UAE visa services start with the purpose of stay and the category that supports it. We help identify the employment, family, investor or other route, then prepare the evidence and application steps for that category.
Discuss your plans with an adviser.
Identify the purpose of stay, current status and sponsor before selecting a category. Use those facts and available supporting evidence to establish the appropriate route and obtain its specific checklist.
Use residence-application preparation once the category is clear. If an application is already underway, provide its official references and outstanding requests so completion support can focus on the actual stage reached.
Compare your purpose of stay, current status and sponsor before moving to a route-specific application checklist.
Expand a deliverable for the detail.
Record why the applicant is travelling or staying, current immigration status and the relevant sponsor or eligibility basis.
Connect identification with employment, ownership, family or travel records required for the enquiry.
Identify work-authorisation, medical, identity, insurance or travel tasks alongside the principal application.
Tourism, residence and permission to work are different matters. The authority or permitted service channel determines the application and outcome.
CompanyFormation.ae · UAE Visa Services: Choose Your Application Route
Prepare a core identity file, then add the evidence that supports the particular visa or residence category.
Foreign-issued certificates may require attestation or translation. Establish that sequence early when an application depends on family or qualification evidence.
Your ticks stay on this page for this visit. No documents are uploaded or sent.
Have a question about one of these records?
An identified application purpose and the right route to investigate
Read the stops as linked preparation tasks. An outstanding record can affect a later step; the actual route depends on the application.
Read the detailed considerationsOur visa support starts by clarifying whether you are moving to the UAE, hiring an employee, joining family or planning a short visit. Each starts with a different eligibility basis. The first useful step is to identify the purpose, intended duration, current immigration position and person or organisation responsible for the application.
Use this page to choose the route. For a known category, move to residence application and renewal preparation; for long-term residency, review Golden Visa eligibility evidence. If an application is already underway and you need to understand what remains, use the residence issuance and status guide.
Start with the purpose of stay, current status and sponsor.
Family and investor applications should not begin with the same checklist. ICP’s residence service lists relationship and sponsor evidence for family categories, and company or investment evidence for investor categories. Its requirements also distinguish the applicant’s residence basis. Begin with a one-page route brief: purpose of stay, current status, proposed sponsor or investment basis, emirate and family members involved. Use that brief to obtain the correct checklist before ordering attestations or planning a change from existing residency. Source: ICP — residence permit issuance and category documents.
An employee’s residence application sits alongside the applicable work-permit and employment process. Confirm whether the employer is served by MOHRE or another competent employment authority. Align the job, sponsor and identity records before arranging appointments or proposing a start date. Employers can define the connected company-file and personnel tasks through PRO support.
A short visit and residence serve different purposes. GDRFA’s single-entry tourist service identifies a tourism establishment as sponsor or host and uses approved tourism channels. Confirm the authorised issuer and its document requirements; administrative guidance does not establish authority to issue tourist visas. Source: GDRFA Dubai: Single-entry tourist visa.
Begin with an assessment and move through the required channels in the order relevant to the applicant.
Identify the purpose of stay, sponsor, issuing emirate and current status. Note any approaching expiry, intended travel or unresolved earlier application.
Confirm the category and responsible authority. Allocate employer, sponsor and applicant tasks, including any documents that must be obtained from another country.
Review names, passport details and supporting evidence for consistency. Address missing documents and establish who is authorised to submit and approve payments.
Track application references, authority queries and appointment requirements. Arrange the relevant medical fitness or identity steps and keep the applicant informed of dependencies.
Check the permit details and remaining linked tasks. Record validity dates and provide a clear handover covering renewals, identity records and changes that need review.
A useful estimate follows the category and current status of each applicant.
| Cost component | What to account for |
|---|---|
| Government applications | Entry, residence, status-adjustment and identity charges depend on the route and whether the applicant is inside or outside the country. |
| Medical and insurance | Include the required medical service and relevant health cover, with any optional appointment service shown separately. |
| Document preparation | Budget for required translations, attestations and replacement records, particularly when family or education documents originate overseas. |
| Coordination and third-party services | Separate administrative support from authorised tourism-provider charges, employer work-permit costs and other independently supplied services. |
Ask which charges are refundable, which depend on approval stages and which additional steps could change the estimate.
Tell us the route you are considering, the applicant’s current location and which preparation steps are already complete.
Application timing depends on prerequisites and attendance as well as the authority’s review.
Overseas records, sponsor documents and unresolved existing status can determine when a complete application is possible.
Medical results, identity appointments and responses to authority queries can affect the sequence.
Review the issued permit and identity-card delivery separately. Avoid treating one notification as confirmation that every linked task has finished.
An organised record helps when employment, family or travel circumstances change.
Record permit and identity expiry dates and start renewal preparation while there is time to obtain updated supporting evidence.
Review passport renewal, sponsor changes, employment changes and family additions before assuming existing records remain sufficient.
Retain application references, approvals and final records in a controlled folder accessible to the people responsible for future administration.
Need to discuss your own circumstances?
An initial comparison is possible, but a practical recommendation needs your purpose of stay, nationality, current status and supporting evidence. These details determine which requirements matter.
They are linked but distinct parts of the process. Confirm the applicable work authorisation with the employer as well as the residence steps with the immigration authority.
No. Ownership evidence supports a category review, but the relevant authority assesses the application and its conditions. The company’s structure and records must fit the selected route.
Family applications have their own eligibility and document requirements. Review each person’s relationship evidence, age, identity records and the sponsor’s supporting documents before setting the scope.
No. Tourism entry and residence serve different purposes. A move to residence requires the appropriate route and process; an existing visit does not replace its eligibility requirements.
Share intended travel dates before submission and confirm their effect with the relevant authority or authorised provider. A pending application is not a reliable basis for assuming entry or re-entry permission.
Tell us what you need and the support you’re looking for.
