POSTERN

United Arab Emirates

Retirement Visa (5-year). A separate 5-year UAE residence visa (not the 10-year Golden Visa brand) for retirees 55 and older who meet an income, savings, or property threshold — the UAE’s closest thing to a retirement visa, with no path to citizenship attached.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 24, 2026

Retirement Visa (5-year)

A 5-year renewable residence visa, with the ability to sponsor a spouse and children, and no local sponsor required.

Who qualifies

  • Applicant must be at least 55 years old, and meet one of: a monthly income of at least AED 15,000–20,000 (about $4,085–5,445, the exact floor varying by emirate — Dubai's own retiree programme uses AED 15,000); a fixed bank deposit of at least AED 1,000,000 (about $272,500) held for 3 years; or property worth at least AED 1,000,000 (mortgaged or unmortgaged).
    Retire in the UAE

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

1

Does it fit your family?

3 questions, from the program’s own rules.

How old are you?

Not legal advice.

2

What it takes.

Income
At least $4,085 a month, steady and documented.
Age
55 or older.
Time
A few weeks to a couple of months once the qualifying income, deposit, or property documentation is in place.
Cost
Government and processing fees typically a few thousand dollars; the deposit or property purchase is capital, not a fee.
The hard part
Proving sustained UAE-based income or a maintained local deposit rather than a one-time transfer, and checking the exact income floor with the emirate you plan to live in.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

3

This door stops short of a passport.

  1. 2027
    First residence permit

    5 years, renewable for 5 years at a time.

Two passports
Usually not: new citizens are asked to give up their other citizenship.
  • Time on this program does not count toward permanent residence or citizenship; the family would need to switch to one that does.
  • Five-year renewable residence for retirees over 55; it leads nowhere beyond renewal.
  • The UAE has no permanent residence: Golden Visas are 5- or 10-year renewable residence permits.
  • The nationality law allows naturalisation after 30 years' continuous residence for non-Arabs (7 for Arabs, 3 for Omanis, Qataris and Bahrainis), always at the state's discretion and with Arabic required; there is no realistic route for these families, so `citizen` is null.
  • Since 2021 a small number of investors, doctors, scientists and artists can be nominated by the rulers' courts or the Cabinet and may keep their old citizenship; you cannot apply for it. Ordinary naturalisation requires giving up the old citizenship (art. 11).
The law behind these dates
4

Living there.

Time you must spend there
The program sets no minimum number of days. Renewal still expects it to be your home.
Tax
No UAE personal income tax; home-country tax rules still apply to the retiree.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

5

Start today.

  1. Review the retirement visa on the UAE government portal.Open u.ae ↗
  2. Round up the papers.
    • Proof of steady income: at least $4,085 a month
    • Request your FBI Identity History Summary
    • Health cover for the move
6

Or let us run it.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.Standard first year: $1,200. Everyone renews at $399.One membership, the whole family. Accounts and activation included.

15 steps, from the first paper to every renewal. You do 4 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Accounts and activation are included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Accounts depend on provider availability. Government, record and approved third-party charges are extra.

Run it for my family →
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ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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