Dubai Immigration Authority Issues Over 1 Million Permits

The General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs Dubai (GDRFA Dubai) reported that it issued 1,051,978 new residence permits and renewed 910,552 existing permits in the first half of 2026. Additionally, the Directorate granted 5,078,078 entry permits during this period, resulting in over seven million total transactions.

The average processing time for these services was under four minutes, with a customer satisfaction rate of 95%. The GDRFA Dubai continued its Golden Residency scheme, which offers long-term renewable residency to various eligible categories, including investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, and outstanding students.

This scheme allows recipients to sponsor family members and provides rights for self-sponsorship. Furthermore, the GDRFA Dubai has developed integrated service bundles for employment relocations, with the Work Bundle recording 521,216 transactions, covering services like health insurance and work permit issuance.