Family Residence Visa UAE – Requirements, Costs and More

If you are planning to bring your family to UAE, you will have to get a residence visa for the visiting members. And getting that isn’t exactly the simplest thing you’ll do here. However, if you’ve landed on this page looking for how you can speed this process up by getting everything right in the very first go, then congratulations. You’re at the right place. This write-up is dedicated to covering all the steps involved and total expenses that you’re likely to incur to get this task accomplished. Read on to know more. 

Getting the Documents Attested and Taking Care of the Extras

The very first thing to do, even before beginning the visa application process is to get the prescribed set of documents attested by concerned authorities in your home country as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE (MOFAIC). The list of documents varies slightly depending upon who is entering the country. E.g., for your kids, you will need an attested copy of their birth certificate, and for spouse you will need an attested marriage certificate. 

The cost of getting documents attested for a resident visa is AED 160, if you contact MOFAIC directly. However, if you take assistance from a typing centre, you may have to pay service charges as well. As a sponsor, you will also need to have a lease contract in place. 

Minimum Salary Requirements for Sponsorship in the UAE

The minimum salary required to get a family resident visa is AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 + accommodations for male sponsors. If female UAE residents want to sponsor their family in the UAE, they require a minimum salary of AED 8,000 + accommodations or AED 10,000. These two conditions are applicable only if you want to sponsor your spouse and/or children. If you want to sponsor your parents as well, your minimum salary must be AED 19,000 + accommodations or AED 20,000.

Documents Required for Family Resident Visa Application

• Passports of all family members who are to reside in the UAE
• Sponsor’s passport
• Sponsor’s Emirates ID.
• Passport size photos of prospective family members. 
• Attested marriage certificate for sponsoring spouse.
• Attested birth certificate for sponsoring children. 
• Attested death or divorce certificate if single women want to sponsor their children.
• All attested degrees. 
• Medical clearance certificate for family members older than 18 years.
• A copy of Ejari or lease contract. 

File Opening Fee – AED 269

There is a file opening fee of AED 269 for initiating the process. The file is opened with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs UAE. You/the applicant will be called the sponsor in this file. The file opening fee is independent of the number of family members you are sponsoring. The standard fee is applicable every time you open a file. Noteworthy is the fact the you’ll have to request for a new file opening every time you switch your job in the UAE. 

The logic here is that every time you switch your job, your sponsor in the UAE changes as well. Your employer in UAE is your sponsor while you are the sponsor for your family members. Change in your sponsor needs to be reviewed and updated for your family members as well. So, every time you get a new job, you are required to pay AED 269 as file opening fee.  

Entry Permit Fee – AED 500

The entry permit is AED 500. The entry permit is valid for 60 days and the person relocating needs to enter the country within 60 days. Any delay in doing so attracts a fine of AED 25 per day.  

Change of Status Fee – AED 675

The change of status fee only applies to your family member’s visa if they are already in the UAE on another kind of visa. A change in status request can also be sent if your previous visa has expired but you still hold your job in the UAE. once the status change request has been processed, your file gets transferred to your new sponsor, your employer. In case of your family members, the file gets transferred to you, the sponsor. The change of status fee is AED 675.

Medical Fitness Test Fee – AED 320

Family members aged 18 and above are required to take a compulsory fitness test. The results of this test are a mandatory document for obtaining a visa application. The medical fitness test fee is AED 320 and the results arrive within 2-5 days. Standard screening test results take 48 hours while fast screening test results are made available in 24 hours. You can also opt for VIP service to get the test resuts in 4 hours. The cost for VIP medical test service is AED 570. The list of medical fitness tests to be taken includes:

• HIV AIDS test and screening 
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Leprosy 
• Pulmonary Tuberculosis 

Getting Emirates ID – Varied Fee as Per Validity 

The cost of your emirates ID will depend on the validity you choose for your visa. The same validity will apply to your emirates ID as well. You will have 1, 2 and 3 years for your resident visa. You can also apply for a golden visa now which holds a 10-year long validity. The fee to get an emirates ID with 1-year validity is AED 170, 2-year validity is AED 270 and 3-year validity is AED 370. If you have a golden visa with 10-year validity, the fee applicable to get an emirates ID with 10-year validity is AED 1,070. 

Visa Stamping Fee – AED 500

The final step to getting your family their resident visa is getting their passports stamped. The fee for visa stamping is AED 500 which also includes courier charges. 

Once you have all your documents ready, you can either visit a typing centre or the ministry for submission. Submit your passport with the documents to get the visa stamp or sticker. The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security has recently announced that visa stamping is no longer mandatory to get residency in the UAE. The small pink-coloured sticker on your passport initially served as the main document to prove your residence status in the UAE. Now, your Emirates ID will be the identifying document to prove your residency status. Although Dubai residents may still be required to get their visa stamped. Residents moving to other 6 emirates do not need to get a visa stamp on their passport. 

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