United Arab Emirates vs Brunei Darussalam
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines United Arab Emirates and Brunei Darussalam government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- UAE Government Portal — Visa & Emirates ID
Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) - verified
- Immigration and National Registration Department
Immigration and National Registration Department (Brunei) - verified
- UAE Government Portal — Green residence
ICP - verified
- Immigration and National Registration Department of Brunei - Work Pass
Immigration and National Registration Department, Ministry of Home Affairs (Brunei Darussalam) - verified
United Arab Emirates
The UAE issues residence via employer-sponsored work permits, Golden Visa long-term residence for skilled professionals and investors, the Green Visa for self-sponsored skilled workers, and a remote-work visa for overseas employees.
- Languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- UAE dirham
Brunei Darussalam
Brunei administers immigration through the Immigration and National Registration Department, under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Headline routes include the employer-sponsored work pass, a new multi-year Long-Term Pass (effective December 2024) with social, business and professional sub-categories, and the Entry Permit route toward permanent residence. There is no golden visa or investment-based permanent residence, and permanent residence is slow and discretionary (around 15 years).
- Official portal
- Immigration and National Registration Department (Brunei)
- Languages
- Malay
- Currency
- Brunei dollar
How United Arab Emirates and Brunei Darussalam differ
| Dimension | United Arab Emirates | Brunei Darussalam |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 6 | 6 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 5 | 4 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 1 | 2 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | Qualifying applicants may obtain 5- or 10-year self-sponsored long-term residence. Citizenship remains a separate, exceptional Presidential-decree process. | — |
| Dominant skilled visa | UAE Green Visa | Work Pass (employer-sponsored employment) |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | — | — |
| Skilled visa processing time | UAE Government Portal — Green Visa does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route. | — |
| Skilled visa government fees | — | — |
| Official languages | Arabic | Malay |
| Currency | UAE dirham | Brunei dollar |
| Primary regulator | MOJ | AGC |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 0 | 1 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
United Arab Emirates
UAE Green Visa
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- UAE Government Portal — Green Visa does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route.
- Sponsor required
- No
- Leads to settlement
- No
Brunei Darussalam
Work Pass (employer-sponsored employment)
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- No
Recent policy activity
Last 6 months. Each entry links to its primary government source.
- 30 July 2026Brunei Darussalam
Brunei publishes updated permanent-resident category guidelines
Starting 31 December 2024, Brunei's Immigration and National Registration Department (JIPK) shared updated guidelines and eligibility requirements for the categories of application for permanent resident status. Where permanent residence was previously described only as discretionary and typically taking around fifteen years, the published categories now set explicit qualifying periods - up to twenty years of residence or marriage depending on the applicant's tie to Brunei. Foreigners hoping to settle in Brunei are affected.
Immigration and National Registration Department, Ministry of Home Affairs (Brunei Darussalam)
Routes unique to United Arab Emirates
Routes unique to Brunei Darussalam
Visa routes side by side
United Arab Emirates (6)
UAE Golden Visa
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · 5 or 10 years depending on category, renewable while the category conditions continue to be met.
UAE Green Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · 5 years, renewable.
UAE Employment (Standard Residence) visa
Sponsor · Non-settlement · 2 or 3 years, tied to employer.
UAE Virtual Working Programme
No sponsor · Non-settlement · 1 year, renewable.
UAE Green Residence — investor / business partner
No sponsor · Non-settlement · 5 years, renewable while the investment and activity conditions remain met.
UAE freelance permit with residence
No sponsor · Non-settlement · 2–5 years depending on scheme.
Brunei Darussalam (6)
Work Pass (employer-sponsored employment)
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Issued for a defined, employer-tied period (often up to a couple of years) and renewable while you keep the job; it is not a settlement route.
Long-Term Pass (social, business or professional)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · A multi-year pass (reported as up to several years) with multiple entry; it is a long-stay route rather than a settlement status.
Entry Permit (route toward permanent resident status)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · The route toward permanent resident status; once granted, permanent residence is a settled status with re-entry permits issued and renewed under the rules.
Permanent Residence (discretionary, long-term)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · A long-term settled status; the official categories set qualifying periods of up to twenty years of residence or marriage depending on your tie to Brunei, and it is granted at the authorities' discretion.
Dependent Pass (family of pass holders)
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Tied to the validity of the main pass holder's pass and renewed alongside it; it is a stay route rather than a settlement route.
Student Pass (foreign students)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Linked to the length of your course and renewable while you remain enrolled; it is a study route rather than a settlement route.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, United Arab Emirates or Brunei Darussalam?+
United Arab Emirates’s UAE Green Visa is the dominant skilled route; Brunei Darussalam’s Work Pass (employer-sponsored employment) is the dominant skilled route. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Which immigration system has changed more recently, United Arab Emirates or Brunei Darussalam?+
In the last 6 months: 0 logged policy changes for United Arab Emirates, 1 for Brunei Darussalam. See the recent-policy section above for the details, each linked to its primary source.
Does United Arab Emirates or Brunei Darussalam have more visa routes without an employer sponsor?+
United Arab Emirates has more: 5 of its covered routes can be pursued without an employer sponsor, against 4 for Brunei Darussalam. No-sponsor routes — such as digital-nomad, self-employment, and points-based skilled migration — matter most if you do not yet have a job offer.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "United Arab Emirates vs Brunei Darussalam immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/uae/vs/brunei. Last verified 30 July 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons