UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: New Dependent Sponsorship Policy [UPDATED]

July 17, 2019

The UAE Cabinet has adopted a decision to amend the policy on foreign national workers sponsoring family members in the UAE. As yet, no implementation date has been announced.

[UPDATE] On 14 July 2019, the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) announced that, effective 1 July 2019, both male and female foreign residents working under the sponsorship of entities in any Free Zone or Emirate can sponsor their family members (spouse, children under the age of 18 and unmarried daughters) if they earn a monthly salary of AED 4000, or AED 3000 plus accommodation provided by the employer.

Previously, only foreign nationals working in certain qualifying professions could sponsor family members, and female residents had to earn at least AED 10,000 to sponsor their family.

• Potential beneficiaries must provide proof of appropriate housing and health insurance for their families, as well as their registration in the national population database. They must also apply for IDs for every family member.
• The sponsor must also present a certified marriage certificate and their children’s birth certificates translated into Arabic, as well as proof of their monthly income.
• A wife wishing to sponsor their children must attach a certified written agreement from her husband.
• Widowed and divorced women can also sponsor their children, but they must present a recently issued divorce or death certificate to prove custody.
• The resolution also requires families to declare one sponsor, either a husband or wife, to prevent multiple sponsors.