United Arab Emirates vs Republic of Türkiye
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 Türkiye 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
- Presidency of Migration Management
Presidency of Migration Management (Türkiye) - verified
- UAE Government Portal — Green residence
ICP - verified
- Ministry of Labour and Social Security - Work Permit Types
Directorate General of International Labour Force - 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 Türkiye
Türkiye administers foreigner migration through two authorities: the Presidency of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı), under the Ministry of Interior, which issues residence permits via the e-ikamet system, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, whose Directorate General of International Labour Force grants work permits via the e-permit system. Headline routes are the employer-sponsored work permit, the short-term residence permit, and the Turquoise Card (an indefinite work right for highly qualified applicants).
- Official portal
- Presidency of Migration Management (Türkiye)
- Languages
- Turkish
- Currency
- Turkish lira
How United Arab Emirates and Republic of Türkiye differ
| Dimension | United Arab Emirates | Republic of Türkiye |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 6 | 8 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 5 | 6 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 1 | 6 |
| 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 | Turkey Work Permit (employer-sponsored) |
| 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 | Turkish |
| Currency | UAE dirham | Turkish lira |
| Primary regulator | MOJ | TBB |
| 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 Türkiye
Turkey Work Permit (employer-sponsored)
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
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 Türkiye (8)
Turkey Work Permit (employer-sponsored)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Definite permit up to one year initially, extendable; permanent work permit available after eight years legal work.
Turkey Short-Term Residence Permit
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to one or two years per issuance, renewable.
Turkey Turquoise Card
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Provisional three-year transition period, then indefinite on successful conversion.
Turkey Digital Nomad Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Temporary; tied to the visa and short-term residence period granted on entry.
Turkey Family Residence Permit
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to two years per issuance, not exceeding the sponsor permit duration; renewable.
Turkey Student Residence Permit
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Tied to the period of study; renewable while enrolled.
Turkey Citizenship by Investment
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Citizenship, subject to a three-year no-sale restriction on the qualifying property.
Turkey Long-Term Residence Permit
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Indefinite, subject to the conditions of the permit.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, United Arab Emirates or Republic of Türkiye?+
United Arab Emirates’s UAE Green Visa is the dominant skilled route; Republic of Türkiye’s Turkey Work Permit (employer-sponsored) is the dominant skilled route. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Does United Arab Emirates or Republic of Türkiye have more visa routes without an employer sponsor?+
Republic of Türkiye has more: 6 of its covered routes can be pursued without an employer sponsor, against 5 for United Arab Emirates. 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 Republic of Türkiye immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/uae/vs/turkey. Last verified 1 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons