To apply for the student permit in Dubai, you have two pathways.

• The first one is the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship- ICA (online applications only )
• The second path is the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) (online and offline applications)

The Dubai Development Authority (DDA) provides an opportunity for all the students to enroll at the 23 academic institutions in Dubai's creative clusters and the region's free zones. These 23 numbers represent 50% of the branch campuses. Students can work part-time and gain real-time experience in a developed economy like Dubai and gain a competitive edge over their peers.

This new regulation by the DDA ensures that the students working part-time and the employer providing work opportunities are legally protected.

Eligibility criteria for students to avail the part-time job opportunities:

• Students should be enrolled in any of the 23 academic institutions in Dubai's creative clusters.
• Students should be 18 years of age.
• Students should contact the Career Services Centre in their respective Academic Institutes/universities/educational institutions.
• Students should check their eligibility at their Academic Institute. Once the eligibility criteria are fulfilled, they will get the Student Eligibility Confirmation application. This application should be signed and submitted to KHDA for validation.
• If in case our application is selected and approved, the student will receive a confirmation email.

If a student stays out of the UAE for longer than six months, their student residence visa becomes invalid and they will be denied entry to the UAE until it is canceled. Usually, the sponsor will report the visa holder to the immigration authorities.

If you are in Dubai as an international student and pursuing education on a student permit, then you are officially not allowed to work in Dubai. You can work in Dubai with an internship offer with the prior permission from their respective universities. Some universities help and support students to get internship programs.

Dubai has excellent education programs at an affordable fee due to the education-friendly government policies. The education system is at par with global standards. Dubai is certainly an ideal place to study your dream course.

The UAE government approved a student visa for five years for all the meritorious students who scored 95% and above in their academics. The University students should score a 3.75 GPA in their graduation. The minimum age for applying for a student visa is 18 years.

For all the other students, the visa is issued for one-year and later renewed subject to a certificate of renewal from the university. The visa can be renewed as long as he/she is a university student and has not completed the education for which he/she has gone.

Dubai’s economy is growing. The fantastic city has a lot of infrastructural growth. The city is a smart digital city with many technological embedments. The education system is also focused on city development. In such a scenario, Engineering is the most demanded course, followed by business administration, medical sciences, and then information technology.

In engineering, civil engineering is most demanded, followed by mechanical engineering and petroleum engineering. In the business administration stream, marketing is in demand. Finance, accounting, and quality management are in the queue for demand. In the medical sciences domain, medicine and surgery have a lot of demand in Dubai. IT-related education, networking, information security, and information systems are in demand. In the other streams, early childhood education, followed by English teaching, is in demand.

The government of UAE has introduced a 5 year visa program for students falling under the "Outstanding" category. In order to meet the eligibility, candidates need to possess the below requirements:

Should graduate with a 95% grade from a secondary school.

At Least a 3.75 GPA from the universities within and outside of the UAE.

Note: For the male children who are above 18 years, the UAE government doesn’t allow for any sponsorship. However, it can be excluded, if the duration of the study is minimum a year or if the education is from a UAE institution. And, there are no restrictions on females for receiving sponsorship.

Requirements for MBA Courses in Dubai:

• A minimum of 2-3 years of work experienced is needed for getting an admission to MBA in Business Schools in Dubai.
• A bachelor's degree or similar can be accepted if you are having a minimum of 65 percent.
• The students will be called for an interview before the final process of selection.
• Need to submit LOR, mark sheets of previous classes, essays, predicted grades.

Requirements for Master's Courses in Dubai:

• There is no need for GRE or GMAT for most of the Dubai universities.
• You need to score at least 55 percent to obtain admission in a top university
• You need to prove your language proficiency, band score at least 6.5.
• Need to submit LOR, mark sheets of previous classes, essays, predicted grades.

Requirements for Under-graduation:

• The score requirement varies but mostly ranges between 60-75 percent.
• Take an examination of IELTS or TOEFL. The minimum score requirement is 6.0.
• Most of the undergraduate level applications are done separately on the website of the respective university.
• Need to submit LOR, mark sheets of previous classes, essays, predicted grades.