It is no secret that
more than 80% of the population of the United Arab Emirates consists of expatriates seeking a better future.
If you are also planning to move to the UAE with your family, or if you are already settled there without your loved ones and have no idea how to sponsor your family members,
we can assist you with the residence visa procedures for your relatives.
In fact, nothing could be simpler than sponsoring your spouse, children, and parents.
Our firm offers you a guide covering the various options for sponsoring your family members in the UAE and living together under the sun. The goal is that, by the end of this article, you will have no remaining doubts about the procedure for sponsoring one or more family members.
What documents are required to sponsor your family members?
Note that in recent years, the authorities have worked to make sponsorship procedures more flexible and accessible to everyone.
First of all, the expatriate wishing to sponsor their family must have
a valid residence visa in the United Arab Emirates.
In addition, to support the sponsorship application for your family members in the UAE, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs of the UAE (“GDRFA”) will require:
- An employment contract
- A payslip or employer certificate
- Certified personal bank statements from the UAE;
- A tenancy contract in your name, registered in the UAE (better known as Ejari);
- A marriage certificate translated and certified in Arabic;
- The children’s birth certificates translated and certified, where applicable;
- Copies of the passports of the people applying to be sponsored
- A passport-size ID photo
All documents must be
legalized/certified in the country of origin. The documents must go through three consecutive steps to be valid in the UAE:
- Certified by a lawyer in the country of origin;
- Legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of origin;
- Legalized by the United Arab Emirates embassy for attestation in the country of origin.
If you are in the UAE:
- Legalization by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- Translation from English into Arabic;
- Legalization by the UAE Ministry of Justice.
- Depending on the specific circumstances, additional requirements may need to be taken into account (see the details below).
The conditions for sponsoring a family member vary depending on the person you wish to sponsor.
Husband sponsoring his wife
A resident employed in the UAE may sponsor his wife and children, provided that his salary is at least
AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus a housing allowance. Since 2019,
there are no longer any conditions regarding the nature of the employment. All employees can now sponsor their families, regardless of their occupation, as long as their monthly salary is at least AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus a housing allowance.
It is also mandatory to provide a
marriage certificate (for spouses) or birth certificates (for children) certified in Arabic or translated and certified in Arabic.
Note:
A Muslim resident may be authorized to sponsor his two wives if he meets the GDRFA requirements.
Wife sponsoring her husband
Basic category
A woman may sponsor her husband and children if she earns a
basic salary of AED 3,000 plus a housing allowance or a total salary of AED 4,000 without housing, provided that she is a teacher or works in the medical sector.
In
Abu Dhabi, the sponsoring woman must be a teacher, engineer, or work in the medical sector; and her salary must
be at least AED10,000 or AED 8000 plus a housing allowance.
Other categories
For
women employed in other categories, they may still obtain permission to sponsor their families if their
monthly salary is more than AED 10,000 and they have special authorization from the GDRFA.
Mother sponsoring her children
- A woman may sponsor her children if she holds a residence visa and her monthly salary is not less than AED 10,000 or AED 8,000 plus a housing allowance. She must have a valid Ejari tenancy contract in her name. She must also provide additional documents requested by the relevant authorities.
If the mother wishes to sponsor the children, she must also
obtain a no-objection letter (NOC) from the husband stating that he has no objection to the children being sponsored by their mother. This letter must also be duly notarized and legalized in the country of origin.
Also, if the father is a resident of the UAE and meets all the requirements to sponsor his children, the mother is not authorized to sponsor them.
- As for single mothers, they can sponsor their child or children. The authorities may request documents similar to those required to sponsor stepchildren (see below).
Sponsoring children over 18
An
expatriate resident may sponsor his daughter(s) for life as long as they remain unmarried.
As for
his son or sons, they may be sponsored only
until they turn 18. However, there is an exception:
after the age of 18, if the son studies in the UAE or abroad, he may be sponsored until the age of 21 upon providing proof that he is indeed a student.
Note that, for his residence visa to remain valid,
he must enter the UAE at least once every six months. The resident must place a deposit with the GDRFA for the son’s visa. The residence visa is granted on an annual basis and may be renewed until the person completes their studies.
Sponsoring stepchildren
An expatriate resident
may also sponsor their stepchildren, subject to certain conditions imposed by the GDRFA. These include:
- A deposit for each child
- A written no-objection certificate from the biological parent.
Their residence visas will be valid for one year and renewable annually.
Sponsoring parents and parents-in-law
An expatriate resident
may sponsor their parents and their spouse’s parents for a one-year stay by paying a deposit as security for each parent to the GDRFA.
An expatriate employee cannot sponsor only one of their two parents;
both parents must be sponsored together. The expatriate must also provide proof that they are their parents’ sole supporter and that no one else can care for them in their country of origin.
If one of the two parents has died or the parents are divorced, official documents establishing their situation must be presented to the authorities to apply to sponsor only one parent.
To sponsor their parents, the employed expatriate resident must earn
a minimum salary of AED 20,000 per month or a monthly salary of AED 19,000 plus two-bedroom accommodation (one room must be reserved for the parents). They must also provide
health insurance for the parents (renewable annually).
Duration of visas for sponsored persons
The validity period of the sponsored person’s visa will
depend mainly on the nature of the sponsor’s employment and their employment contract.
- For example, if the sponsor’s visa is valid for three years, the people dependent on their visa will probably have the same validity period.
- This excludes parents and sons over 18, who obtain a UAE residence visa valid for one year only.
Consequently,
if the sponsor’s visa is canceled for any reason, the visas of the dependents will automatically be canceled.
When the dependent’s visa expires or is canceled, they have 30 days to obtain a new one. If they do not, they will become illegal residents and will likely have to pay an overstay fine.
