The short answer is yes, both the investor visa and the golden visa let you sponsor your family. The detail is where it gets interesting, because the rules are more generous on the golden visa than most people realise.
Sponsoring family on an investor visa
The standard investor visa is two years, granted to anyone who owns a qualifying business licence or qualifying real estate (typically a property of at least AED 750,000 in value, fully paid off or with no more than 50 percent mortgaged).
On an investor visa you can sponsor:
- Your spouse.
- Your sons until they turn eighteen, extendable while they are in full time education up to age twenty five.
- Your unmarried daughters with no age limit.
- Your parents, subject to a separate parent sponsorship route and proof of dependency.
The minimum income requirement is generally a salary or rental income of around AED 4,000 to AED 10,000 per month depending on the emirate, plus suitable accommodation. The exact amount varies by case officer, so always check with a PRO before applying.
Sponsoring family on a golden visa
The golden visa is ten years, granted to investors, entrepreneurs, specialised talent, scientists, top students, humanitarian workers and qualifying property owners (typically a property of AED 2 million or more).
On a golden visa the rules are noticeably more flexible:
- Your spouse is sponsored on the same ten year visa.
- Your sons can be sponsored regardless of age. There is no eighteen or twenty five year cut off on the golden visa, which is one of its most underrated benefits.
- Your unmarried daughters can be sponsored regardless of age.
- Your parents can be sponsored on the same ten year visa as long as you maintain valid medical insurance for them.
- Domestic workers can be sponsored without the usual quota restrictions that apply to standard visas.
If the golden visa holder passes away during the ten year period, family members are allowed to remain in the country until their visa expires, rather than being immediately cancelled.
Documentation you will need
- Attested marriage certificate for spouse sponsorship.
- Attested birth certificates for children.
- Proof of relationship and dependency for parents.
- Tenancy contract registered with Ejari (Dubai) or Tawtheeq (Abu Dhabi).
- Medical fitness test for everyone over eighteen.
- Medical insurance for all sponsored dependents.
- Salary certificate or bank statements showing the income threshold.
A few practical points
- Children born in the UAE must be registered and have a passport before applying for residence, this needs to happen within the first one hundred and twenty days.
- If you sponsor your wife, she can in turn sponsor a domestic worker.
- A golden visa is not lost if you change jobs, lose a job, or spend long periods outside the country, which makes it far stronger for family planning than a standard employment based visa.
How property links to all of this
The fastest route to the golden visa for most expats is property ownership. A single residential unit of AED 2 million or more, freehold, in your name, qualifies you for the ten year golden visa and lets you sponsor your entire household on it. You can also combine units to reach the threshold in some cases.
If you would like help identifying properties at exactly the right price point to qualify for either the two year investor visa or the ten year golden visa, our team handles this every week.