Yes, you can move from a visit visa to a UAE residence visa without leaving the country. A sponsor (an employer, a resident husband, wife or parent, or a company you own) has a new entry permit issued for you, and you then apply for a change of status from inside the UAE: AED 500 at GDRFA in Dubai, plus two dirham levies, or AED 500 at ICP in the other emirates. The medical test, the Emirates ID and the residence itself follow, and ICP's rule is that the residence is finished within 60 days of entry.
A Change of Status, Not an Extension
A visit visa doesn't turn into a residence visa by itself: it is replaced. Your sponsor applies for a new entry permit, and the change of status (GDRFA calls it a status amendment, ICP a status adjustment) registers it while you are in the country. GDRFA's conditions are a new visa and the previous permit cancelled, and ICP says a tourist entry permit can't be cancelled after you arrive except through a status adjustment, which marks the old visa settled and issues the new one.
For the change of status, GDRFA asks for:
- Copies of your passport and your sponsor's, and of your sponsor's residence permit.
- A copy of the visa being replaced (the cancelled entry or residence permit) and of the new entry permit.
GDRFA lists 48 hours to complete it once the application is in, online with UAE Pass or at an Amer centre.
Who Can Sponsor Your Residence
- An employer. The employer applies for your work permit and entry permit and pays for them: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 6, bars employers from charging workers the costs of recruitment and employment. The employment visa cost guide has every government line.
- A resident husband, wife or parent. GDRFA asks the sponsor for a salary of AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 with housing. Its family entry visa is AED 200 plus VAT, and AED 500 more when the family member is already in the UAE; family sponsorship has the documents.
- Your own company. A licence whose company sponsors you as its owner: through us, a RAKEZ licence with one residence visa starts at AED 6,499, with health insurance from AED 500, WPI at AED 300 and visa typing at AED 200 on top.
- Yourself. The green visa for freelancers and investors, the remote work visa and the property route need no sponsor if you meet their conditions: own visa in Dubai sets them out.
What the Change of Status and the Residence Cost
| Charge | GDRFA Dubai | ICP (the other emirates) |
|---|---|---|
| Change of status | AED 500, plus the Knowledge and Innovation Dirhams, AED 10 each | AED 500 |
| Residence permit | By visa type: the employment and family guides list each fee | AED 100 application, AED 100 a year, AED 100 smart services |
| Emirates ID | AED 100 a year of residence (ICP) | AED 100 a year of residence |
| Medical test, health insurance | Charged by the provider | Charged by the provider; ICP lists valid health insurance among the documents |
When we handle the visa, the authorities' fees above are billed at cost, and what we charge per person is on our visa and immigration services page.
The Steps, in Order
- The sponsor and the entry permit. The employer's permit, the family entry visa, or, for your own company, the licence, its establishment card and then your entry permit.
- The change of status, filed inside the UAE before your visit visa runs out.
- The medical test. For family members, GDRFA asks for it from age 18.
- Emirates ID biometrics and health insurance.
- The residence is issued. ICP's page describes the end: a notice that the residence is issued, then the Emirates ID, delivered by courier.
While You Wait: Work, Expiry and Fines
- No work until the employment residence is in place. RAKEZ's FAQ puts it plainly: it is illegal to work on any visa other than a valid employment visa.
- File before the visit visa expires. ICP fines AED 50 a day once a visit visa's permitted stay is over, after the grace period for that type of permit. Once the change of status is filed, ICP treats the visit visa as settled.
- Finish within 60 days. ICP's residence page says a foreigner's stay to complete the residence must not exceed 60 days from entry; after that its overstay fines apply.
If you are here on a residence that is being cancelled rather than a visit visa, the order is the same, but the clock is your grace period: visa cancellation in the UAE has the days for each type of residence.
Through Your Own Company
If no employer or relative is sponsoring you, the company you own can. RAKEZ issues an investor visa when the company has one shareholder and a partner visa when it has several, and asks every investor, partner and manager, of every nationality, for pre-approval before the company or the visa. Through us, the RAKEZ licence with one residence visa starts at AED 6,499, four visas at AED 11,500 if partners need visas too, and the per-visa extras are quoted before you pay. Outside Dubai the authority is ICP, so for a RAKEZ visa the change of status is ICP's AED 500.
Visit visa to residence visa questions
Yes. Once a sponsor has a new entry permit issued, you apply for a change of status inside the UAE: AED 500 at GDRFA Dubai or AED 500 at ICP. The visit visa is settled when the change is filed.
Yes, through an employer: the employer applies for your work permit and entry permit, pays for them, and you change status inside the country. Until the employment residence is in place you can't work; RAKEZ's FAQ calls working on any other visa illegal.
AED 500 at GDRFA Dubai, plus AED 10 each for the Knowledge and Innovation Dirhams, or AED 500 at ICP in the other emirates. The new visa, the medical test, the Emirates ID and health insurance come on top.
48 hours at GDRFA Dubai once the application is complete, by its service page. The whole residence takes longer, because the entry permit comes first and the medical test and Emirates ID after.
It depends on the route. At ICP the residence permit is AED 100 plus AED 100 a year and a AED 100 smart services fee, with AED 500 if you switch from inside the country, and the Emirates ID is AED 100 a year. Through your own company, our RAKEZ licence with one visa starts at AED 6,499, plus the per-visa extras.
Up to 60 days from entry to complete the residence, by ICP's rule; after that, overstay fines apply.
File the change of status before it expires: once it is filed, ICP treats the visit visa as settled and issues the new one. Staying past the visit visa's permitted period without it costs AED 50 a day.
Sources
- Status amendment, GDRFA Dubai: requirements, fee and levies, conditions, 48 hours. Read 3 November 2026.
- Issuing an entry visa for residence without work: family sponsorship, GDRFA Dubai: the salary rule, the visa fee and the inside-the-country fee. Read 3 November 2026.
- Issuing residency permit, ICP: the status adjustment fee inside the country, 60 days from entry, the residence fees, health insurance, delivery of the Emirates ID. Read 3 November 2026.
- Visa cancellation, ICP: a tourist entry permit is settled through a status adjustment, and the daily fine. Read 3 November 2026.
- New identity card issuance, ICP: the Emirates ID fee per year of residence. Read 2 November 2026.
- Frequently asked questions, RAKEZ: working on a visit visa, Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 Article 6, investor and partner visas, pre-approval. Read 3 November 2026.
