United Arab Emirates — Citizenship Guide

Why the United Arab Emirates?

The UAE passport is one of the world’s most powerful, with broad visa-free access across Asia, Europe, and the Americas (see the mobility panel opposite). But it is also one of the hardest citizenships in the world to obtain: there is no open naturalisation application for most people, and citizenship is granted largely by descent or by rare nomination for exceptional contributors.

Citizenship by descent

The UAE applies jus sanguinis (right of blood), not birthright citizenship:

• You are automatically a citizen if you are born — in the UAE or abroad — to an Emirati father.
• You are also a citizen if born to an Emirati mother and a father who is unknown or stateless.
• Since October 2017, an Emirati mother with a foreign husband can confer citizenship on her children once they reach age 6 (previously age 18).

There is no grandparent or broader ancestry programme — descent runs through parents only.

Naturalisation

Naturalisation is discretionary and rarely granted:

• Traditional route: 30 years of residence for non-Arabs (7 years for other Arabs, 3 years for citizens of Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain), plus Arabic-language ability, good character, and a lawful means of support.
• 2021 reforms: a nomination route now exists for investors, doctors, specialists, scientists, and creative talents (artists and intellectuals) and their families, without the standard residence requirements. Candidates are nominated by government bodies, royal courts, or executive councils.
• By marriage: a foreign woman married to an Emirati national may naturalise after 7 years (with at least one child) or 10 years (without children).

Dual citizenship

Dual citizenship is generally not permitted — naturalised citizens ordinarily renounce their previous nationality.

The exception is the 2021 reform, which allows those naturalised through the nomination categories (investors, doctors, scientists, artists, and similar) to retain their original citizenship.

Fees & timeline

There is no standard published application fee — naturalisation is a nomination-based, discretionary process rather than a fixed application with a fee schedule. There is also no fixed processing timeline; grants are made at the government’s discretion.