How to Sponsor Parents in Dubai (Residence Visa for Mother/Father) in UAE

Expats who are thinking of bringing their mother or father in Dubai, here’s a guide to getting a UAE residence visa for your parents. We’ve written this step by step process so you can get an idea how to sponsor your parents in the UAE. One of the updates of applying for a visa whether for your child, spouse, or parents is that it is now done via Typing Centers. You have to visit a Typing Center, submit your documents, and wait for the approval via text message. Please see the details below for more information.

Disclaimer: Be advised that if you have submitted the documents listed on this page, this does not guarantee that you will be granted a visa for your parents. Information posted here only acts as a guide based on a first-hand experience by one of our readers who wanted to share their story. It might be different in your situation. Dubai Immigration rules may change. It is best to contact proper authorities such as DNRD for their updates and for more information. Call DNRD at 800 5111 or visit their website www.dnrd.ae. You can also inquire from different typing centers in the city.

Contents

Guide to Getting a UAE Residence Visa for Mother or Father in Dubai, UAE

Guide to Getting a UAE Residence Visa for Mother or Father in Dubai, UAE

Please note that in this set-up the sponsor is still in the home country (Philippines). I applied for a residence visa for my mother which required her to enter the UAE. If the parent is already in the UAE, then the process is much faster.

Qualifications:

In order for you to sponsor your parent, you need to have:

Minimum Salary of 20,000 AED
Minimum 2 Bedroom Apartment (Tenancy Contract under sponsor’s name)

These qualifications help determine that you are financially capable of supporting the parent in the UAE.

Requirements/Documents for Parents Visa Sponsorship

If you meet the above-mentioned qualifications, you need to secure the following documents to present to the typing center.

Application Form (Done at Typing Center)
Tenancy Contract of Sponsor (Attested by Ejari)
Emirates ID of Sponsor
Salary Certificate of Sponsor
Letter from Your Consulate (Affidavit mentioning that the sponsor will support and is financially capable of sponsoring the parent in UAE – your country Consulate/Embassy will have this.
Bank Statement (3 months) with stamp
IBAN number
DEWA Bill
Passport Copy & Visa Page of Sponsor
Passport Copy of Parent
Passport Photo of Parent

Step by Step Procedure in Applying for Parent Visa in Dubai

1. Go to a Typing Center and submit all the necessary documents. If there are requirements lacking, the staff will inform you what type of documents you may need to secure. We went to Green Bell Typing center which is beside the GDRFA office in Al Jafiliyah.

2. Pay the processing fee for the residence visa. As this was all done in the Typing Center, we simply paid the fee for the application. We paid 440 AED.

3. Wait for a text message from DNRD. This text message will tell you the status of the application and if there’s any other requirements you need to comply such as depositing a warranty amount. The Typing Center staff also advised us after a week to follow up the status with them. It was Ramadan time when we applied and it took about 8 days to receive the text. The text message mentioned that the visa is under ‘pending approval’ and the required warranty was 5000 AED.

Note: Some cases it may be earlier, some cases it may take 2 weeks. It really depends and all we could do was wait and follow up. Also, the deposit amount may differ per situation.

4. Pay the Deposit (5000 AED). We went back to the typing center and paid the deposit amount required which was 5000 AED. This deposit is refundable. It didn’t take long as on the same day, we received a text saying that the parent visa application was approved. The eVisa (entry permit) was sent to my email.

5. Bring Parent to Dubai. I sent the eVisa Entry Permit to my mother back in the Philippines which serves as her Entry Permit so she could come to the UAE. The next step was to have her enter the UAE. I had my mother fly via Singapore to Dubai.

6. Undergo Medical Exam. Once my mother was in Dubai, we accompanied her to the Dubai Health Authority clinic in Karama (beside Karama Post Office) so that she could undergo a medical exam. She had her blood test and chest x-ray test done. After about 2 business days, the medical results were sent via email. Results were “clear from infectious diseases” which means she passed the medical exam.We paid 530 AED for the medical exam + typing center service charge with result delivered in 48 hours.

7. Apply for Visa Sticker Stamping. We went back to the same Typing Center (Green Bell), as the next step was to apply for the visa stamping. Since we already had the results, the next step was to apply for the residence visa to be stamped into the passport.

Requirements for Visa Stamping Application:
Please be advised of the requirements we brought to the typing center

Original entry visa of Parent
Passport of Parent
Emirates ID Application Document
Medical Test Result (sent via email)
390 AED – fee for urgent processing of stamp (3-5 hours), for regular processing, the cost is 310 AED.

We submitted all these documents and we chose the Urgent processing as we could get the approval result in the same day. True enough, it took only an hour after we left the Typing Center when we received the text message/email from DNRD that the visa was approved and ready for stamping.

8. Bring Parent’s Passport to DNRD Office for Visa Stamping. The visa was approved and we went to one of the DNRD offices (in Al Twar) to have the sticker stamped to the passport of my mother. This is the final step to get the UAE residence visa which is valid for one year. Be advised that you can also bring the passport to the DNRD branch in Jebel Ali (or other branches).

Additional Steps:

Apply for Emirates ID: Once the parent is in Dubai, you can also apply for an Emirates ID (cost was 140 AED for one year) for them as this is one of the requirements of being a residence in the UAE. You can process the Emirates ID application in the same building as the DHA in Karama. After application, you will be asked to go to the Emirates Identity Authority office to have the photograph and fingerprinting processed.

Apply for Health Insurance: Don’t forget to apply for health insurance for your parent. Since you are sponsoring them, you are required to have them apply for a health insurance. Dubai mandates that all residents should be covered by health insurance. The cheapest health insurance we found was at Takaful Emarat (at 2500 AED/year for parents). If you’re looking for more coverage, you might find it from other insurance companies, but this was the cheapest we could find just to comply with the law. If you don’t apply for a health insurance, you will be Fined.

Parent Residence Visa Fees:

How much does a residence visa for a parent cost? Below is a breakdown of expenses we’ve incurred for the processing of a UAE residence visa in Dubai for my mother. Overall we spent 6500 AED for a one-year visa (with the 5000 AED being a refundable deposit)

440 AED – Application Fee at Typing Center
5000 AED – Deposit Fee (refundable once visa is cancelled)
530 AED – Medical Exam (48 Hours Processing) + Typing Center Service Charge
390 AED – Passport Stamping (Urgent Processing)
140 AED – Emirates ID Application (Emirates ID validity will depend on visa validity, in our case it’s 1 years)
—————-
6500 AED – Total Fees with the 5000 AED being refundable

(Please be advised that this fee is not a fix price, there may be a change in fees without prior notice)

After going through all the process, we were able to secure a stamp for my mother.

Other Tips and Things to Know

The visa is not labelled as a “Parent Visa”, it’s basically just termed as “Residence Visa” on the sticker.
Make sure you have completed requirements so that you can present everything to the government staff. It’s much easier for them to approve the visa if you have all requirements.
Based on our research, we found out that the process is similar as that of a resident sponsoring a family member (child, parent) in the UAE although the qualifications may be different.
The visa for sponsoring your mother or father is valid for one year only. This is the duration for sponsoring parents.

FAQs
Below are some common questions you may ask regarding the application:

1. Can I sponsor both mother and father?
Yes, you can but you need to show that you’re capable of supporting both. Also the minimum number of rooms in your apartment should now be 3.

2. What if my salary is below 20,000 AED?
As per advise from our Typing Center, the minimum salary is 20,000 AED. It’s best that you ask them if they can still process the application for you beforehand. The staff will advise you what’s the best option or if there’s still a chance.

3. What if the tenancy contract is not under my name and it’s under my husband’s or wife’s?
Again, it would be best to contact the Typing Center so they can advise you what’s the best process. Since you are married, it’s possible that you will need to add an extra document such as an attested marriage contract.

Note: The situation will be different for every application. Getting approved may depend on the salary of the sponsor, job of the sponsor, etc. that’s why it’s best to comply with all the requirements. Still, each case may be handled differently.

We hope you find the information here useful and again, please use this only as a guide.

Location Map of General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) Jafiliya – Dubai

This is where we went to go to the GDRFA office. Beside this office is a Typing Center (Green Bell) where we applied for the visa. Below is a location map for your reference. Nearest metro station is Al Jafiliyah Metro Station (Red Line). It’s actually right outside the station exit.

Location Map of the DNRD Office in Al Twar Center – Al Qusais Dubai

This is where we went for the visa stamping on my mother’s passport. The nearest metro station is Al Qusais metro station (Green Line).