Sponsor your family’s UAE residence in 2026.
Spouse, children, parents and domestic worker. Standard processing 7-14 working days.
We handle entry permit, status change, medical and Emirates ID end-to-end. Salary, housing and document checks before submission so applications don’t come back rejected.
A family visa lets a UAE resident sponsor dependents under their residence.
A Dubai family visa is a 2-year UAE residence granted to a sponsor’s spouse, children, parents or domestic worker. Sponsor must be a UAE resident earning at least AED 4,000 per month (or AED 3,000 with employer-provided housing) and hold an Ejari tenancy. Cost runs AED 2,500 to AED 5,500 per dependent depending on whether you apply via entry permit or in-country status change.
The visa is tied to the sponsor’s residence: if the sponsor cancels or loses theirs, every dependent visa under it cancels too. Renewal is per dependent on a 2-year cycle.
Who can sponsor a family visa in Dubai
Most pages treat “the sponsor” as a single profile. In reality the salary threshold, housing requirement and document set vary by the kind of residence the sponsor holds. The four common profiles:
Employee (private sector)
The most common route. On a MOHRE-registered contract you can sponsor a spouse and children — and parents where the salary is high enough — with a registered tenancy (Ejari) sized for the family.
Investor / company owner
Sponsorship runs through the company licence rather than a personal salary, so there is no fixed salary minimum — eligibility is judged on the business. Audited financials may be requested.
Golden Visa holder
The most flexible route. No salary minimum and no work-permit dependency: a long-term holder can sponsor a spouse, children of any age, parents and a maid, with the family visas mirroring the holder’s own duration.
Freelancer / self-employed
Sponsor a spouse and children on the strength of documented project income. Sponsoring parents from a freelance permit is difficult and usually needs an exceptionally strong income case.
Six categories you can put on your family file
Each category has its own document set and quirks. The most-missed nuance: unmarried daughters have no upper age limit.
Spouse
Attested marriage certificate (translated to Arabic if foreign). Recognised only for opposite-sex marriages legally registered in the country of origin. UAE residence sponsorship recognises one spouse.
Sons (under 18)
Birth certificate attested in country of origin and by UAE Embassy. No further conditions. Sponsor must apply before son turns 18 or visa cannot be issued.
Sons (18 to 25, in education)
Original university or college enrolment letter renewed each academic year. Visa is a 1-year (not 2-year) residence. Once enrolment ends or son turns 25, visa cannot be renewed.
Daughters (unmarried)
No upper age limit while unmarried. Original birth certificate, attested. Marriage cancels the visa; remarriage / divorce does not restore it.
Parents (mother and father)
Sponsored together as a pair, with a standard Dubai (GDRFA) salary threshold of AED 20,000/month; a humanitarian route lowers this to AED 10,000. Single-parent sponsorship is allowed only when the other parent has died or in cases of divorce, proven with attested documents. A refundable security deposit of around AED 2,500 to 5,000 per parent applies, set case by case by the GDRFA.
Domestic worker (maid)
Sponsor needs AED 25,000+ salary or to be a Golden Visa holder. One maid per family. Hired through a registered Tadbeer (Ministry of Human Resources) centre; not freelancers. Maid’s visa is 2 years, renewable.
Ejari, bedrooms and the AED 2,000 housing rule
GDRFA rejects family-visa applications when the housing setup does not match the dependents declared. Three rules govern this.
Ejari is mandatory
Registered tenancy contract for at least one year. Hotel apartments and short-term lets are not accepted. Tenancy must be in the sponsor’s name (or jointly with spouse).
Minimum 2 bedrooms for family + parents
If sponsoring parents or a maid alongside spouse and children, a 2-bedroom minimum Ejari is checked. Studios and 1-beds pass for spouse + 1 child but trip up larger applications.
AED 2,000 housing allowance component
The parents-sponsor route accepts AED 19,000 basic salary if the labour contract shows a separate AED 2,000 housing allowance line item, totalling AED 21,000. Most other guides miss this and quote AED 20,000 only.
Owned-home alternative
If the sponsor owns the property, the title deed substitutes for Ejari. Mortgaged properties qualify; off-plan does not until handover.
Top 8 family-visa rejection reasons
Most rejections trace to documentation, not eligibility. Fix these before you submit and rejection drops to under 5%.
Salary certificate older than 30 days
The single most common rejection. Typing centres enforce a 30-day window from issue date. Re-request from HR right before submission, not weeks in advance.
Salary on certificate doesn't match MOHRE contract
Total comp on the certificate (basic + housing + allowances) must reconcile to the MOHRE labour-contract figure. A bonus paid separately doesn’t count toward the threshold.
Birth certificate not fully attested
Three-stage attestation required: notarisation in origin country, UAE Embassy stamp, MOFA UAE stamp. Skipping a stage triggers rejection.
Health insurance below AED 150K minimum cover
Mandatory minimum is AED 150,000 annual cover for inpatient and outpatient. The cheapest “Essential Benefits Plan” qualifies; pure dental/vision plans do not.
Ejari too small for declared family size
Studio Ejari + 4 dependents = automatic flag. Move to a 2-bed before applying, even if it’s a temporary lease.
Sponsor visa expires before dependent's issuance
Don’t apply when your residence has under 6 months remaining. Renew yours first, then sponsor.
Son over 18 sponsored without proof of study
Sons can only stay on a parent visa past 18 with valid university or college enrolment proof. Applying for an adult son without current study documents is an automatic rejection. Unmarried daughters have no age limit.
Marriage certificate not attested or translated
The most common spouse-visa rejection. Foreign marriage certificates need full three-stage attestation (notarisation in the origin country, UAE Embassy stamp, MOFA UAE stamp) and a legal Arabic translation. Skipping any stage triggers rejection.
Common questions about Dubai family visas
AED 4,000/month for spouse and children, or AED 3,000 + housing allowance. AED 20,000/month for parents (humanitarian route from AED 10,000). AED 25,000/month or Golden Visa status to sponsor a maid.
Yes, if your labour contract includes a separate housing allowance line item. Total of basic + housing must clear AED 4,000. The MOHRE contract is the document checked.
Under 18 with no conditions. Between 18 and 25 only if enrolled in higher education (renewable each academic year on a 1-year visa). After 25 there is no family-visa route; he needs his own employment or Golden Visa.
Yes. Unmarried daughters can be sponsored on a family visa with no upper age limit. Marriage cancels the visa; subsequent divorce or widowhood does not automatically restore it.
AED 20,000/month (or AED 19,000 basic + AED 2,000 housing allowance). The humanitarian route allows AED 10,000 but requires documented proof of dependency (other parent deceased or divorced, no other support source).
The standard rule is both parents together. Sponsoring only one requires justification: the other parent’s death certificate, formal divorce documents or proof of estrangement, all attested.
No. The humanitarian route accepts AED 10,000 if you can document genuine dependency. A separate Golden Visa route lets you sponsor parents at no salary minimum if you qualify for the Golden Visa yourself.
Yes. Ejari (or a UAE title deed if you own the property) is mandatory. Hotel apartments and short-term lets do not qualify. Minimum 1-year registered tenancy in the sponsor’s name. A 2-bedroom is required if sponsoring parents or a maid in addition to spouse and children.
Marriage and birth certificates need three-stage attestation: notarisation in the origin country, UAE Embassy in the origin country, then MOFA in the UAE. Some Hague-Apostille countries can substitute the UAE Embassy step with an Apostille stamp since the UAE’s 2025 accession.
7-14 working days for standard processing (assumes documents are already attested). VIP express service compresses to 3-5 days at AED 300-700 extra per dependent. Parents and maid visas can take 2-4 weeks due to extra checks.
AED 1,150-1,500 government fees per dependent (entry-permit route) or AED 1,800-2,400 (status-change route, no exit). Add medical (AED 300-1,000), Emirates ID (AED 270), insurance (AED 800-3,000), and attestation if not already done. All-in: AED 3,800-5,500 per dependent.
Entry permit: pink visa valid 60 days, dependent must travel into the UAE on it. Cheaper. Status change: dependent is already inside the UAE on a tourist or visit visa, no exit needed. About AED 600 more per dependent but no flight cost.
Yes. Dubai mandates the Essential Benefits Plan with minimum AED 150,000 annual cover (inpatient and outpatient). Premiums start at AED 800-1,500 per dependent. Pure dental or vision plans do not qualify.
Yes for spouse and children, with strong project-income evidence (bank statements, contracts). Sponsoring parents from a freelance permit is generally rejected unless income substantially exceeds AED 20,000/month for 12+ months.
Most common reasons: salary certificate >30 days old, salary mismatch with MOHRE contract, Ejari too small, incomplete attestation, parent threshold not met. All are fixable. Reapply with the corrected document, no penalty.
The moment you qualify. Golden Visa removes the sponsor-salary requirement, extends to 10 years, doesn’t cancel on out-of-country absence, and lets you sponsor adult sons. For a family of 4 over 10 years it saves AED 30,000-45,000 versus repeated 2-year renewals.
Get a family-visa eligibility check.
Share your sponsor status, salary, housing and dependents. We come back within 24 hours with a yes/no on each dependent, the cheapest route, document list and total cost. No obligation.
