United Arab Emirates · Talent & extraordinary ability
Golden Residence — Nomination-Based Routes (incl. Waqf Philanthropists)
Nomination-based routes are real and long-standing. They sit under the financial supporters of humanitarian work and talent limbs of Cabinet Resolution 65/2022. The Awqaf Dubai waqf-philanthropist route launched 17 October 2025 at AED 2m. One important correction: the widely-reported 2025 claim of an AED 100,000 fixed-fee lifetime Golden Visa for Indian and Bangladeshi nationals was false. The ICP publicly denied it in July 2025. It said the claims had no legal basis and involved no coordination with UAE authorities, and it threatened legal action against promoters. The Dubai-based Rayad Group apologised, took responsibility for the confusion and withdrew from Golden Visa advisory work. No lifetime visa and no nationality-specific fee-based visa exists.
The waqf route is the only UAE Golden Visa where the money is genuinely gone. It is a donation, not an investment. At AED 2m it costs the same as the deposit route but returns nothing, so it only makes sense for families who were going to give the money away regardless and want the residency as a by-product.
Qualifying routes
It requires a minimum AED 2m donation to a certified waqf or humanitarian project. A university degree is required. Nomination comes from Awqaf Dubai, the Endowments and Minors Affairs Foundation, and the permit is issued by GDRFA-Dubai. The visa runs for 10 years.
Nomination comes through the Dubai Creators HQ programme for creators, podcasters and influencers.
Nomination comes from the relevant UAE authority, such as the Ministry of Culture, the UAE Council of Scientists or the Dubai Sports Council.
The facts
- Minimum
- 2M AED
- Total landed cost
- The waqf route calls for an AED 2m irrecoverable donation plus standard government fees. Nomination-only talent routes require nil investment.
- Route type
- By qualification
- Timeline
- 2–8 months (Timing is dominated by the nominating body's vetting cycle, which is not published or time-bound.)
- Physical presence
- None once granted.
- Family
- SpouseChildren of any ageParents
- Permanent residency
- None. The visa is a 10-year renewable status.
- Citizenship
- None by right. Nomination only.
- Language test
- Not applicable
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- nomination by an authorised UAE bodyfor the waqf route, a verified AED 2m donation to a certified endowment plus a university degreeclean criminal recordmedical and health insurance
- Ignore any offer of a lifetime UAE Golden Visa or a fixed-fee nationality-specific visa. The ICP has denied that such a programme exists and warned that promoters collecting money on that basis may face legal action. If an agent quotes AED 100,000 for a lifetime visa, the quote itself is the fraud.
- The ICP has stated that Golden Visa applications go exclusively through official government channels. No internal or external advisory body is an approved party in the process. No consultancy has privileged access.
- The waqf donation is irrecoverable. Unlike the deposit route, you do not get it back at year 10.
- Nomination is discretionary throughout. There is no published entitlement, no service standard and no appeal.
- Nomination routes have been the vector for most UAE visa fraud. Verify any nominating body directly with the ICP or GDRFA, never through the intermediary offering the service.