UAE retirement visa Dubai and federal rules

ByKhalid Bin Rashid Published: Last Updated:

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 for a retired foreigner without a sponsor or host, for 5 years, renewable under the same terms as the first grant. That length, 5 years, is common ground. Eligibility is not. GDRFA Dubai, the federal ICP retiree category, and the u.ae summary page word the age and service test, the property and deposit test, and the income test differently, and the differences change who qualifies. The three wordings are put side by side, with attribution, and the conflicts are left unresolved. Do not read any single wording as the settled rule. Check which authority covers your case, read that authority’s wording, and re-check the current page before you act.

Retirement visa Dubai GDRFA issuance

GDRFA Dubai states the service as issuing a residence permit for the retired foreigner without sponsor or host for 5 years, renewable under the same terms of granting it for the first time.

Condition 1, as GDRFA words it, requires both limbs. The period of service before retirement must not be less than 15 years inside or outside the country and he must have completed 55 Gregorian years. Both the 15 years and the 55 years are required on this wording.

Condition 2 requires one of two options. Option (a) joins both property and deposit. The applicant owns one or more real estate in the country with a total value of not less than one million dirhams, where the value is determined by the purchase value or the market value evaluated by the competent authority in the emirate, and has a deposit of not less than one million dirhams inside or outside the country, provided that the deposit is transferred and deposited in one of the financial institutions in the country within 60 days of issuing the residence, except if it is invested inside the country. Option (b) is a fixed annual income of not less than 240,000 dirhams or its equivalent in foreign currencies, provided that the source of income is inside or outside the country and a bank statement for a period of six months is submitted.

GDRFA also states a mortgaged-property rule. A mortgaged title deed is accepted, provided that the amount paid to release the mortgage is not less than one million dirhams at the time of applying.

The documents differ by route, and the difference matters.

For the real-estate-owner route, GDRFA lists:

  • a copy of the passport
  • a certificate of ownership and value of the real estate from the Land and Property Department

No photo is listed for this route on this page, and none is added.

For the deposit route, GDRFA lists:

  • a personal photo
  • a copy of the passport
  • a certificate proving the deposit
  • an acknowledgement to transfer the deposit to the country

For the income route, GDRFA lists:

  • a personal photo
  • a copy of the passport
  • a bank statement for the last 6 months
  • a letter from the official body stating the source of income

The fees on the issuance page are itemised as follows, with no total stated:

  • residence permit AED 200
  • Knowledge fee AED 10
  • Innovation fee AED 10
  • fee for being inside the country AED 500
  • delivery fee AED 20

The page also carries this fee note: “The issuance fee increases by 100 dirhams annually whenever the residency is more than 2 years.” That note is stated as written on the issuance page and is not applied to any other service.

The channels are:

  • digital (UAE Pass or username)
  • a Customer Happiness Centre
  • Amer

The service completion duration is 48.0 hours. The grace period is 60 days after the expiry or cancellation of the residence.

The GDRFA issuance page does not list a sponsor or dependent line, a medical fitness test, a health insurance requirement, an Emirates ID fee line, a property-location restriction beyond “in the country”, a spouse-property-combining rule, or an off-plan rule. None of those items is stated as a Dubai requirement in this section.

Dubai renewal on the same terms

The GDRFA renewal page states the service as renewing a residence permit for a retired foreigner without sponsor or host for 5 years, renewable under the same terms of granting it for the first time. The renewal page states the same conditions as issuance: 15 years and 55 years; property and deposit at AED 1,000,000 each, or AED 240,000 annual income; the same mortgaged-title rule; the same per-route documents; the same itemised fees of residence permit AED 200, Knowledge fee AED 10, Innovation fee AED 10, fee for being inside the country AED 500, and delivery fee AED 20, with the same AED 100 per year over 2 years note; the same 48.0 hours; and the same 60-day grace period. No renewal-specific relaxation or additional condition is stated on the renewal page, and none is stated.

Federal ICP retiree category wording

The ICP “Issuing Residency Permit” page lists all categories together without separate headings. The retiree lines are identified only by their distinctive wording: the 15 years, 55 years, property, deposit, and income wording, and the document list that follows it. The page does not attribute a fee block to the retiree category in a form that can be read as the retiree fee, so no ICP retiree fee is stated.

The ICP retiree eligibility lines use OR connectors, which conflict with the GDRFA AND wording. The ICP block states that the period of service before retirement shall not be less than (15) years inside or outside the country, or he has reached the age of (55) years. It states that the applicant owns a property or properties in the country with a value of not less than (1,000,000) dirhams, or a financial deposit of the same value, provided that it is deposited in one of the financial institutions in the country within (60) days from the issuance of the residence, except if it is invested inside the country. It states that the applicant has a fixed annual income of not less than (240,000) dirhams or its equivalent in foreign currencies, provided that the source of income is inside or outside the country, and a bank statement for a period of six (6) months is submitted.

The ICP retiree document list differs from the GDRFA lists. It includes a passport, a personal photo, a water and electricity bill, and a certificate of work confirming retirement and the period of service. The list also includes a certificate of ownership of the property issued by the municipality, a certificate of assessment of property value or a mortgaged title deed showing the amount paid to release the mortgage is AED 1,000,000, a bank certificate confirming fixed annual income plus a 6-month bank statement, and valid health insurance. Health insurance appears only in the ICP block. It does not appear on either GDRFA page, and it is not presented as a Dubai requirement.

u.ae summary and monthly income

The u.ae “Residence visa for the retired” page is the UAE Government portal’s summary. It is official, but it is a summary, and where it conflicts with the GDRFA or ICP service pages, the service pages govern and the conflict is stated.

As u.ae words it, retired residents over 55 can apply for a long-term visa of 5 years. To be eligible for a retirement visa, the applicant must have worked for not less than 15 years, inside or outside the UAE, or be 55 years old or more at retirement. The applicant must own a property or properties worth AED 1 million, have savings of not less than AED 1 million or a monthly income of AED 20,000 (AED 15,000 a month for Dubai). A bank statement for the last 6 months must be submitted. The visa is valid for 5 years and can be renewed if eligibility criteria are met. Do not read the u.ae summary as the Dubai rule. Its OR wording and its monthly income figures are set against the service pages in the next section.

Unresolved conflicts

First, age and service. GDRFA, on both the issuance and renewal pages, requires 15 years AND 55 years, both required. The ICP retiree block and u.ae state 15 years OR 55 years, either sufficing. The conflict is unresolved on the official pages.

Second, property and deposit. GDRFA route (a) requires property AED 1,000,000 AND deposit AED 1,000,000, both required. The ICP block and u.ae state property OR deposit or savings, one sufficing. The conflict is unresolved on the official pages.

Third, income. GDRFA and ICP state AED 240,000 per year, or its equivalent in foreign currencies. U.ae states AED 20,000 per month generally, and AED 15,000 per month for Dubai. AED 15,000 per month is AED 180,000 per year, which conflicts with GDRFA’s AED 240,000 per year for Dubai. The conflict is unresolved on the official pages.

Fourth, health insurance and medical testing. The ICP retiree document list includes valid health insurance. Neither GDRFA retirement page lists health insurance or a medical fitness test. Whether a Dubai applicant must hold insurance or pass a medical test is not stated on the GDRFA pages, and the ICP line is not imported into the Dubai route.

Unsettled points

The pages opened do not state a family sponsorship route for retiree sponsors, a medical-test requirement for Dubai applicants, a rule about work for retirement visa holders, a 3-year variant of the retirement visa, or a route for another emirate beyond the ICP category quoted above. No separate property programme is described. No ICP retiree fee and no total cost is stated. Because the three official wordings conflict, the only safe route is to identify the authority that covers your case, read that authority’s current page in full, and re-check the page before you act. If the authority’s page does not state a condition you need, do not assume it from another authority’s page.

Related guides

Sources

Senior Expert in UAE Visa and Emirates ID

Khalid Bin Rashid is a Dubai native and Senior Expert in UAE Visa and Emirates ID. He writes the UAE guides covering Emirates ID status, renewal, tracking and changes, as well as UAE visa rules, bans and fines, through ICP and GDRFA Dubai.

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