United Arab Emirates · Citizenship by naturalisation
Emirati Citizenship by Nomination
Federal Decree-Law 16/2021 amended the Nationality Law from January 2021. It allows the naturalisation of investors, doctors, scientists, inventors, intellectuals and creative talents, but only by nomination. It is not an application-based programme. It is not citizenship by investment. It remains in force as at July 2026, and grants remain rare and unpublished.
The 2021 reform is regularly mis-sold as a Gulf citizenship-by-investment programme. It is not. No cheque size produces an Emirati passport. There is no application form and no appeal. Any adviser offering to secure one is misrepresenting the law.
Qualifying routes
Nomination comes from a Ruler's Court, a Crown Prince Court, an Executive Council or the Cabinet. Categories include investors, who must own property, along with doctors and specialists, scientists, inventors and creatives. There is no published financial threshold and no application channel.
The facts
- Total landed cost
- There is no published fee. There is no public application route to price.
- Route type
- By residence
- Physical presence
- Not published
- Family
- A nominated person's spouse and children may be included
- Permanent residency
- Not applicable
- Citizenship
- Nomination only. There is no qualifying period a foreigner can rely on.
- Language test
- Not published, though Arabic proficiency is expected in practice.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- Nomination by an authorised UAE bodyFor investors, property ownership in the UAEAn oath of allegianceA commitment to notify authorities on acquiring or losing another nationality
- There is no application process. Anyone selling UAE citizenship by investment is selling something that does not exist.
- Dual citizenship is permitted for naturalised Emiratis under the 2021 amendments, but only if your own country permits it too. Citizenship can also be withdrawn under the Nationality Law.
- The number of grants is not published. For planning purposes, treat the probability as effectively nil.
- The UAE passport is the strongest in the Middle East, ranked 5 by Henley with access to 184 destinations. That strength is exactly why it draws a disproportionate share of fraudulent offers.