UAE Visa Services

Your UAE residency visa, arranged through your own company. Not a separate employer.

Most UK directors relocating to Dubai qualify for an investor or partner visa issued through their own UAE company, once the trade licence is in place. We handle the application, the biometrics and medical appointment, and your family's sponsorship, so it runs alongside your company setup rather than as a separate project.

Ask About Your Visa Options

Typically 2–3 Weeks Once Licensed

Route Business Hub advisors reviewing a UAE residency visa application for a relocating UK director

2–3

Weeks, Once Your
Licence Exists

Visa rules aren't the confusing part.
Sequencing them against setup is.

Applied for too early or too late

A visa application filed before the trade licence is fully issued, or left until after banking has stalled, adds weeks to a timeline that should run in parallel.

Family sponsorship left as an afterthought

Dependant visas have their own income and document conditions. Directors who leave this until after they've moved often find it takes longer than expected.

One UAE trip, badly planned

Biometrics and the medical test can't be done remotely. Directors who don't plan this trip around the rest of setup end up flying out twice.

What We Handle

Every visa step, planned around your company setup

Investor/partner visa

Application through your own UAE company, matched to the licence category and share structure you've chosen.

Family sponsorship

Dependant visas for spouse and children, sequenced once your own residency status is confirmed.

Biometrics & medical

The one appointment that has to happen in person, scheduled to fit a single UAE trip alongside the rest of setup.

Emirates ID coordination

Application and collection handled alongside the visa, so you're not chasing two separate processes.

Golden Visa screening

An honest read on whether the longer-term Golden Visa route is realistic for your situation, before you apply.

Renewal reminders

Residency visas need renewing on a fixed cycle. We flag it ahead of time so it never lapses unnoticed.

2–3 wks

Visa, Once Licensed

£0

Upfront Costs

HMRC

Compliant & Documented

Direct

Access to Your Named Advisor

How your visa fits into the wider timeline

Visa work starts the moment your trade licence is issued, not after everything else is done.

Licence Issued

Your trade licence is the document every visa application is built on.

Entry Permit

We file your entry permit application through the relevant immigration authority.

Biometrics & Medical

Your one required UAE trip: biometrics and a routine medical fitness test.

Visa & Emirates ID

Residency visa stamped and Emirates ID issued, usually within 2–3 weeks total.

Before You Apply

What you'll need to have ready

We confirm the exact list against your circumstances, but most UK directors need broadly the same set of documents.

For your own visa & Emirates ID

A current passport, valid well beyond your intended visa period.
Recent passport-style photographs meeting the immigration authority's specification.
Your issued UAE trade licence, since the visa is applied for through the company.
The entry permit / status-change approval filed on your behalf once the licence exists.
Medical fitness test results (a blood test and chest X-ray at an approved health centre).
Biometrics: fingerprints, photo and signature captured at the appointment.

If you're sponsoring family

Your own residency visa, issued and confirmed, before a dependant application can be filed.
An attested marriage certificate, for sponsoring a spouse.
Attested birth certificates for each child being sponsored.
Proof of the sponsor's income or salary, meeting the authority's minimum threshold.
Passport copies and photographs for each dependant, to the same specification as your own.
Health insurance arranged for each dependant, required before the visa is stamped.

A closer look at the visa timeline

The four-step overview above, expanded, with the snags that most often catch UK applicants out.

Trade licence confirmed

Before your visa can be filed

Every visa application is built on the licence. Nothing below can start until the licence itself is issued, not just approved in principle.

Common snag: Directors who ask us to "get started on the visa" before the licence is fully through end up waiting on the same clock either way, it just feels slower because nothing visible is happening yet.

Entry permit / status-change filed

A few working days after the licence

We file the application through the relevant immigration authority using your licence and passport details.

Common snag: If you're already in the UAE on a different visa or a visit visa, a status change has to be handled correctly, or you may need to exit and re-enter, adding time neither of us wants.

Biometrics & medical appointment

Your one required UAE trip

Fingerprints, photo, signature and a routine medical fitness test (blood test and chest X-ray) at an approved centre, all in one visit.

Common snag: Directors who book flights without checking this appointment can be booked in advance often end up making a second trip. We sequence this around the rest of your setup deliberately.

Visa stamped & Emirates ID issued

Usually within 2–3 weeks of the licence

Your residency visa is stamped in your passport and the Emirates ID is processed and issued.

Common snag: Emirates ID delivery can lag the visa stamp by a few days; we chase this so it doesn't sit unresolved once you're back in the UK.

Family sponsorship (if applicable)

Filed once your own visa is confirmed

Dependant applications go in once your own residency status exists, using the documents in the checklist above.

Common snag: Applying for dependants before your own visa is stamped is usually rejected outright, which is the single most common sequencing mistake we see.

Where this page stops, honestly

This page assumes your UAE trade licence already exists or is close to it: the visa can't be filed before that's true, so if you're still deciding on freezone versus mainland, that's an earlier conversation. It also isn't where we cover Golden Visa eligibility in depth (the quiz above gives you an honest read) or the full mechanics of UK non-residence under the Statutory Residence Test, which our residency and family relocation guide handles properly rather than summarising here.

And if your family situation is unusual (a dependant with an existing visa elsewhere in the UAE, for instance, or a blended family with documentation across more than one country) say so on the first call. The standard sponsorship route covers most cases cleanly, but we'd rather flag an edge case early than assume it and get it wrong.

Wondering if you qualify for the Golden Visa instead?

Our short eligibility check gives you an honest answer in a few minutes, based on investment value and category, before you apply for either route.

Check Eligibility

Sufyan Ali, Finance Director · Muhammad Usman Rafiq, Senior Accountant

Every engagement is personally overseen by a senior member of our Dubai-based team.

Meet the full team →

Frequently Asked Questions

Most UK directors qualify for an investor or partner visa issued through their own UAE company, rather than needing an employer to sponsor them. The exact visa class and validity period depend on your freezone or mainland authority, your business activity, and the office/facility type on your licence.

Once your trade licence exists, the residency visa and Emirates ID process typically takes two to three weeks, including the in-person medical test and biometrics appointment. It runs alongside your corporate banking application rather than after it.

Yes, in most cases. Once your own residency visa is issued, you can generally sponsor a spouse and children as dependants, subject to minimum salary or income conditions set by the relevant immigration authority. We cover the full detail, including document requirements, in our residency and family relocation guide.

No, not on its own. A UAE visa is an immigration status; UK tax residence is a separate test based on your day count and ties to the UK under the Statutory Residence Test. We plan the two together rather than assuming one settles the other.

The Golden Visa is a longer-term residency route (commonly issued for several years rather than the standard shorter term) available to qualifying investors, property owners and certain professionals. Eligibility depends on investment value and category. Our eligibility quiz gives you an honest read in a few minutes before you commit to anything.

As a UK director setting up your own UAE company, you'll almost always be issued an investor or partner visa through that company, not an employment visa (that route is for staff sponsored by an employer, which isn't what's happening when you sponsor yourself). The exact label and category depends on your licence type and shareholding, which we confirm once your structure is settled.

The visa filing itself is included in what we handle as part of your visa service. Ongoing government paperwork beyond the visa (further attestations, licence renewals, unrelated filings) sits under our separate PRO services, which some clients add and others don't need. Our PRO services page covers what that layer includes if you're weighing up whether you need it.

Your investor or partner visa is tied to the company it was issued through, so it's typically cancelled when the company is liquidated or the licence lapses, and you and any sponsored family would need a new visa route to stay. If an exit or a lighter-touch structure is already on your mind, it's worth flagging before you apply, not after.

A small number of applicants aren't cleared for residency on medical grounds, most commonly following the standard blood test and chest X-ray. It's uncommon, and if it happened to affect you we'd talk through what it means for your visa and wider structure honestly, rather than let it be a surprise on the day.

Related to your Dubai setup

Part of the wider company setup process most UK directors need help with.

Find out which visa route fits your move.

A free consultation covering your visa options, timeline and how it fits around your company setup.

Talk To An Advisor

Your UAE residency visa, arranged through your own company. Not a separate employer.