United Arab Emirates vs Republic of Iraq
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 Republic of Iraq 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
- Iraq eVisa Portal
Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Interior eVisa Portal - verified
- UAE Government Portal — Green residence
ICP - verified
- Iraq Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Visa
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Iraq - 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
Republic of Iraq
Iraq publishes tourist eVisa guidance through the Ministry of Interior eVisa portal and a wider consular visa-type framework through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The route set covers tourist eVisa, visit and tourism visas, normal visas, transit, multi-entry visas and work-permit-linked visa or residence cases, with extra caution for employment because MOFA says foreign-worker visas or residence permits generally require a Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs work permit.
- Official portal
- Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Interior eVisa Portal
- Languages
- Arabic, Kurdish
- Currency
- Iraqi dinar
How United Arab Emirates and Republic of Iraq differ
| Dimension | United Arab Emirates | Republic of Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 6 | 6 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 5 | 5 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 1 | 0 |
| 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-Permit-Linked Visa or Residence Permit |
| 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 | Arabic, Kurdish |
| Currency | UAE dirham | Iraqi dinar |
| Primary regulator | MOJ | GDR |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 0 | 0 |
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
Republic of Iraq
Work-Permit-Linked Visa or Residence Permit
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- No
Routes unique to United Arab Emirates
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.
Republic of Iraq (6)
Tourist eVisa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · The eVisa portal describes the eVisa as valid for 30 days; applicants should confirm whether their approval is single-entry or multiple-entry in the issued document.
Visit or Tourism Consular Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · MOFA describes tourist visa entry once during three months from grant with a one-month stay; visit visa wording also describes one-month entry and one-month residence for religious or holy-site visits.
Normal Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · One entry during three months from grant, with residence in Iraq not exceeding three months, according to the MOFA page.
Transit and Non-Stop Transit Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Transit visa: one entry within three months from grant and stay up to seven days. Non-stop transit: one supervised transit within three months without stopping.
Multi-Entry Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · MOFA says multi-entry visas may be granted for three months, six months or one year after the legal conditions are met.
Work-Permit-Linked Visa or Residence Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · The reviewed MOFA page does not publish a standard work-linked visa or residence-permit grant period; timing depends on the work permit, visa and residence channel used.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, United Arab Emirates or Republic of Iraq?+
United Arab Emirates’s UAE Green Visa is the dominant skilled route; Republic of Iraq’s Work-Permit-Linked Visa or Residence Permit is the dominant skilled route. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
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 Republic of Iraq immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/uae/vs/iraq. Last verified 27 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons