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A family visa in Dubai lets a resident earning at least AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 plus accommodation, sponsor a spouse and children. Sons qualify until they turn 25, unmarried daughters at any age and children with special needs at any age. Each child usually costs about AED 3,000 to 5,000 in the first year all-in, and a spouse about AED 4,000 to 6,500.
This page covers children and planning the whole family. Each other family member has a page of its own:
| Who you are sponsoring | Where the details are |
|---|---|
| Your wife | Spouse visa in Dubai: marriage certificate attestation, fees, inside or outside route |
| Your husband, as the wife | Husband visa in Dubai: what changes when a woman sponsors |
| A baby born in the UAE | Newborn visa in Dubai: the 4-month deadline |
| Your parents | Parents visa in Dubai: AED 10,000 salary and a committee review |
| Children, or everyone at once | This page |
Which children you can sponsor
| Child | Rule |
|---|---|
| Sons | Until they turn 25 |
| Daughters | Unmarried, no age limit |
| Children with special needs | Any age |
| Children of golden visa holders | Wider rules on the golden visa permit |
Source: GDRFA family residence service page, checked .
If the mother is the sponsor, GDRFA asks for a no objection letter from the children's father. A son who will turn 25 soon is the case to plan early: once he is over the limit he needs his own route, such as a job or a study visa, and leaving it late can push him into a grace period.
Salary and housing
GDRFA and the UAE government portal both give AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 plus accommodation, regardless of your job title. If your package has a lower basic and a housing allowance, make sure the salary certificate shows the full monthly figure.
The family also needs a home. A Dubai family residence needs a certified lease or proof of ownership, which in Dubai means a tenancy contract registered on Ejari. The Ejari guide covers how to register one, and it should be done before the first entry permit.
Documents for each child
- Colour photo and passport, valid for at least 6 months.
- Birth certificate, attested if it was issued outside the UAE.
- The father's no objection letter, if the mother sponsors.
- Your own passport, residence, employment contract, salary certificate and Ejari, once for the whole family.
A foreign birth certificate goes through the same chain as other personal documents: stamps in the issuing country, the UAE embassy there, then MOFA in the UAE. The certificate attestation page explains the order. Start this first, because it is the slowest step for most families.
Official GDRFA fees per person
| Fee | Family abroad | Family already in the UAE |
|---|---|---|
| Entry permit | AED 200 + 5% VAT | AED 200 + 5% VAT, plus AED 10, AED 10 and AED 500 |
| Residence issue | AED 200 + AED 10 + AED 10 + AED 20 delivery | Same, plus the AED 500 inside-the-country fee |
| Each year over two years | + AED 100 | + AED 100 |
| Medical test, 18 and over only | AED 270 normal service | AED 270 normal service |
Source: GDRFA family entry permit and family residence service pages, checked . Medical fee from Dubai's medical fitness fee resolution. The AED 10 items are the Knowledge Dirham and Innovation Dirham.
These are government fees only. Each person also needs an Emirates ID, which ICP charges at AED 100 per year of residence plus a AED 100 smart application fee, and health insurance.
Family visa cost in Dubai: a family of four, worked out
Take a sponsor bringing a wife and two children under 18 from abroad. Using the published first-year ranges, checked :
| Person | Usual first-year range |
|---|---|
| Wife | AED 4,000 to 6,500 |
| Child 1 | AED 3,000 to 5,000 |
| Child 2 | AED 3,000 to 5,000 |
| Family total | AED 10,000 to 16,500 |
Those ranges include the GDRFA fees, medical for the wife, Emirates ID, insurance and typing. Add the attestation of the marriage and birth certificates if they were issued abroad. If the family is already in Dubai on visit visas, each status change adds about AED 530 to 750; the visa change page compares the two routes. Insurance is where quotes differ most, so ask what cover each quote includes.
Where to apply
You can file the entry permits and residences on the GDRFA website or app with UAE Pass, at any of the 85 Amer centers GDRFA lists in Dubai, or at one of its 9 customer happiness centers. Find one on Amer centers near you. The medical is done at a Dubai Health medical fitness center and the Emirates ID biometrics at an ICP center. Family members can be filed in the same visit, but each is a separate GDRFA application.
What holds up a family file
- Birth certificates not attested. GDRFA rejects a foreign certificate without the right stamps.
- Salary certificate below the line. A basic of AED 3,000 without accommodation on paper fails.
- Lease not on Ejari. Register it before you apply, not after a rejection.
- A son about to turn 25. Plan his own visa before the birthday.
- The sponsor's own visa. If your residence is cancelled, your family's visas must be cancelled too. If they end, a grace period applies before fines start; its length differs between sources, and overstay fines in Dubai sets them side by side.
Doing it yourself
Plenty of families do this alone on the GDRFA app. It goes smoothly when the certificates are already attested and the Ejari is registered. Renewing the family later follows the same pattern, one file per person, covered on visa renewal in Dubai.
Bringing the whole family: the partner team's part
Send your passport, visa, salary certificate and Ejari, and each family member's passport with the marriage and birth certificates. The partner team first tells you which certificates still need attestation and whether a son is close to the age limit, because those two points hold up most family files. It then types and files each entry permit, or the status changes if your family is already here, books the medical for anyone over 18, arranges Emirates ID biometrics and follows each residence until it is issued. You get one total for the family before anything is filed, with the government fees per person and the service charge shown separately.
