UAE family visa rules and requirements

Family visa in UAE

The family residence visa in the UAE encourages families to live together in any emirate of the UAE. Visas for other family members may be under the residency visa of the principal sponsor. This means that either of the couple may sponsor a family visa by his or her company or as self-employed.

In any case, family visa sponsorship is available and encouraged in every labor sector in the UAE. It could also help an employee who meets the minimum criteria to invite a family member from their country to the UAE.

Not long ago, the main condition for an expatriate worker to sponsor a family residence visa was the type of profession. However, it's good to know that the law was abolished in March 2019 and the process of getting a family visa is now more flexible. In other words, this means that more expats can now sponsor their families in the UAE if they meet the basic requirements.

Let's take a look at the requirements to sponsor family members in the UAE.

How to get the UAE family residence visa

• Go to the Services page of the Government of Dubai’s website to start the process.
• Select the category of the residence visa you want to apply for. To sponsor a member of your family, go to Addition of companion family members in residency visa. 
• Follow the instructions on the website that will prompt you to login to the service, fill out the required forms, attach the necessary documents, and pay the fees.
• Click Submit.

In case you don’t want to apply by yourself, you may visit the immigration office and receive the service for some additional fee.  

UAE family residence visa requirements

To be able to sponsor your family in the UAE, you only need to:

Be a legal resident of the country — This means that you should have a legal residence status and your travel documents should all be valid.
Be earning up to the specified amount — For men sponsoring the immediate family members (wife and children), the minimum salary should be upto AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus accommodation.

Sponsor the family if the husband doesn’t meet the requirements — This is for expat women who also work in the UAE. As the law stipulates, a woman can only sponsor a family residence visa if her husband doesn't meet the above requirements for sponsoring the family. Also, a woman can only sponsor the children if her husband is not living in the country. However, if the husband is in the UAE and earns upto AED 3,000, the woman wouldn’t be allowed to sponsor the family residence visa. 

Pass the medical fitness test — This is a major action to complete before renewing or getting a new residence visa in the UAE. As the one who is sponsoring your family members, you have to complete the entire visa process first before your dependents do it. So, if you don't pass your medical fitness test, it means that even your dependents are not qualified to get their residence visas under your sponsorship.

To view a full list of the requirements for sponsoring your family members including step children and parents click here. 

The required documents to sponsor wife and children in the UAE

Thinking about what you will need to submit for the family visa sponsorship?

Below are the requirements for husbands sponsoring wives in the UAE

• Application form (applied either online or through a typing center)
• Passport copies of your spouse and the children
• Medical fitness certificate of spouse and children
• Recent photos of spouse and children
• A copy of the husband’s labor contract
• Your salary certificate stating your current monthly salary
• Marriage certificate
• Current utility bill
• Registered tenancy contract

The above listed general criteria and required documents to sponsor a family visa also apply to women who happen to sponsor their husbands’ visas.