Family Sponsorship

A minimum monthly income of AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 where your employer provides housing. This is the ICP's published solvency test, and the UAE Government portal confirms that, under the current rules, employees can sponsor their families regardless of job title once they meet it. You must also hold a valid residence permit yourself, secure housing proportionate to the family's size, whether owned or rented, and prove the relationship. The same figures are applied by GDRFA in Dubai. We check the salary certificate, the housing contract and the attested civil documents before filing so the application is not returned.

Sources: UAE Government portal (u.ae) — Residence visa for families of employees; Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) — Issuing Residency Permit (accessed 24 October 2026)

A resident, male or female, may sponsor a spouse, unmarried daughters of any age, sons under 25, and children with special needs regardless of age. Those are the ICP's published categories; GDRFA in Dubai applies the same limits and states that male children may be sponsored up to 25. Parents are not on that list for an ordinary sponsor. Green Residence holders may also sponsor first-degree relatives. Every dependant aged 18 or over must pass a medical fitness test at an approved centre before the permit is issued. We plan applications for sons approaching 25 early, because eligibility changes at that age.

Sources: Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) — Issuing Residency Permit; General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai (GDRFA) — Issuing an entry visa for residence without work Family Sponsorship (accessed 24 October 2026)

The ICP's published dependant list for an ordinary resident sponsor names the spouse, unmarried daughters, sons under 25 and children with special needs; parents are not on it. Parents are expressly covered where the sponsor holds a Golden Residency: the ICP lists residence permits for parents among its benefits, and Dubai Land Department issues a ten-year parents' permit to property-based Golden Visa holders for a published fee of AED 5,774.50, against a certified dependency certificate from your consulate, a certified birth certificate, health insurance and an IBAN. Green Residence holders may sponsor first-degree relatives. If bringing parents matters to you, we assess whether you qualify for the Golden or Green route before you apply for a standard visa.

Sources: Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) — Golden Residency Guide; Dubai Land Department — Golden Visa application - Investor (accessed 24 October 2026)

The ICP asks for the dependant's passport and photo, proof of kinship (an attested marriage contract for a spouse, attested birth certificates for children), an employment certificate showing your monthly income and whether housing is provided, valid health insurance and, for some nationalities, a national ID copy. The UAE Government portal adds a certified tenancy contract or proof of owning a home, your passport with valid residence, your job contract, the Emirates ID application receipt and a medical fitness certificate for dependants over 18. Foreign marriage and birth certificates must be attested before they are accepted. We handle the attestation chain and assemble the file so it is accepted first time.

Sources: Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) — Issuing Residency Permit; UAE Government portal (u.ae) — General provisions for the residence visa (accessed 24 October 2026)

A dependant's visa is issued to match your permit and can never run past it. If your own residence is cancelled, the dependants' visas must be cancelled too, and you must cancel theirs before your own. Dependants then have a grace period of up to six months from expiry or cancellation to obtain a new residence permit; if the sponsor neither renews nor cancels, the sponsor can be fined. Golden and Green residency holders sponsor family for the same long terms as their own permits, which is one reason business owners move to those routes. We align family renewals with your own permit date so the household is renewed in one cycle.

Sources: Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) — Issuing Residency Permit; UAE Government portal (u.ae) — Residence visa for families of employees (accessed 24 October 2026)

They do not lose status immediately. The UAE Government portal states that a woman living on her husband's visa who is divorced or widowed is granted a one-year extension of her residence from the date of the death or divorce, renewable once, without a new sponsor; the extension covers her children if they were on the father's visa, provided the visas were valid at the time. For Golden Residency sponsors, the ICP states that if the sponsor dies, sponsored family members may remain for the full validity of their permits. We help families use that window to move to a new sponsor, an employment visa or an independent long-term residence.

Sources: UAE Government portal (u.ae) — General provisions for the residence visa; Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) — Golden Residency Guide (accessed 24 October 2026)

Yes, with a work permit. A dependant does not need to switch to an employment visa: MoHRE issues a specific work permit for a resident on a family sponsorship, which lets a company hire a family-sponsored resident from inside the UAE for two years. Under Article 6 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 working without a MoHRE permit is illegal, and the employer applies for it. Free zone employers obtain the equivalent permit from their zone authority. We arrange the permit with the employer so your family member starts work without disturbing the sponsorship.

Source: UAE Government portal (u.ae) — Work permits (accessed 24 October 2026)

Yes. Every sponsored family member who has turned 18 must pass a medical fitness test at an approved government centre, and the ICP lists valid health insurance among the documents for a family residence. In Dubai, sponsors are required to insure their resident dependants; in Abu Dhabi, employers and sponsors are responsible for cover for employees and their families. Children under 18 are exempt from the medical test but not from the insurance requirement. We book the medical appointments and confirm that the policy meets the emirate's rules before the application is submitted.

Sources: UAE Government portal (u.ae) — Residence visa for families of employees; UAE Government portal (u.ae) — Getting a health insurance (accessed 24 October 2026)