How to Get Emirati Citizenship: Pathways, Nomination, and Requirements

There is no open application form for becoming a citizen of the United Arab Emirates. To get Emirati citizenship, you need to fit one of four recognized pathways — birth to an Emirati father, marriage to an Emirati man after a long waiting period, decades of lawful residence, or nomination under the 2021 talent and investor track — and then be put forward by a government body that has the authority to nominate you. Vetting, an oath, and a decree follow. Every route sits at the government’s discretion, and approval is never guaranteed.

The Four Pathways

Emirati nationality is governed by Federal Law No. 17 of 1972, updated by executive amendments in January 2021.¹ The four routes it recognizes are:

Descent. A child born to an Emirati father is a citizen automatically, inside or outside the UAE. A child born to an Emirati mother becomes a citizen only in narrow cases: the legal link to the father is not established, or the father is unknown or stateless. If the father is a known foreign national, the child does not qualify by operation of law.²
Marriage. A foreign woman married to an Emirati man may be granted citizenship after a waiting period.
Long-term residence. A rarely used naturalization track with high year thresholds and full government discretion.
Talent or investment. A newer nomination-based route for skilled professionals, scientists, inventors, cultural figures, and property investors.

None of these routes is self-executing beyond descent. Every other candidate must be nominated by a government entity before any file moves forward.

Marriage to an Emirati Man

If you are a foreign woman married to an Emirati man and you have at least one child together, you can apply for citizenship seven years after the application is submitted to the authorities. Without children, the waiting period is ten years. The marriage must still be in place when the decision is made.²

If the husband dies or the couple divorces before the waiting period ends, the wife can still be granted citizenship once the required time has passed, provided she has children from the marriage and either remains unmarried or later marries another Emirati.²

The law provides no equivalent pathway for a foreign man married to an Emirati woman. There is no amendment on the books to change this.

The 2021 Talent and Investor Track

In January 2021, the UAE approved amendments to the Executive Regulation of the Citizenship and Passports Law creating a new route for skilled professionals and investors. Successful candidates can keep their original nationality, which was a sharp break from the older parts of the law that required renunciation.³ You must inform the UAE government if you later acquire or lose any other nationality.

The eligible categories are:

Investors who own property in the UAE. The law does not publicly specify a minimum property value for citizenship purposes, and this requirement is distinct from the Golden Visa residency threshold.³
Doctors and specialists working in a scientific discipline that is in high demand in the UAE, with at least ten years of practical experience, acknowledged scientific contributions, and membership in a reputable organization in their field.
Scientists who are active researchers at a university, research center, or private-sector organization, with at least ten years of experience, meaningful contributions to the field, and a recommendation letter from a recognized UAE scientific institution.
Inventors holding one or more patents approved by the UAE Ministry of Economy or another reputable international body, plus a recommendation letter from the Ministry of Economy.
Intellectuals and creative talents who are pioneers in art and culture, have won at least one international award, and provide a recommendation letter from relevant government entities.

Long-Term Residency Naturalization

The 1972 law includes a naturalization track for people with long residence in the UAE, but it is used sparingly. Arab nationals may qualify after continuous lawful residence in a member emirate, if they show good conduct, lawful income, and Arabic proficiency. Non-Arab nationals must have resided continuously and lawfully in the UAE for at least twenty years after the law’s implementation, with the same character and language requirements.¹

Meeting the threshold is not the same as getting approval. The decision is entirely discretionary, and approvals are exceedingly rare. Most long-term residents in the UAE hold renewable residence visas regardless of how many decades they have lived there.

How the Nomination Actually Works

This is where the system differs most from what people expect. You cannot file for Emirati citizenship on your own initiative. Citizenship is acquired through nominations made by the Rulers’ and Crown Princes’ Courts, the Offices of the Executive Councils, or the Cabinet, based on recommendations from federal entities.³

In practical terms, someone inside government must put your name forward. For the talent and investor categories, the relevant ministry or government body evaluates whether the criteria are met and then submits the nomination. For marriage-based cases, the Emirati spouse typically starts the process through the relevant emirate-level authority. The nominee is then vetted by multiple security and background agencies.

If vetting clears, the final steps are straightforward. The candidate takes an oath of allegiance and loyalty to the UAE and commits to abide by its laws, after which a citizenship decree is issued.³ There is no published timeline, and there is no appeals mechanism if a nomination stalls or is refused. Waiting years without any status update is common.

What to Prepare

The documents differ by pathway, but the following are generally expected:

A valid passport for the applicant and any dependents included in the request.
Proof of eligibility: property deeds for investors, patents for inventors, academic credentials and publication records for scientists and doctors, or international award certificates for creative talents.
Recommendation letters from the relevant UAE government entity or a recognized institution in the field, required for most talent categories.
Marriage certificate and children’s birth certificates for marriage-based applicants.
Police clearance certificates from every country of prior residence.

Any document issued outside the UAE has to be attested through a full chain: notarization in the country of origin, attestation by the UAE embassy or consulate there, and final attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Anything not in Arabic needs a certified legal translation, and the translation must itself be attested. Errors in this chain are among the most common reasons a file stalls before the substance is ever reviewed.

How Citizenship Can Be Lost

Emirati citizenship is not permanent in every case. Any citizen can lose nationality by voluntarily adopting the citizenship of another country, serving in a foreign military without permission and refusing to stop when ordered, or working in the interest of an enemy state.⁴

Naturalized citizens face additional grounds for revocation. Citizenship can be withdrawn if the person commits or attempts an act deemed dangerous to national security, is repeatedly convicted of crimes involving dishonesty, obtained citizenship by fraud, or resides outside the UAE for more than four consecutive years without justification. When a naturalized citizen loses nationality, it can also be stripped from their spouse and minor children.⁴

The four-year absence rule matters most if you obtain citizenship through the talent or investor track and continue to live or work abroad. Maintaining some physical presence in the UAE is not just advisable; extended absence is a legal basis for losing what you gained.

1
Gulf Research Center. UAE Federal Law No. 17 of 1972 Concerning Nationality and Passports
2
Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship. Federal Law No. 17 of 1972 – Nationality and Passports
3
The Official Platform of the UAE Government. Emirati Nationality
4
MENA Rights Group. Federal Law No. 17 of 1972 Concerning Nationality, Passports and Amendments Thereof