The UAE grants residence visa to family members of an expat, provided they meet certain requirements.
Here is a full guide to know how to sponsor your family members in the UAE on a residence visa.
What are the requirements?
According to the official UAE website, expat residents with valid visas can sponsor their families regardless of job title, provided they earn at least AED4,000 or AED3,000 with accommodation, with medical fitness tests required for those aged 18 and above.
Both male and female residents can sponsor spouses, children under 25, and unmarried daughters, with no age limit for children with special needs.
A mother can sponsor her children in special cases approved by the ICP, and residents can also sponsor their parents on a yearly renewable visa. Sponsors must apply for dependents’ residence visas within 60 days of their entry into the UAE.
Sponsoring wife and children in the UAE
UAE residents from overseas may obtain residence visas for their spouse and children upon meeting sponsorship requirements.
For spousal sponsorship, residents must present a marriage certificate in Arabic or its certified Arabic translation to confirm the marriage.
Residents can sponsor unmarried daughters regardless of their age. For sons, sponsorship extends until they reach 25 years. Sons with special needs, referred to as sons of determination, receive sponsorship without age restrictions.
Parents must secure residence visas for infants born in the UAE within 120 days of birth to avoid penalties.
Residents can sponsor stepchildren under GDRFA stipulations, which necessitate a financial deposit per child and written consent from the biological parent. These visas remain valid for one year with annual renewal options.
The documentation for spouse and child sponsorship includes:
- Online or typing office application forms
- Passport photocopies of spouse and children
- Photographs of spouse and children
- Health clearance certificates for spouse and children over 18
- The sponsor’s employment contract copy
- Employer-issued salary statement showing monthly income
- Marriage certificate with attestation
- Registered housing contract
The residence permits of family members connect to the sponsor’s permit. If authorities cancel the sponsor’s visa, they must cancel the dependents’ visas.
Dependents receive six months from their visa expiry or cancellation to obtain new residence permits. Sponsors face financial penalties if they do not renew or cancel their dependents’ visas.
Sponsoring parents
UAE expats working in the UAE can obtain one-year residence visas for their parents by submitting a deposit for each parent as required by immigration authorities.
Workers must sponsor both parents together, not one parent alone. They must demonstrate they provide the sole financial support for their parents and prove no one remains in their home country to care for them.
Documentation of death or divorce permits workers to sponsor one parent.
However, sponsors must meet the minimum income requirements set by authorities. They must purchase medical insurance for their parents at the mandated coverage level, with yearly renewal requirements.
UAE residence visa for a citizen’s spouse, parent and child
UAE nationals can sponsor five-year residence visas for their foreign spouses, parents, or children without employment requirements.
Foreign women who become widowed or divorced and have children with UAE citizenship can receive residence visas without working in the UAE. Their eldest child becomes their visa sponsor.
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