United Arab Emirates
Citizenship guide · AE
The UAE passport is the world's strongest, but citizenship is tightly restricted largely by Emirati descent or rare nomination.
✓ Good news
Residency by investment (golden visa) is available here often a faster path than full naturalisation.
Who can visit United Arab Emirates?
198 of 199 passports can enter United Arab Emirates visa-free, visa on arrival, by ETA, or with an e-visa.
Visa-free 93
- Albania
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- Argentina
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- Australia
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- Solomon Islands
- South Korea
- Spain
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- United Kingdom
- United States
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e-Visa 105
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bangladesh
- Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
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- Ethiopia
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0 passports require a visa to visit United Arab Emirates.
Am I eligible for United Arab Emirates citizenship?
Tap the option closest to your situation for an instant steer.
Why the United Arab Emirates?
The UAE passport is one of the world's most powerful, with broad visa-free access across Asia, Europe, and the Americas (see the mobility panel opposite). But it is also one of the hardest citizenships in the world to obtain: there is no open naturalisation application for most people, and citizenship is granted largely by descent or by rare nomination for exceptional contributors.
Citizenship by descent
The UAE applies jus sanguinis (right of blood), not birthright citizenship:
- You are automatically a citizen if you are born in the UAE or abroad to an Emirati father.
- You are also a citizen if born to an Emirati mother and a father who is unknown or stateless.
- Since October 2017, an Emirati mother with a foreign husband can confer citizenship on her children once they reach age 6 (previously age 18).
There is no grandparent or broader ancestry programme descent runs through parents only.
Naturalisation
Naturalisation is discretionary and rarely granted:
- Traditional route: 30 years of residence for non-Arabs (7 years for other Arabs, 3 years for citizens of Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain), plus Arabic-language ability, good character, and a lawful means of support.
- 2021 reforms: a nomination route now exists for investors, doctors, specialists, scientists, and creative talents (artists and intellectuals) and their families, without the standard residence requirements. Candidates are nominated by government bodies, royal courts, or executive councils.
- By marriage: a foreign woman married to an Emirati national may naturalise after 7 years (with at least one child) or 10 years (without children).
Dual citizenship
Dual citizenship is generally not permitted naturalised citizens ordinarily renounce their previous nationality.
The exception is the 2021 reform, which allows those naturalised through the nomination categories (investors, doctors, scientists, artists, and similar) to retain their original citizenship.
Fees & timeline
There is no standard published application fee naturalisation is a nomination-based, discretionary process rather than a fixed application with a fee schedule. There is also no fixed processing timeline; grants are made at the government's discretion.
Residency by investment
The good news: the United Arab Emirates Golden Visa doesn't need any of that
While citizenship is discretionary, the United Arab Emirates Golden Visa grants up to 10-year renewable residency through investment from about €500,000, with a published fee schedule and processing timeline.
Documents checklist
The documents you'll typically need for each citizenship route in United Arab Emirates. Tick items off as you gather them your progress is saved on this device.
Citizenship by descent
Proving your lineage to a citizen parent or ancestor.
Naturalisation
The standard route via continuous lawful residence.
Residency by investment (golden visa)
A residence permit obtained through investment, often leading to naturalisation.
Digital nomad / remote-work visa
A flexible, lower-barrier residency route for remote workers.
Country data
Overview, citizenship routes, economy, freedom, and tax at a glance.
Overview
- Capital
- Abu Dhabi
- Region
- Asia
- Area
- 83,600 km²
- Population
- 9,770,529
- Demonym
- Emirati
- Languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- United Arab Emirates dirham (د.إ)
Citizenship routes
- Citizenship by descent
- Yes
- Descent depth
- Parents only
- Naturalisation period
- Restricted / varies
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
- Golden visa
- From €500,000
- Digital nomad visa
- Available
- Official application fee
- Varies
Economics & development
- GDP per capita
- $50,274 2024
- Total GDP
- $421.1B 2019
- Inflation
- 1.3% 2025
- Life expectancy
- 83.1 years 2024
- GDP growth
- 4.0% 2024
- Human Development Index
- 0.937 #17
- Income group
- High income: nonOECD
- Development status
- Developing region
Freedom & quality of life
- Corruption Perceptions Index
- 68 / 100 2024 · #20
- Freedom in the World
- 18 / 100 Not Free · 2024
- Human Rights Index
- 0.34 / 1 2025 · #133
- Liberal Democracy Index
- 0.08 / 1 2025 · #142
- Life satisfaction
- 6.82 / 10 2025 · #20
Tax considerations
- Personal income tax
- 0% top rate
- Corporate tax
- 9%
- VAT / GST
- 5%
- Tax basis
- Territorial
Relocation & living
- Internet penetration
- 100.0% 2024
- Driving side
- Right-hand
- Climate
- Desert
- Time zone
- Asia/Dubai
Where the United Arab Emirates passport can travel
Each dot is a destination colours show what you need to enter.
- Visa-free
- Visa on arrival
- ETA
- e-Visa
- Visa required
Europe
44 visa-free · 1 ETAAmericas
27 visa-free · 2 on arrival · 3 ETA · 3 requiredAsia
30 visa-free · 12 on arrival · 1 ETA · 3 e-visa · 4 requiredAfrica
19 visa-free · 16 on arrival · 2 ETA · 13 e-visa · 4 requiredOceania
7 visa-free · 4 on arrival · 1 ETA · 2 e-visa- Visa-free
- Visa on arrival
- ETA
- e-Visa
- Visa required
- No admission
Alternative paths to United Arab Emirates citizenship
Beyond standard naturalisation, these routes may apply to you.
Residency by investment (golden visa)
A residency-by-investment route is available from €500,000. It can be faster than naturalisation and often lets you keep your current nationality.
Digital nomad visa
A digital-nomad visa offers a flexible, lower-barrier way to establish a presence before committing to a full naturalisation path.
More citizenship guides
Türkiye
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 5 years; dual citizenship is permitted; citizenship by investment is available.
- Capital
- Ankara
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 5 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
Jordan
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 15 years; dual citizenship is generally not permitted; citizenship by investment is available.
- Capital
- Amman
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 15 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
Israel
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 5 years; dual citizenship is permitted.
- Capital
- Jerusalem
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 5 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
Georgia
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 5 years; dual citizenship is permitted.
- Capital
- Tbilisi
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 5 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
Latest United Arab Emirates immigration news
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United Arab Emirates immigration & citizenship sources
Official government portals and reference pages for United Arab Emirates citizenship and immigration rules.
Law
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Overview of citizenship-by-descent, naturalisation and dual-citizenship rules.
Government
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Official government source for immigration and citizenship.
Jobs
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International job board with local listings.
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International job board with local listings.
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Leading local job board.
Housing
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Property listings and rentals.
Banking
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Central bank / banking information.
Education
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Study and education information.
General data sources & licenses
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Visa-requirement matrix and passport mobility scores.
Visa data derived from passportindex.org, via imorte/passport-index-data (MIT License).
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Country metadata: names, capitals, regions, flags, currencies, languages, calling codes, borders, tld, lat/lng, UN/independence status.
Country metadata from mledoze/countries (MIT License).
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Country polygon geometry plus population, GDP (total), income group, economy, and continent classifications.
Made with Natural Earth (public domain) naturalearthdata.com.
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Raster basemap tiles for the interactive visa-access maps.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0).
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GDP per capita (current US$) and inflation (CPI annual %).
GDP per capita and inflation from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) data.worldbank.org.
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Human Development Index (HDI) values and ranks.
Human Development Index from the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
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Intermediate distribution of the Corruption Perceptions Index, V-Dem Human Rights Index, and V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index.
Indices sourced via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0).
Our World in Data states that third-party datasets remain subject to the original publisher’s license see the individual sources below.
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Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scores.
Corruption Perceptions Index 2024, Transparency International (CC BY-ND 4.0).
Restrictions: No derivatives
CPI scores are reproduced as factual data points, unmodified.
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Human Rights Index and Liberal Democracy Index.
Human Rights Index and Liberal Democracy Index from V-Dem (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Restrictions: Non-commercial · Share-alike
⚠ Non-commercial license: confirm commercial use is permitted before monetising the site.
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Freedom in the World scores and status.
Freedom in the World 2024, © Freedom House (used with attribution for informational purposes).
Review Freedom House republication terms before commercial use.
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Reference for personal income and corporate tax rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against the Tax Foundation.
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Reference for personal income tax, corporate tax, and VAT/GST rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against the OECD Tax Database.
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Reference for personal income tax, corporate tax, and indirect tax rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against KPMG Tax Rates Online.
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Reference for citizenship-law rules (descent, naturalisation, dual citizenship, fees).
Citizenship-law facts compiled from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Law facts are human-curated approximations; always verify with official government sources.
Citizenship Hub is an independent resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the organisations above. Informational only not legal, immigration, tax, investment, or travel advice. Requirements, scores, fees, and tax rates change frequently; always verify with the relevant official government source before acting.