UAE Family Visa 2026: Salary, Documents and Cost

To get a UAE family visa, the sponsor must hold a valid UAE residence permit and earn at least AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 plus accommodation provided by the employer. With that, a resident can sponsor a spouse, sons under 25, unmarried daughters of any age and children with special needs. Parents need a higher income: GDRFA Dubai currently asks for AED 10,000 a month and a home with at least two bedrooms. Dubai sponsors apply through GDRFA, and residents of the other emirates through ICP.

Do this next to sponsor your family

• Check your salary on your salary certificate or labour contract against the AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus housing rule.
• Attest your marriage and birth certificates in the country that issued them and with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
• Register your tenancy (Ejari in Dubai, Tawtheeq in Abu Dhabi) for a home large enough for your family.
• Buy health insurance for each family member before the residence application.

Who can sponsor a family visa in the UAE?

Both employees and employers with a valid UAE residence permit can sponsor their families, whatever their job title, as long as they meet the income and housing rules. Men and women can both sponsor. ICP’s current rules for a foreign resident sponsor are:

• A valid UAE residence permit for the sponsor (the head of the family).
• A monthly income of at least AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 plus housing provided by the employer.
• Adequate housing for the family, owned or rented, in proportion to the size of the home.
• Proof of kinship, such as an attested marriage contract and children’s birth certificates.

Green Residence holders can also sponsor first-degree relatives, and Golden Visa holders can sponsor children of any age and parents. Partners in a Dubai company sponsor through a partnership contract, and GDRFA requires the partner’s share to be at least AED 48,000.

Who can you sponsor on a family visa?

Family member	Rule	Extra condition
Wife	Allowed	Attested marriage certificate
Husband	Allowed when the wife is the sponsor	Attested marriage certificate; the same income rule applies
Sons	Under 25 years old	Attested birth certificate
Daughters	Unmarried, any age	Attested birth certificate
Children with special needs	Any age	Documents proving special needs
Parents	Allowed with higher income	GDRFA lists AED 10,000 a month and a home with at least two bedrooms

Brothers and sisters are not part of the standard family visa. GDRFA only considers minor siblings under its humanitarian cases, where dependency on the sponsor must be proven, and they usually come on a visit visa instead. When a mother sponsors her children, GDRFA asks for a no objection letter from the father. Divorced parents may need to show custody or guardianship papers instead.

Family visa salary rules at a glance

What you want	Minimum monthly income	Source
Residence visa for spouse and children	AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 plus employer housing	ICP and GDRFA
Residence visa for parents in Dubai	AED 10,000, plus a two-bedroom home	GDRFA Dubai
Visit visa for a first-degree relative	AED 4,000	ICP
Visit visa for a second or third-degree relative	AED 8,000	ICP

Parent sponsorship is assessed case by case. Older articles quote AED 20,000 or a refundable deposit, and the rules for parents can differ between emirates, so confirm the current figure with GDRFA (800 5111) or ICP (600 522222) before you start. For a short stay, a visit visa for parents is often simpler; our guide to overstay fines explains what happens if a visit runs too long.

Documents needed for a UAE family visa

• Passport copies of the sponsor and each family member, valid for at least six months.
• Recent colour photos with a white background.
• Sponsor’s Emirates ID and residence details.
• Attested marriage certificate for a spouse and attested birth certificates for children, translated into Arabic where required.
• Salary certificate or employment contract showing income and housing. Employees of government, semi-government and free zone entities give a salary certificate; partners give the partnership contract.
• Tenancy contract (Ejari in Dubai, Tawtheeq in Abu Dhabi) and, for ICP, a recent water or electricity bill.
• Valid health insurance for each family member.
• Medical fitness result for every family member aged 18 or over, from an approved UAE health centre.
• National ID card copy for Afghan, Iranian and Iraqi nationals, as ICP requires.

Unattested certificates are the most common reason for delays. Documents issued abroad usually need the home-country foreign ministry stamp, the UAE embassy stamp and then MOFA attestation in the UAE.

How much does a family visa cost?

Fee (per person)	GDRFA Dubai	ICP (other emirates)
Entry permit	AED 200 plus 5% VAT	Included in the application and issuance fees
Residence permit	AED 200, plus AED 100 a year for permits over two years	AED 100 a year
Application or smart service fee	Typing and Amer charges	AED 100 application plus AED 100 smart service
If already inside the UAE	AED 500 plus AED 20 in Knowledge and Innovation Dirhams	AED 500 status adjustment
Delivery	AED 20	Courier delivery of the Emirates ID
Not included	Emirates ID, medical test, health insurance	Emirates ID, medical test, health insurance

For humanitarian cases, ICP’s fee list also includes a refundable financial guarantee of AED 5,000 per person, capped at AED 15,000, and parent files can fall into this group, so ask whether a deposit applies to yours. In practice, once Emirates ID, the medical test and insurance are added, most families spend roughly AED 2,000 to 3,500 per person, depending on validity, insurance and whether the family member is inside the country.

How to apply for a family visa step by step

1. Apply for the entry permit. Log in to GDRFA Dubai or ICP Smart Services with UAE PASS, or visit an Amer centre or typing centre, and submit the family residence application with the documents.
2. Pay the fees. GDRFA’s expected time for the entry permit is 48 hours, and ICP lists 2 days for a residence permit once the file is complete.
3. Enter the UAE. The family member enters on the entry permit and has 60 days from entry to finish the residence steps. After that, overstay fines apply.
4. Change status if already inside. A family member already in the UAE on a visit visa can switch without leaving by paying the in-country fee.
5. Complete the medical test for those aged 18 or over, and get health insurance.
6. Do Emirates ID biometrics where asked, then receive the residence permit electronically and the Emirates ID by courier.

Track progress with GDRFA’s application tools or ICP’s application tracking, then follow each card with our Emirates ID status check and Emirates ID delivery tracking guides. The new residence number appears on the Emirates ID; see what your residence visa number means.

How long is a family visa valid?

A family member’s residence follows the sponsor’s own permit and cannot be longer than it. If the sponsor holds a two-year residence visa, the family’s permits run for up to the same period, and they are renewed together with the sponsor’s. Renewal needs the same income and housing proof, a fresh medical test for adults where required, and valid insurance, so start it a few weeks before expiry. Children of Golden Visa holders get longer permits linked to the Golden Residency.

What happens if the sponsor changes job or leaves the UAE?

• Cancellation order: family permits must be cancelled before the sponsor’s own residence is cancelled, or put on hold for a limited period, according to ICP.
• Grace period: GDRFA gives 60 days after a residence permit expires or is cancelled to regularise status or leave. See our guide to the grace period after visa cancellation.
• New job: when the sponsor moves to a new employer, the family’s files are usually moved to the sponsor’s new residence once it is issued. Read our employment visa cancellation guide before resigning.
• Fines: a sponsor who does not renew or cancel dependants’ visas on time can face fines.

Family visa in Dubai vs Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates

Item	Dubai	Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah
Authority	GDRFA Dubai	ICP
Online channel	GDRFA website and app, DubaiNow	ICP Smart Services, UAEICP app, TAMM in Abu Dhabi
In person	Amer centres	ICP Customer Happiness Centres and typing centres
Tenancy proof	Ejari	Tawtheeq in Abu Dhabi; local registration elsewhere
Call centre	800 5111	600 522222

Common reasons family visa applications are returned

• Marriage or birth certificate not fully attested, or names spelled differently from the passports.
• Salary below the threshold, or housing not shown in the salary certificate.
• Tenancy contract too small for the family or not registered.
• Photo not on a white background, or a passport with less than six months’ validity.
• Missing father’s no objection letter when the mother sponsors the children.

Official sources: ICP’s Issuing Residency Permit service, GDRFA Dubai’s entry visa for family sponsorship and residence permit for family members pages, and the UAE government’s residence visa for families page. Fees and conditions can change, so check the amount shown when you apply.

This guide is part of our UAE Visa and Emirates ID Guide.