How to Get a Dubai Residency Visa for Your Family

Here's everything you need to know about sponsoring your spouse and children while living in Dubai

Posted on

31 July 2013

| Last updated on 13 March 2019

by Rebecca Roberts

Residency Visa Procedures for Families in Dubai

Did you know? To live in Dubai and the UAE, all foreign workers MUST be sponsored.

Expatriates seeking to set up their lives here in Dubai must organise their residency visa in order to ensure they're legally allowed to stay and work. Plus, gaining your residency visa is the first step to organising things like bank accounts, tenancy contracts, health insurance and even car loans.

To live here, foreign workers must be sponsored. Whether this is by a family member or a company depends on the circumstances you have.

If you are the individual that is the family sponsor, there are many companies here that are family-friendly that will sponsor the employee's spouse and children (up to a certain age). So to help you, we have all of the information about obtaining a visa for your spouse and children.

How to sponsor your spouse in Dubai

A spouse may sponsor their partner's residency in the UAE only if their total earnings about to AED 4000 per month (or AED 3000 with accommodation) or more. If you or your husband is the sole provider in the family, then you should make all of the necessary applications for a spousal visa.

A wife may sponsor her husband if she is employed as a doctor, engineer or teacher, and she should be earning more than AED 4000 per month (or AED 3000 with accommodation allowance). If as a wife, you work in a different profession to the ones listed, you must make a petition to the department to exempt you from this requirement.

The department will decide on the request and pass its resolution of acceptance or rejection. In the case of acceptance, the basic salary requirement will increase to AED 10000 without accommodation, or AED 9000 with accommodation allowance. The visa that will be issued is a one year, renewable residency visa.

Everything should be done at an authorised typing center in the UAE, where the application will be typed up for you in Arabic. It's important to make sure you have all of the original documents available with you.

Here's everything you need to sponsor your spouse in Dubai:

Application form available from the typing center(s)
Colour passport copies
Passport size photographs with WHITE backgrounds (top tip: have around 15 copies always just incase)
Sponsor's original passport
Sponsor's original Emirates ID card
Original attested marriage certificate from issuing authority, UAE embassy from sponsor's country and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE
Original attested birth certificate from issuing authority, UAE embassy from sponsor's country and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE
Original EJARI certificate/tenancy contract along with last paid electricity bill
Original MOL (Ministry of Labour) contract
Original salary certificate, attested
Original and valid medical certificate (visa medical)
IBAN (International Bank Account Number) of the sponsor
Last 3 months bank account statement with original stamp and signature
Health insurance for spouse
AED 5000 deposit

In addition to the above, it's important to note that if the wife is being sponsored by the husband, or vice versa, these steps must also be followed:

The sponsored spouse should have his/her blood tests and x-rays (visa medical) completed at an authorised medical facility and should retain the certificate for visa processing.
The sponsor and spouse should visit the typing center at the immigration department together. Have all the documents ready and fill the application forms in and pay the necessary fees here.
Fees are AED100 per year and spousal sponsorship is usually valid for three years. The total fee for a three year visa usually amounts to AED370 after extra charges are added.

Please be aware that a sponsored spouse is not allowed to be employed unless they have a labour card, work permit or employment visa.

How to sponsor your children in Dubai

Male children can be sponsored by their families up to the age of 18, and thereafter to the age of 21 only if they are enrolled in a full time university or college degree. A female child can be sponsored by her family as long as she remains unmarried.

Step-children will need permission from the biological parent or guardian for the purposes of sponsorship. If the biological parent or guardian is unavailable check to see what documents are necessary for the immigration department to process the sponsorship.

Here's everything you need to sponsor your child in Dubai:

The application form available from the typing center at the immigration department
Three photographs of the child (white background), always have extra photographs handy as a precaution
The original passports of the sponsor and the child and their photocopies
Original and valid medical certificate
Sponsor’s employment contract, attested
Sponsor’s salary certificate, attested
Sponsor’s residence visa and copy
Tenancy contract in the sponsor’s name or if company provided
Health insurance for the child
Duly attested birth certificate

Here are the steps to follow;

The child should have his/her blood tests and x-rays completed at an authorized medical facility and should retain the certificate for visa processing.
The sponsor should visit the typing center at the immigration department. Have all the documents ready and fill the application forms in and pay the necessary fees here.
Fees are AED100 per year and like spousal sponsorship, child’s sponsorship is usually valid for three years. The total fee for a three year visa usually amounts to AED370 after extra charges are added.

Always double check the requirements for a residency visa with the immigration department before you go there to avoid unnecessary trips to and from the department.

Always bring original documents and their copies in both black and white and colour to have with you just in case they are needed. Remember to carry lots of photographs as a precaution if any extras are needed.

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