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Self-Sponsored Residence

UAE Green Visa

Everyone asks about the golden visa. The green visa asks half the salary, covers a wider band of jobs, and most people who qualify for it have never heard of it.

Check Green Visa Eligibility Call +971 52 933 0454
Five Years Self-sponsored
AED 15,000 Skilled employee route
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What is the UAE green visa?

A five-year residence visa that you hold in your own name rather than through an employer. Three routes lead to it: skilled employees earning at least AED 15,000 a month with a bachelor's degree and a role classified at MoHRE level one, two or three; freelancers with a MoHRE freelance permit and the income to match; and investors approved by ICP. Because it is self-sponsored, leaving your job does not end your residence.

UAE Green Visa at a glance
DurationFive years
SponsorshipYourself, not an employer
Skilled employee salaryAt least AED 15,000 a month
EducationBachelor's degree or equivalent
ClassificationMoHRE level one, two or three
RoutesSkilled employee, freelancer, investor

Last updated 10 September 2026 · Reviewed by Mohammed Shareef A, Senior PRO Consultant, Dubai government liaison. Fees and timelines are set by the issuing authority and change without notice — confirm current figures before you budget.

Green or golden, and why it matters

The golden visa wants AED 30,000 a month, a role at MoHRE level one or two, and gives ten years. The green visa wants AED 15,000, accepts level three as well, and gives five. That is half the salary and a wider band of jobs.

A great many people who were told they do not qualify for a golden visa qualify comfortably for this one, and nobody told them it existed.

  • Golden: AED 30,000, levels one and two, ten years
  • Green: AED 15,000, levels one to three, five years
  • Both are self-sponsored
  • Green is the realistic route for most salaried professionals
Passport and qualification papers arranged on a desk with a folder

What self-sponsorship actually changes

On an employment visa, your residence belongs to your employer. Resign, get made redundant, or watch the company close, and your residence and your family's goes with it, on a grace period measured in weeks.

On a green visa the residence is yours. You can change jobs, take time out, or start something without the visa becoming the reason you cannot.

  • Residence does not end when the job does
  • You can change employer without a visa scramble
  • Family sponsorship sits with you, not the company
  • Redundancy stops being an immigration emergency
Residency card and passport beside a desk calendar in an office

The three routes in

Skilled employment is the common one and the simplest to evidence. Freelancing is the route for people already working for themselves under a MoHRE freelance permit. Investment is for people putting money into a business here.

Each has its own page, because the documents genuinely differ rather than being the same file with a different cover sheet.

  • Skilled employee: salary, degree and classification
  • Freelancer: MoHRE permit plus income evidence
  • Investor: ICP approval of the investment
  • Different documents, not different wording

The degree is usually the obstacle

Same as the golden visa. The salary is on your payslip and the classification is on your contract, but an attested bachelor's degree is something most people do not have ready, and the chain to get one runs through the country that issued it.

If you think you might apply this year, start the attestation now rather than after we tell you to.

  • An attested bachelor's degree or equivalent is required
  • The chain begins in the issuing country
  • Weeks rather than days, and courier time is real
  • The one item worth starting before you are ready

How we handle a green visa

  1. Identify the routeEmployment, freelance or investment.
  2. Check the numbersSalary or income against the published thresholds.
  3. Check the classificationMoHRE level, read from the contract.
  4. Sort the degreeAttested, or start that chain now.
  5. File the applicationThrough ICP or GDRFA as appropriate.
  6. Medical, Emirates ID, stampingThen dependants, if you want them.

Green visa against golden visa

Published criteria compared
Green visaGolden visa
DurationFive yearsTen years
Minimum salary, employed routeAED 15,000 a monthAED 30,000 a month
MoHRE classificationLevels one, two and threeLevels one and two
EducationBachelor's or equivalentBachelor's or equivalent
SponsorshipYourselfYourself
Freelance routeYes, with a MoHRE permitNot on the same basis
The mistake we see most: Assuming that failing the golden visa test means there is nothing available. The green visa sits at half the salary with a wider classification band, and people spend years on employer-tied residence without ever being told it exists.
MSM tip: Check the MoHRE classification level on your contract before you look at anything else. Level three is included here and excluded from the golden visa, so it is the single line that most often turns a no into a yes.

What documents do you need?

What we need

Passport copy and current UAE residence visa
Emirates ID, both sides
Employment contract showing job title and monthly salary
Degree certificate, and the country that issued it
Whether that degree has been attested
For freelancers, your MoHRE freelance permit

The contract and the degree answer this between them. Send both and we can tell you which of the three routes fits before anything is filed.

Green Visa for Skilled Employees

The salaried route.

Green Visa for Freelancers

Self-employed income route.

Golden Visa Services

The ten-year alternative.

Go deeper

Specific situations we handle under this service, each covered in full.

Investors & Partners

Green Visa for Investors

Five-year self-sponsored residence for investors and partners in a UAE business.

Salaried Professionals

Green Visa for Skilled Employees

The skilled employee green visa: AED 15,000 a month, a bachelor's degree and a MoHRE level one, two or three role.

Read next: UAE residence visa types explained · UAE golden visa eligibility explained

Sources

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary requirement for a UAE green visa?
For the skilled employee route, a monthly salary of not less than AED 15,000, alongside a bachelor's degree and a role classified at MoHRE level one, two or three.
How is it different from the golden visa?
Half the salary requirement, a wider classification band that includes level three, and five years instead of ten. Both are self-sponsored.
Does it end if I lose my job?
No, and that is the point of it. The residence is held in your name rather than by your employer, so changing or losing a job does not end it.
Can I sponsor my family on it?
Yes, sponsorship sits with you rather than the company, which is a large part of why people move onto it.
Do I need my degree attested?
Yes, an attested bachelor's degree or equivalent is required, and the attestation chain starts in the country that issued it. It is the slow item.
I am self-employed. Is there a route?
Yes, the freelancer route, which needs a MoHRE freelance work permit and evidence of your income. It is on its own page.

Told you do not qualify for a golden visa?

Send your contract and degree details. The green visa asks for half the salary.

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Check Green Visa Eligibility

Salary, classification and degree decide this between them.

Hotline: +971 52 933 0454

Email: info@msmdoc.com

Office: Deira, Dubai — serving all seven emirates.

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