Investor and partner visas through your own UAE company

Owning a UAE company gives you a route to residence. Once the company is licensed and registered with the immigration authority, it can sponsor you as its investor or partner. You can then sponsor your family, and you renew the visa for as long as the company stays in good standing.

For many founders this is the simplest route to residence, but it is tied to the company. Your visa is only as stable as the licence, the immigration file and the visa quota behind it. This guide covers how the visa works, what it costs, and when a Green or Golden Visa is the better choice. It is general information; immigration authorities decide each application and their rules change.

How does an investor or partner visa work?

Your company sponsors you in much the same way it would sponsor an employee, but you hold the visa as an owner. The names vary by authority. Meydan Free Zone, for example, uses an investor visa for a sole shareholder and a partner visa when there are other shareholders.

The order of steps is fixed:

1. The licence is issued. Your company is registered with a free zone authority or, on the mainland, with Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) or the economic department of another emirate.
2. The company gets an establishment card. This is its immigration file. Without it, the company cannot sponsor anyone, including you. Mainland companies also have a labour file with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE); in a free zone, the authority handles the employment side.
3. A visa slot is available. Your quota comes from your office space or package (see below).
4. Entry permit or change of status. You receive an entry permit if you are abroad, or change status if you are already in the UAE.
5. Medical test, Emirates ID and insurance. These are the same steps as for any residence visa.
6. The residence is issued, linked to your Emirates ID.

Steps 4 to 6 are explained in our guide to the UAE residence visa process.

Do you need a minimum share capital?

Each licensing authority sets its own rule. Meydan Free Zone's FAQs, for example, say you are eligible for an investor or partner visa if you have invested at least AED 50,000 in share capital, as of October 2026. Ask your authority before you fix the capital in your memorandum of association, because changing it later means amending company documents.

Capital matters more for the long-term visas:

• Green Visa, investor or partner route. Your contribution to the company must be at least AED 1 million in cash. In-kind contributions are valued by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism.
• Golden Visa, investor route in Dubai. GDRFA Dubai asks for a share of the company's assets worth at least AED 2 million, supported by a certified financial report from an accredited UAE audit firm.

A declared capital is not the same as money in the bank. If a visa route depends on paid-up capital, expect to prove it.

What decides how many visas your company can get?

Your premises. DMCC, for example, states that the number of visas you can apply for depends on the size of your office space, and its packages describe some flexi-desk options as eligible for one residence visa and others for three. Mainland companies work the same way, through the tenancy contract registered for their premises. Our guide to Ejari, flexi-desks and office requirements covers the mainland side.

Your own visa uses one slot. Say two co-founders set up a consultancy on a flexi-desk that allows one visa. Only one of them can be sponsored until the company upgrades its space, and the first hire has to wait too. Count every partner and the staff you expect in the next two years before you choose the office.

How long is the visa valid, and what keeps it valid?

Company-sponsored residence is usually issued for two years. Meydan Free Zone says its investor visa is typically valid for two years, and GDRFA Dubai issues private-sector residence for two years. The federal government portal notes that sponsored visas can run for one, two or three years depending on the type and the sponsor, so confirm the period with your authority.

Three things keep it valid:

• The company's licence and establishment card. Both must be current when your visa comes up for renewal. If the licence lapses, renewals and new visas stop for everyone the company sponsors.
• Your status as an owner. If you sell your shares or leave the partnership, the visa no longer fits and has to be cancelled or moved to another sponsor.
• Time in the UAE. As a general rule, a residence visa lapses after more than 180 continuous days abroad. The federal portal lists investors holding valid residence visas among the exceptions, but confirm how it applies to you with GDRFA Dubai or ICP before a long absence.

What does an investor visa cost?

There is no single price, because free zones bundle the items differently. The cost items themselves are predictable:

• the establishment card, which has an issue fee and has to be renewed (some free zones quote the first issue as a one-time immigration card fee)
• a visa allocation or quota fee, where your free zone charges one
• the entry permit, or a change of status fee if you are already in the UAE
• the medical fitness test
• the Emirates ID: ICP charges residents AED 100 for each year of validity plus a service fee, as of October 2026
• health insurance
• typing, courier and PRO service charges
• the same items again for each family member you sponsor

When a free zone quotes one figure for the investor visa, ask whether it includes the medical test, the Emirates ID and insurance, and whether a change of status costs extra.

Sponsoring your family

Once your residence is issued, you can sponsor your spouse and children. The federal government portal lists sons under 25, unmarried daughters and children with special needs. Family members aged 18 and over take the medical test, and their visas cannot run past the expiry date of yours.

In Dubai, GDRFA's family entry permit terms set an income test of AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 plus housing, as of October 2026. For a partner, they add that your share must be at least AED 48,000 in the partnership agreement, and you submit the partnership contract. Ask your free zone how it applies these rules to sole investors. Outside Dubai, ICP's fee table also lists a financial guarantee for each family member an investor sponsors. Our guide to sponsoring your family covers the documents.

When is a Green or Golden Visa the better route?

These thresholds are as of October 2026. The long-term visas make sense when the investment already exists. Neither uses a visa slot, and the Golden Visa removes the 180-day absence rule. Both ask for more evidence. For the Golden Visa investor route, GDRFA Dubai asks for the audited financial report, a company bank statement, tax registration and the previous year's tax records. The tax route needs a letter from the Federal Tax Authority confirming the tax paid.

Founders without that capital can look at the Golden Visa entrepreneur route, which turns on a nomination and the project's revenue or sale value. Our guide to the Golden Visa for entrepreneurs explains the evidence, and our Green Visa guide covers the five-year option.

Common mistakes

• Assuming shares come with a visa. Ownership makes you eligible. The establishment card, a free slot and the authority's capital rule decide whether you get one.
• Filling the quota with staff. Keep a slot for yourself and for any co-founder.
• Letting the licence lapse. Your residence, your family's and your staff's all depend on it.
• Declaring capital you cannot evidence. If a later visa depends on paid-up capital, you will be asked for proof.
• Cancelling your own visa first. When you close the company, your family's visas must be cancelled before yours.

If you are still choosing a structure, our business setup team can match the office, capital and licence to the visas you need. Our PRO services team handles the establishment card, visa filings and family applications. If you want a second opinion on which route fits you, book a free consultation.

Sources

• GDRFA Dubai: Establishment card for private sector and free zone companies
• Meydan Free Zone: FAQs on investor and partner visas
• ICP: Issuing a residency permit, including Green Residence for investors
• GDRFA Dubai: Golden residence permit for investors
• UAE Government portal: General provisions for the residence visa
• UAE Government portal: Residence visa for family members