UAE Golden Visa: International graduates from top 100 universities may qualify for 10-year residency

Applicants must have a bachelor's degree with a minimum GPA of 3.5 and apply within two years of graduating.

By SafarSamachar Desk5 Nov 2026, 2:38 pm IST

Illustration

Illustration: SafarSamachar Pix Desk, created with AI assistance. Not a photograph of the event.

Key facts at a glance

1Graduates from top 100 global universities may qualify for the UAE Golden Visa
2The visa offers 10-year residency without a local sponsor
3Applicants must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 in their bachelor's degree
4Applicants must apply within two years of graduating
5The university must be among the world's top 100 according to UAE Ministry of Education rankings

Graduates from top 100 global universities can receive the UAE Golden Visa, which grants ten-year residency without needing a local sponsor. To qualify, applicants need a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 in their bachelor's degree and must submit their application within two years of graduation.

The university must rank among the world's top 100 according to UAE Ministry of Education rankings.

The bachelor's degree certificate must be attested and accompanied by an equivalency certificate from the UAE Ministry of Education. International graduates must also have that certificate authenticated by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education. Eligible holders can live, work, study and invest in the UAE, and the visa is renewable.

What this means for Indian travellers

If you graduated from a top-100 global university with a GPA of at least 3.5 within the last two years and have your degree attested with an equivalency certificate (and authentication if international), you may be eligible for the 10-year UAE Golden Visa, which allows residence without a sponsor and lets you live, work, study and invest.

More details

Which universities are on the UAE Ministry of Education’s top‑100 list eligible for the Golden Visa?

International graduates from universities on the UAE Ministry of Education’s approved top‑100 list—e.g., Boston University, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, ESSEC, Freie Universität Berlin, Fudan, Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard, MIT, Stanford and others—may qualify for a 10‑year Golden Visa.

Show all 32

Boston University
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Carnegie Mellon University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Duke University
ESSEC Business School, Paris
Freie Universitaet Berlin
Fudan University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Harbin Institute of Technology
Harvard University
HEC Paris
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
INSEAD (France)
Johns Hopkins University
KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology
Korea University
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
McGill University
Michigan State University
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU)
Peking University
Princeton University
Renmin (People's) University of China
Sciences Po
Seoul National University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Stanford University
Technical University of Munich
The Ohio State University

Source: mofa.gov.ae

What is the step‑by‑step application process to obtain a UAE Golden Visa for graduates?

Applicants must first confirm they meet the eligibility criteria, gather an attested degree and UAE Ministry of Education equivalence certificate, submit a nomination request to the relevant immigration authority (ICP or GDRFA), and await assessment and approval.

Source: Gulf News: Latest UAE news, Dubai news, Business, travel news, Dubai Gold rate, prayer time, cinema

Sources

This brief was written with AI assistance from the reports listed above, following our accuracy rules; it has not yet been individually reviewed by an editor. Read our editorial policy.Rules and schedules change - confirm with the airline or embassy before you travel. Spotted an error? Tell us.

Source Verification

For official notices, schedules, or policy compliance frameworks, verify details directly via UAE Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.