Citizenship in United Arab Emirates
Naturalisation timelines, tests, and dual nationality
Emirati citizenship is not something residents apply for in the ordinary sense. Nationality is primarily transmitted by descent through an Emirati father, and naturalisation is exceptional: a 2021 amendment allows the authorities to grant citizenship by nomination to investors, doctors, scientists, inventors, and creatives, but the process is initiated by government bodies rather than by the individual. For the overwhelming majority of foreign residents, however long they have lived there, citizenship is simply not a realistic outcome.
| Primary basis | Descent, chiefly through an Emirati father source |
| Naturalisation | Exceptional and by nomination, following a 2021 amendment source |
| Who is nominated | Investors, doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, creatives and their families |
| Dual nationality | Permitted for those granted citizenship under the nomination route |
| Residence-based route | None |
How nationality is normally acquired
Citizenship passes by descent. Children of an Emirati father acquire nationality at birth regardless of where they are born. Provisions also exist for the children of Emirati mothers, and separately for foreign women married to Emirati nationals after a qualifying period of marriage, subject to conditions set out in the nationality law.
Birth in the country confers nothing on the child of foreign parents. A child born in Dubai to two foreign residents is a foreign resident from the first day, and needs a residence permit sponsored by a parent.
The 2021 nomination route
An amendment to the nationality law created a route under which the Cabinet, the rulers' courts, and executive councils may nominate individuals for citizenship. The published categories are investors, doctors and specialists, scientists, inventors, and people with creative or intellectual talents, together with their spouses and children.
Two features distinguish it from naturalisation elsewhere. It is initiated by a government body rather than by application, and the qualifying criteria are framed as contribution rather than as residence. There is no queue to join and no published waiting time.
What this means in practice
- Long residence does not create eligibility, and there is no point at which years spent in the country begin to count.
- Children born and educated there inherit their parents' status, not a local one.
- Planning should therefore assume that residence will always be conditional and renewable.
- Those granted citizenship under the nomination route may retain their existing nationality.
Free: the United Arab Emirates visa checklist
A one-page PDF listing every document each route asks for, so you can see what you are missing before you spend anything. No spam, unsubscribe in one click.
The list is not open yet, so nothing was sent and your address was not stored. The guides on this site are free and need no sign-up.
We email a short course on how the United Arab Emirates routes work, then the report offer. Your address is never sold.
Official sources
Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.