Gulf ID and Visa Guides, Made Simple

ICP covers all emirates except Dubai. Dubai residence and visa services sit with GDRFA. Emirates ID is federal, always ICP. The permit described first is Dubai only, through GDRFA. The federal (ICP) counterpart is described separately below, from its own ICP service cards, which were verified on a later official-page check. Keep the two authorities…

ICP covers all emirates except Dubai. Dubai residence and visa services sit with GDRFA. Emirates ID is federal, always ICP. The route is Dubai only, through GDRFA. Do not read the GDRFA conditions below as federal rules. No federal virtual-work route is described, because none was verified on an official federal page. Virtual work, as…

ICP covers all emirates except Dubai. Dubai residence and visa services sit with GDRFA. Emirates ID is federal, always ICP. That split is the first thing to settle for a retirement visa, because the Dubai pages and the federal pages do not word eligibility the same way. A retirement residence permit is a residence permit…

A student residence visa is a residence permission for a foreign student enrolled at an accredited institution in the UAE, held under the sponsorship of a resident parent or of the institution itself. The authority depends on the emirate, the sponsor depends on the route, and the documents depend on the authority. The route is…

A freelance work permit is work authorisation for independent work. The u.ae work permits page defines it as a permit issued to individuals who wish to engage in freelance work independently, without being sponsored by an employer in the UAE and without requiring an active employment contract. Start from that definition, keep it separate from…

A labour complaint is a request submitted to the Ministry asking it to examine a dispute and take steps to settle it amicably. If no friendly settlement is reached, the Ministry refers the dispute to the competent court with a memo. If you are a private sector worker with a dispute, the direct answer is…