truly viewed as a golden opportunity for many who feared leaving the UAE and having to go back to their respective home countries post-retirement or job loss.
Golden visa provides long-term residency for specific categories of people who specialize in particular fields. It caters to giving certain benefits to the people who are eligible for it.
Benefits of Golden visa:
- Long-term renewable visa for ten years
- Independent sponsorship
- Sponsorship of family members irrespective of age
- Sponsorship of an unlimited number of domestic helpers
- Staying out of the country for longer than six months without their residence visa expiring
- In event of the death of the primary holder, family members will be allowed to stay till the end of the permit duration
- Esaad card is issued for Golden visa holders
Who can apply for Golden visa:
Dh2 million and above is Dubai golden visa requirements to be invested by property investors while entrepreneurs are required to be the owner or partners in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) with a minimum revenue of Dh1 million per annum or be founders of firms that are sold for at least Dh7 million and not less. Furthermore, individuals who are under the category of “exceptionally talented” in the fields of culture, art, digital technology, and sports; scientists and professionals such as engineers, IT, business, culture, education law, and science are required to have a minimum salary of Dh30,00 with a valid employment contract. Humanitarian pioneers and students with outstanding academic excellence.
How to apply for Golden visa UAE:
If you think you have qualified for the eligibility criteria to obtain a golden visa Dubai, you can apply golden visa UAE through ICA or GDRFA (which also has offline mediums) and wait for a response.
Documents required:
- Passport copy
- Current residency visa (if the applicant is residing in UAE)
- Recent colored passport-size photograph
- For creative specialists: CV including notable creative work and a recommendation letter, employment contract
- For investors: company bank statement for the last 3 months, VAT from the previous year, trade license, company’s financial report of the previous year
- For engineers and specialists, an employment contract and an attested bachelor’s degree (if the degree has been obtained from outside of UAE) and a minimum monthly salary of AED30,000. They need to be classified as first or second occupational level by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization
- For high school and university students in UAE and graduates from the top 100 universities in the world: minimum of 95% or GPA of 3.75
Application fees:
- Residency fees: 2790
- ID fees: 1070
UAE visa renewal online
A visa is required to continue to stay in UAE without incurring any fines. In case your visa expires, your sponsor must renew your visa before it expires. There is a grace period of 30 days before the expiry of the visa and it can be done online on the GDRFA site. As your visa is linked to your Emirates ID, that would expire too.
Documents required:
- Online application signed by the sponsor for renewal of residency permit
- Original passport of the applicant
- Recent passport-size photograph of the applicant
- Medical fitness test passed
- Insurance card
- For applicants who work in the private sector, their firm needs to provide copies of their trade license, valid firm card, renewed labor contract of the employee, and copy of labor card renewal receipt (60 and above)
The fees are as followed:
- Service charges: AED 200
- Urgent service fee: AED 100
- Innovation fee: AED 100
Printing fee: AED 100 (if the submission is through ZAJEL courier service)
It can also be done through a typing center if you wish to not undergo the online application process.
Sponsorship of maid visa in UAE
In this part of the world, where a fast-paced life leaves one with very little time to spend with their family, let alone to do household chores, having a maid becomes a necessity. However, one must be aware of the law permitting one to do so. Hiring a maid comes under the category of domestic help and is overseen by UAE Domestic Labor Law.
The criteria include:
- The sponsor needs to be a UAE golden visa resident and head of the family (not a bachelor)
- A sponsor should have a minimum monthly salary of AED 6000 or AED 5000 with accommodation per month
- The maid should be 18+ (for Philippines nationals, older than 30 and younger than 60)
- A maid should be declared medically fit (negative for HIV and tuberculosis)
- Should belong from the following countries while keeping in mind the set minimum wages per each country’s requirement:
- India: AED 1,100
- Sri Lanka: AED 825
- Philippines: AED 1,400
- Bangladesh: AED 750
- Indonesia: AED 800
The costs that entail are:
- Typing center fee: AED 218
- Annual fee: AED 5520 (paid to UAE Immigration)
- Medical Insurance: AED 700
- Refundable deposit: AED 2000 (refundable if the maid’s visa expires, gets canceled, or she leaves the country).
There are responsibilities that come with this decision. You must be fully aware that you will be responsible for paying the maid’s dues on time and providing her with medical insurance and a paid day off per week. Her rest hours would be 12 hours (inclusive of 8 consecutive hours) and 30 days of paid vacation every two years need to be provided.
