Golden Visa Application Status: How to Check Online

Two official channels show UAE residency and Golden Visa status, and you need the right one. ICP Smart Services is run by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security. It handles visas issued across the UAE, including Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman and the other emirates.

GDRFA is the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai. If you filed your Golden Visa in Dubai, GDRFA Dubai shows the most complete and current record. Applied in Dubai, start with GDRFA; applied anywhere else, start with ICP.

Not sure where your file sits? Try ICP Smart Services first, since it covers the whole country, and switch to GDRFA Dubai if your record does not appear. Both are official and free. The agent, PRO or typing centre who submitted your file can also tell you which authority holds it.

Your application, request or transaction number is the reference issued when the file went in, and it is the main input for tracking an application in progress. If you do not have it, your agent or typing centre will.

You also need your passport number and, for GDRFA Dubai, your residence file number. The file number is printed on the visa page in your passport, together with its year of issue. You use it to confirm an issued visa and read its validity and expiry.

Some services also ask for your nationality, first name and date of birth exactly as they appear on your passport. A small mismatch in a name or date is one of the most common reasons a search returns nothing. You will also type a security or captcha code. None of these basic checks cost anything.

Open smartservices.icp.gov.ae in a browser, or download the UAEICP app from the App Store or Google Play. Signing in with UAE Pass gives you the fullest view of your records in 2026, though you can often run the basic status enquiry without a login.

To track an application in progress, open the Application or Passport Status enquiry, enter your application or request number and nationality, type the security code and search. The screen shows the current stage of your file.

To confirm an issued visa, use the file validity or visa validity service, and enter your passport number and nationality. You will see the visa status, validity and expiry date. ICP updates its menus from time to time, so the labels on screen may differ slightly from these.

For a Golden Visa filed in Dubai, go to gdrfad.gov.ae or open the GDRFA Dubai app and find the visa status or track your application service. You do not need an account to run a status check.

Choose the enquiry type from the drop-down, for example File, then enter your file number with its year of issue as printed on the visa page of your passport. Add your first name as per your passport, select your nationality and enter your date of birth in the day, month, year format the form asks for.

Type the captcha and submit. If every field matches your record, the validity details appear, shown in green, with your visa expiry date, name, date of birth, nationality and gender. If nothing appears, check each field for spelling and format first; one wrong character often causes an empty result.

Once your Golden Visa is issued, the same portals confirm it is active and show its expiry date. Banks, landlords, schools and renewals will all ask for that date. The Golden Visa is a long residency, ten years for the main categories, but read the exact expiry on the official record.

The Emirates ID is a separate record from the visa, although the two are linked and processed together. You can track it through ICP Smart Services with a dedicated ID status enquiry, using the application number on your registration form or receipt.

The Emirates ID often stays in production for a short period after the visa is issued, so a visa marked issued next to an ID under process is normal. If the ID stalls for a long time, chase it. The usual causes are biometrics, a data entry mismatch or a pending medical or security clearance.

Wording varies between the portals, but the statuses map like this. Under process, in process or under review: immigration is still assessing the file and you need to do nothing yet. Approved: the decision is positive and issuance comes next. Issued: the visa is live and you can see its validity. Rejected: the application was declined. Invalid or not found: the details entered do not match, or the file has not reached the system yet.

If a status looks wrong, re-enter your details carefully; typos and format mismatches cause most confusing results. If that does not fix it, call ICP on 600 522222 or GDRFA Dubai on the toll-free 800 5111 from inside the UAE. The agent, PRO or typing centre that submitted your file is often quicker, because they can see the back-office record.

Many rejections have procedural causes: a document to re-upload, an eligibility point that needs stronger evidence, or a data discrepancy. Plenty of applicants succeed with a corrected resubmission. For anything material, take formal advice from a licensed immigration or legal specialist. This is general information for 2026, not immigration or legal advice, and ICP and GDRFA remain the authoritative source.