All types of the Residence Visas in UAE must be under the sponsorship of a company or a UAE national person where in the second case it is just applicable for certain jobs like drivers, house maids, etc. Also all types of UAE residence visas, which are issued by the Department of Immigration,are 3-year renewable residence visa.There are also employment visas which are issued by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Labour.

1- By registering a company in one of the UAE Free Trade Zone you will be eligible for Investor Residence Visa. However not all the Free Trade Zones keep their promise and there are many cases where at the time of company registration it is promised for a certain number of visas but either it get months of delay in processing the visa request (mainly by immigration office) or in worst case it get rejected. When someone acquired the investor residence visa, he will be able to sponsor his family for getting residence visa as well. Usually a lady cannot sponsor his husband and children, but men can.

Note: Investor status needs a minimum amount of registered capital in the company in the name of the investor. For example a free zone needs the minimum amount of 50,000 AED as the share amount of a partner. This means of the company has 3 partners each with 50% share, the total capital of the company should be 150,000 AED in order for one (or three) of them to be eligible for investor residence visa.

2-By registering your business under Economic Department jurisdiction, you will be eligible for Partner (Shareek) Residence visa which is almost like Investor visa. The only difference is that you will be partner with a UAE citizen in the company. Minimum capital requirement is also applicable.