UAE Golden Visa Cost: Application Fees, Medical Tests & Other Expenses

Ask what a UAE Golden Visa costs and you'll be quoted anything from a few hundred dirhams to ten thousand.

The frustrating part is that most of those answers are correct. They're just describing different things some quote the portal fee alone, some the full Dubai issuance package.

So rather than another single number, here's what each line item actually is, which figures come from the authority and which are estimates, and where the money quietly goes for Indian applicants in particular.

Why there's no single price

Three variables move the total.

• Your category. A talent-route application and a property investor application don't follow the same process or the same fee schedule.

• Your emirate. Applying federally through ICP and applying in Dubai through GDRFA or the Dubai Land Department produce different bills.

• Your visa length. Emirates ID is priced per year, so a ten-year visa costs more upfront than a five-year one.

Anyone quoting one flat figure without asking those three questions is guessing.

Government fees

The application

Through ICP, the portal fees for the visa application are reported at around AED 300, made up of an application fee, an issuance fee and a smart services charge of AED 100 each.

That figure covers the ICP portal route. Applying in Dubai through GDRFA, published guidance puts issuance nearer AED 1,640, and the Dubai Land Department route used by property investors is quoted considerably higher, up to around AED 8,032.

That last gap is the one that catches investors out. The route you qualify through determines the fee, and the property route is the expensive one administratively as well as financially.

Emirates ID

Priced by duration, at roughly AED 100 per year of validity plus a smart services charge.

 

Dubai-issued figures run slightly higher, at around AED 1,153 for a ten-year card.

The medical fitness test

Mandatory for applicants aged 18 and over, carried out at approved centres.

Costs are not fixed nationally and depend on the emirate and the screening package, but reported ranges sit between AED 500 and AED 800, with around AED 700 commonly quoted in Dubai.

This is an estimate, not an official tariff. Confirm with the centre you book.

Want your actual number rather than a range? Tell DU Digital Global your category and the emirate you're applying in, and we'll itemise what you'll pay before you commit to anything.

The expense Indian applicants forget

Attestation.

Documents issued in India, degree certificates, experience letters, marriage and birth certificates for dependants, generally need legalisation and, where they aren't in English or Arabic, translation. Reported ranges for full attestation run from AED 2,000 to AED 5,000 depending on the documents and the process involved.

For talent and student applicants especially, this can exceed every government fee combined. It's also the slowest step, so it belongs at the start of your budget and your timeline, not the end.

What is not a fee

Worth separating clearly, because the two get conflated constantly.

The AED 2 million investment threshold on the investor route is not a cost of the visa. It's an asset you own. Nobody takes it from you, and it stays yours whether the application succeeds or not.

The same applies to a qualifying project's value on the entrepreneur route. These are eligibility conditions, not charges.

A realistic budget

For a solo applicant on a non-property route, combining the government fees with the estimated medical and attestation costs lands somewhere in the region of AED 3,900 to AED 7,200 for the first year.

Add to that, depending on your situation:

• Dependants. Each family member is a separate application with its own fees, Emirates ID and medical.

• Typing or PRO services, often quoted at AED 100 to AED 300 plus VAT.

• Any adviser's professional fee, which should be stated separately from government charges.

Attestation is where Indian applicants lose the most time and money. DU Digital Global handles legalisation and translation of Indian-issued documents alongside the application itself.

FAQs

How much does the UAE Golden Visa cost in total?

There's no single figure. A solo non-property applicant typically budgets somewhere between AED 3,900 and AED 7,200 in year one, before dependants or adviser fees.

Is the AED 2 million investment part of the cost?

No. It's an asset you continue to own. It's an eligibility condition, not a fee.

Why is the 10-year visa more expensive than the 5-year?

Emirates ID is priced per year of validity, so a longer card costs more upfront.

Do I pay again at renewal?

Yes. Renewal carries its own fees, including a new Emirates ID, and depends on you still meeting your category's conditions.

Is the medical test cost fixed?

No. It varies by emirate and by screening package. Confirm the price with the approved centre before you attend.

Before you budget

Only some of the figures above come from the authority's own fee schedule. The medical and attestation ranges are reported estimates, and everything is revised periodically. Check the current fees on the ICP or GDRFA service page for your category before you plan around any number, including these.

Government fees and service fees are two different things, and they shouldn't arrive as one number. DU Digital Global quotes them separately, so you can see exactly what you're paying for.