Desk research against primary sources. Figures are traced to the issuing UAE authority and linked on the page.
The dependency runs in opposite directions for each route. An employment visa’s duration — 2 to 3 years — is really a ceiling set by the employer’s sponsorship, and it can end well before that if the job does, with only a grace period to arrange what comes next — and that period is tiered by permit type and skill level rather than being one figure, so confirm which tier applies to you. A Green Visa’s 5-year term is not tied to any single employer at all, so changing jobs or clients does not touch the visa itself the way it would under employment sponsorship.
What actually gates access to a Green Visa is proof — either documented income or a freelance licence — rather than simply preferring more independence. Someone who wants the self-sponsored route but cannot yet evidence qualifying income or hold the right licence does not get to choose it over an employment visa; the employment route remains the fallback until that proof exists, which is why the two are not interchangeable options at the point of application.
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