USA vs Dubai vs Europe for German, Austrian and Swiss Entrepreneurs in 2026

USA, Dubai or Europe: what is the real difference for a DACH entrepreneur?

The real difference is the legal basis of your stay. In the USA you need a category that fits your profile, and most business routes are temporary visas that never become a green card on their own. In the UAE you apply for a long-term residence permit, the Golden Visa, which you renew as long as you keep meeting its conditions. In Europe, as a German, Austrian or Swiss citizen, you already hold the right to live and work in other EU countries, so the question is not which visa to buy but which country suits your business and your family.

European golden visas are residence permits for non-EU nationals; they are not designed for you and you do not need one. If "Europe" is on your shortlist, think of it as moving under free movement, with all the planning that involves, rather than as an investment programme.

Which visa suits a business owner best?

No route is "easiest" in general; each one tests something different. The right question is which test you already pass. The sections below compare the requirements for an owner or founder.

USA: four routes for owners and founders

The E-2 treaty investor visa lets you live in the US to develop and direct a business in which you have made a substantial investment that is at risk. Germany, Austria and Switzerland are all E-2 treaty countries. US law sets no fixed minimum: the amount is judged in proportion to the cost of the business, and the enterprise must be more than marginal. According to USCIS, the maximum initial stay is two years, with extensions of up to two years each and no limit on their number. It is temporary and not dual intent. Founders who prefer a proven model can use the same test through an E-2 franchise.

The L-1A visa suits you if you already run a company at home. Your company transfers you to a related US office as an executive or manager, including to open a new office, after at least one continuous year of work for the company abroad within the last three years. It runs up to seven years in total, is dual intent and leads to the EB-1C green card for multinational executives and managers.

The EB-5 investor green card is the investment route to permanent residence. It requires USD 800,000 in a Targeted Employment Area or infrastructure project, or USD 1,050,000 elsewhere, invested at risk in a new commercial enterprise that creates at least 10 full-time US jobs. The capital is at risk with the aim of a return; it is never a deposit.

If your strength is your record rather than your capital, the EB-1A green card for extraordinary ability and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver for an advanced degree or exceptional ability allow you to file the petition yourself, without a job offer. "Extraordinary ability" (EB-1A) is a higher standard than "exceptional ability" (EB-2). For the E-2 and L-1A side by side, read our comparison of E-2 and L-1A for business owners.

UAE: the Golden Visa routes

The UAE Golden Visa is a 10-year renewable residence permit for investors in real estate and public investments, according to the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP), whose guide we last checked against our programme data on 1 October 2026. The investor threshold is AED 2,000,000, about USD 545,000, in one of three forms:

• Property: one or more UAE properties worth at least AED 2,000,000 in total, fully registered in your name. Off-plan units from an approved developer qualify, and the property may be financed by a loan from an approved UAE bank.
• Company: a UAE company with capital of at least AED 2,000,000, or a partner's share of that size; the capital must be your own, not a loan.
• Deposit: at least AED 2,000,000 with an investment fund or a national bank operating in the UAE, again from your own capital.

For founders, ICP also lists an entrepreneur route with no fixed investment amount. You qualify through one of three tests: you own or are a partner in a UAE-registered SME in an approved field with annual revenue of at least AED 1,000,000; your venture is approved by an accredited business incubator, the Ministry of Economy, ICP or a relevant local authority; or you founded ventures previously sold for a total of at least AED 7,000,000. The Golden Visa has no minimum stay: holders may remain outside the UAE beyond the six-month limit that applies to standard residence visas.

Europe: free movement, not a golden visa

As a German or Austrian citizen you are an EU citizen. According to the European Union's official Your Europe portal, an EU citizen has the right to live in another EU country, may stay up to three months without registering as a resident, and may need to register for a longer stay. As a Swiss citizen, the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons applies: the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs states that it gives Swiss and EU citizens the right to live and work anywhere within the territories of the contracting parties, and that self-employed people must show proof of their self-employment. For an entrepreneur, that means setting up a company in another EU country follows that country's company and registration rules, not an immigration programme. If you are looking at residence options outside the EU, our overview of residency by investment programmes shows them; the European programmes on it are for non-EU nationals.

How do the USA, the UAE and Europe compare at a glance?

US figures come from our programme data built from USCIS and Department of State sources; UAE figures from our UAE knowledge base, checked against ICP; the EU row from the official portals cited above.

Where can my family get permanent residence fastest?

We do not quote a "fastest" country, because the honest answer depends on your route and your country of birth, and no official end-to-end times exist for most of these routes. What we can compare is what each route gives your family and when that status is permanent.

USA. Only the green-card routes give permanent residence: EB-5, EB-1A, EB-2 NIW and EB-1C after an L-1A. If approved, your spouse and unmarried children under 21 receive green cards with you. How long it takes depends on USCIS processing and on whether a visa number is available for your country of birth in the State Department's monthly Visa Bulletin, so we do not quote waiting times. An EB-5 green card is conditional for two years before the conditions are removed with Form I-829. The E-2 never becomes a green card on its own, and children on a temporary visa lose dependant status when they turn 21. Our guide on how Germans get US citizenship explains the step from green card to naturalisation.

UAE. The Golden Visa is long term rather than permanent: a 10-year permit, renewed as long as you keep meeting the investment or entrepreneur conditions. Your spouse, children regardless of their age and your parents may be sponsored, and each sponsored family member pays separate visa and Emirates ID fees. According to ICP, if the sponsor dies, sponsored family members may remain in the UAE for the validity of their residence permits. The UAE has no formal path from the Golden Visa to citizenship.

Europe. As EU citizens, Germans and Austrians acquire the right of permanent residence automatically after five years of continuous legal residence in another EU country, according to the Your Europe portal. Citizenship of that country follows its own naturalisation law, which differs from country to country.

What does daily life cost in the USA, Dubai and Europe?

We do not publish city cost-of-living figures, because rents, schools and insurance vary too much by city and family. Three qualitative points hold for most DACH families:

• USA: there is no statutory health insurance that covers new residents automatically, so you arrange cover yourself. Mirabello's living-conditions data, built from World Bank figures, records health spending of USD 13,473 per person in the US in 2023, against USD 6,849 in Germany in 2024 (the latest year recorded for each country). That is national spending, not your premium, but it shows why health cover belongs in the budget from day one. Our guide to US health insurance for visa holders covers the options.
• UAE: our UAE knowledge base notes that the cost of living in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is high, with housing and private schooling the main items for families.
• Europe: costs vary widely between and within EU countries, and your existing European health and social security arrangements need checking before you move.

How should I think about tax when comparing the three?

Tax should be part of your plan, but it should not be the reason for a move.

• USA: the IRS taxes US residents on their worldwide income. A green-card holder is a US tax resident from the first day of permanent residence, and a holder of a temporary visa such as the E-2 or L-1A becomes one under the Substantial Presence Test, broadly at least 31 days in the current year and 183 weighted days over three years. Our guide to US taxes after moving from Germany, Switzerland or Austria explains what changes.
• UAE: according to our UAE knowledge base, the UAE levies no personal income tax, and a 9% federal corporate tax has applied since June 2023 to business profits above AED 375,000.
• Germany: under German law, section 6 of the Foreign Tax Act (AStG) can treat shares covered by section 17 of the Income Tax Act as sold at fair value when you give up German tax residence, for people who were subject to unlimited German tax liability for at least seven of the last twelve years. For an entrepreneur with a company stake, this belongs in the plan from the start.

Austria and Switzerland apply their own national rules on leaving, and other nationalities follow their own law. Take advice from a qualified tax adviser in your home country and the destination before you move; Mirabello does not give tax advice.

Can I keep my citizenship if I naturalise abroad?

That is a question of your home country's law, not of the destination. German, Austrian and Swiss rules on keeping your nationality differ, and each must be read as the rule of that country; our guide on US citizenship for Germans sets out the German, Austrian and Swiss positions with their official sources. Other nationalities follow their own law, some of which removes the original nationality automatically on naturalisation abroad, so check your own country's rule before you apply.

USA or Canada?

"USA oder Kanada auswandern" is a common search among German-speaking movers. Canada has its own immigration system, and our verified programme data covers the US and UAE routes in this guide, so we do not compare Canadian figures here. If Canada is on your shortlist, raise it in your free consultation and we will set out the questions to ask.

How do I decide between the USA, Dubai and Europe?

Four questions settle most cases. First, do you need permanent residence and, one day, a second citizenship for your family? Then the US green-card routes, or an EU country under free movement, fit better than a renewable permit. Second, do you already run a company at home? Then the L-1A, or a UAE company, can build on it. Third, do you want to keep your main life in Europe while holding a long-term base elsewhere? Then the UAE Golden Visa, with no minimum stay, is worth a look. Fourth, does your business need the US market itself? Then the E-2, L-1A or EB-5 is the starting point, and our guide to every US visa route for Germans, Austrians and Swiss covers each profile. The full list of US routes is on our USA immigration hub.

How does Mirabello Consultancy help?

Mirabello advises German, Austrian and Swiss entrepreneurs on which route fits their company, capital and family, and coordinates the case from the first review to the decision. For US routes, an independent licensed US immigration attorney engaged by you prepares and files the petition; USCIS acts on it, and the State Department issues the visa. For the UAE, Mirabello prepares your Golden Visa file and handles your side of the application process. No adviser can promise an outcome. For a first orientation, Mira, by Mirabello, the AI advisor of Mirabello Immigration Intelligence, can explain the routes at Ask Mira.