Dubai Digital Nomad Visa | A Complete Guide

What is digital nomad visa?

“Digital nomads” represent a lifestyle trend that has gained prominence in the 21st century. With the advancement of information technology, an increasing number of professionals—such as IT workers, media personnel, language teachers, and freelancers—have broken free from traditional office settings. They now have the ability to work remotely from any location worldwide with internet access. This concept of remote work gained significant traction, especially before and during the pandemic.

Once liberated from office constraints, some remote workers choose to embrace a unique lifestyle: they carry their bags and travel to various destinations while continuing to work remotely. These individuals, known as “digital nomads,” experience a blend of exploring new cultures and working from different corners of the world.

To attract digital nomads and promote tourism and emerging industries, governments in at least 65 countries and regions worldwide have introduced specialized digital nomad visas. These visas typically have the following characteristics:

1. Applicants must be remote workers with stable monthly income and cannot be employed locally.

2. Digital nomad visas are essentially extended travel visas, often valid for one year and allowing residence for up to two to four years in the destination country without the option for permanent immigration.

However, in some Latin American and Southern European countries—such as Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, and Ecuador—digital nomads can eventually obtain local permanent residency or even naturalization after accumulating a certain length of stay.

For more information on digital nomad visa programs, explore the details in our “Global Digital Nomad Visas | An Incomplete Handbook” on this websites.

Dubai Digital Nomad Visa:

Starting in March 2021, Dubai began offering a “Work Remotely from Dubai” visa program for global remote workers. This is a digital nomad visa program that initially grants a one-year visa, but allows holders to continuously renew their residency, enabling long-term stay.

In 2021, the official requirement for applicants was a minimum monthly income of $3,500. However, due to the high number of applications, the income requirement was increased to a minimum of $5,000 per month starting in 2023.

Application Process:

The entire application process for Dubai’s digital nomad visa can be completed online. It can generally be divided into three main steps: preliminary review, local approval and issuance of the visa, and obtaining a residence card upon entry:

1. Preliminary Review: In this step, you need to visit the official website for Dubai’s digital nomad visa and fill out an application form that includes some basic personal information (name, phone number, address, etc.) to start your application journey.

After receiving your application on the website, a local staff member will contact you to discuss your personal situation and make an initial assessment of whether you meet the criteria for the digital nomad visa program.

2. Secondary Review: If you pass the preliminary review, you will receive an email with clear instructions on the next steps. Generally, at this stage, you will need to send electronic copies of all required documents via email to workvirtual@dubaitoruism.ae.

Required documents include:

• Applicant’s Identification Documents: This includes all primary and secondary applicants’ passports with at least six months of validity, passport-sized photos, and documents proving relationships, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc.

• Remote Work Proof: You need to provide proof of remote work, whether self-employed or employed by a company.

• Income Proof: You must provide evidence of your income exceeding $3,500 per month, including bank statements from the last three months. The higher the income you can prove, the more likely your application will be approved.

• Medical Insurance Proof: You need to purchase a valid medical insurance plan in Dubai for all primary and secondary applicants.

• Dubai Local Address: For the initial application, you can provide the address of a hotel as a substitute.

• Police Clearance Certificate: A certificate proving you have no criminal record.

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai (GDRFAD) will conduct a background check based on the details you provide. Once your application passes the review, you will receive an email with payment instructions. You will need to pay a visa fee of $611 as per the instructions.

After paying the visa fee, you will receive a welcome email to Dubai, and you can start preparing your travel plans.

3. Entry and Obtaining a Residence Card: The Dubai digital nomad visa does not require you to reside in Dubai, but if you plan to stay long-term, you need to undergo a medical examination within one month of entering the UAE.

The medical examination results typically take two weeks to be processed. Once you receive the results, you can visit a nearby GDRFAD office (a list of office addresses will be provided in the email), where you will provide your fingerprints and complete a form. After submitting the form and medical examination results to the official office, you will receive a visa stamp in your passport within one day. The Dubai electronic residence card will be delivered to your registered local address via SMS.

The processing time for the Dubai residence card usually ranges from 30 to 60 business days.

Dependents:

For the Dubai digital nomad visa, the primary applicant’s spouse and minor children can obtain visas as dependent applicants. Parents can also apply for a family visa with a validity of one to two years.

Minimum Residency Requirement:

According to GDRFAD regulations, if a digital nomad visa holder leaves Dubai for more than six months at a time, their visa will automatically become invalid.

Visa Validity:

The Dubai digital nomad visa is valid for one year and can be continuously renewed under the same conditions upon expiration.

Foreigners are only eligible to apply for citizenship in the UAE after legally residing there continuously for 30 years and gaining proficiency in Arabic language and culture.