Visa & Residency
Residence visas, coordinated from permit to Emirates ID.
Relocating to Dubai is more than a visa. We plan the visa count with the licence, then coordinate every step for you, your team and your family.
What it covers
Every residence route that runs through your company.
A company licence and a residence visa are not the same thing. If residency is part of the plan, we budget and sequence both.
01
Investor and partner visas
Residence for shareholders through the company licence, renewable, with Emirates ID. Who is named manager decides the visa type, so we settle it before filing.
02
Employee visas
Offer letter, entry permit or change of status, medical, Emirates ID and stamping, coordinated for each person you hire.
03
Family visas
Spouse and children sponsored on your residence, with the income test, the tenancy and the attested certificates checked first.
04
Visa quota
Allocation set at formation and increased as the team grows, including the workspace upgrade that usually triggers it.
05
Change of status
For anyone already inside the UAE on a visit visa or entry permit, moved onto residence through the company.
06
Re-entry clearance check
For anyone who overstayed and left: a written report of what each official register holds today, and the one application that settles it.
Who it is for
For founders, employers and families.
Every visa we coordinate sits on a real company: yours.
This is for
Residence
- Founders who need residence through their own company
- Employers adding staff to the company quota
- Residents sponsoring a spouse and children
- Anyone unsure whether a past overstay affects re-entry
In English and Amharic.
Not what we do
Outside our scope
- Overseas labour recruitment or job placement
- Legal opinions on a ban or deportation order
- Petitions to lift a ban, which sit with a UAE law firm
- Sponsoring workers under our own company
Every person is employed and sponsored by your own company, on its establishment file and visa quota.
The visa count decides the package.
Entry packages at most free zones include no visa. Decide how many visas you need now and later, then choose the licence that carries them.
We coordinate. Authorities decide.
We prepare, file and follow every step. Immigration approves, issues and, where it applies, lifts. We never present it any other way.
How it works
From allocation to Emirates ID.
The same path applies to investor, partner and employee visas. Family visas follow once the sponsor holds residence.
01
Visa allocation
Set at formation against the package or premises, and increased later if needed.
You get: the right number of visas on the licence
02
Establishment card
The company's immigration file, with e-channel registration where the emirate requires it.
You get: a company that can sponsor
03
Entry permit or change of status
An entry permit if you are abroad, a change of status if you are already in the UAE.
You get: permission to complete residence
04
Medical and biometrics
We book and coordinate. You attend in person; this is the step that needs you in the UAE.
You get: appointments that fit your trip
05
Emirates ID and stamping
Residence issued, Emirates ID delivered, and the expiry dates added to your compliance calendar.
You get: residence in hand, renewals tracked
What you need
The documents for each visa.
Colour scans only. Passports need at least six months of validity.
Investor or partner visa
- Passport copy, valid at least six months
- Recent passport-size photograph on a white background
- Current UAE visa status, and entry stamp if in the UAE
- Any previous UAE visa or entry permit, which carries your UID number
Family visa
- Passport and photograph for each family member
- Marriage certificate, attested through the full chain
- Birth certificates for each child, attested the same way
- Salary certificate and three to six months of bank statements
- Tenancy registered with Ejari in the sponsor's own name
Re-entry clearance check
- Passport bio page, and the previous passport if it changed
- Old UAE visa or residence page showing the UID number
- Dates of first entry and final exit, with the exit stamp
- Overstay fine receipt, or the amount and date paid
- Visa cancellation paper, if you held residence
Documents issued abroad are attested in the home country, by the UAE embassy there and by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then legally translated into Arabic. The UAE does not accept an apostille in place of this chain.
Time and cost
What to expect, realistically.
Visa steps run through immigration, the medical centre and the Emirates ID authority. We give you dates once the file is read, and never a guarantee.
- 1 to 2
- working days for a written re-entry desk check across the public registers
- 2 to 3
- working days for an entry permit test, the one application that settles re-entry
- 12
- months of coordination from licence issuance, including added visas and quota increases
Family visa government fees, Dubai
Entry permit, medical test, Emirates ID, and residence issuance and stamping, for a two-year residence. Children under 18 are exempt from the medical test.
Spouse
- Residence visa, two years
- AED 1,540
Each child
- Residence visa, two years
- AED 1,270
Attestation
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, per document
- AED 150
Indicative, subject to authority confirmation. Rates as at September 2026. Dubai GDRFA rates; where the sponsor visa is issued outside Dubai the authority differs. Investor and employee visa fees vary by zone and are in the estimator. Our own fee is separate. Subject to your needs, we will discuss.
Estimate your setup costQuestions
Visas and residency, answered.
Straight answers to what founders and families ask before they commit.
01Do I need to be in the UAE for my visa?
Company formation can proceed remotely, but you need to be in the UAE for the medical test, biometrics and Emirates ID. We book and coordinate those steps for you.
02Can I be the manager and hold an investor visa?
It depends on how the licence names you. In some zones, whoever is listed as manager can only hold a General Manager visa, and switching later needs a paid licence amendment. We settle the designation before the licence is filed.
03Can I sponsor my family?
Yes, subject to the income test: at least AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 where accommodation is provided. A shareholder drawing no salary can meet it on the partner route. Marriage and birth certificates must be attested through the full chain, because the UAE does not accept an apostille in its place.
04Does setting up or buying a company give me a Golden Visa?
Not automatically. A company normally supports an investor or partner residence visa through its licence, renewable, with Emirates ID for you and your dependants. The ten-year Golden Visa has its own published criteria, so we confirm the route against the current rules before you commit.
05I overstayed before. Can I come back?
Often, yes. Someone who overstayed, paid the fine in full and left voluntarily usually has no entry ban. There is no public ban list, so we check every register that exists, put what each one returned in writing, and where you want certainty, run the one application that settles it.
06Can you find me a job or sponsor my visa?
No. We do not recruit overseas workers or place people in jobs. Every visa we coordinate is sponsored by the client's own company, on its own establishment file and visa quota.
07Can the visa quota be increased later?
Yes. Visa allocation is set at formation and can be increased later, usually together with a larger workspace. For companies we set up, our time on the increase is included for twelve months from licence issuance.
Next step
Plan it before you commit.
Two tools answer the first questions in minutes. An advisor answers the rest.
Start here
Start with a conversation.
One no-obligation consultation. We discuss your goals, answer your questions, and recommend a clear path forward. No cost. No pressure. Just clarity.