Sponsoring your family
A UAE resident employee can sponsor a spouse and children with a monthly salary of at least AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 plus accommodation, according to the federal portal u.ae, which cites ICP. Children qualify until 25 and daughters while unmarried. Rules for an ordinary employee sponsoring parents are not yet verified.
Verified against Residence visa for families of employees, section 'Sponsorship requirements', UAE Government portal (u.ae), citing ICP ; Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2022, Executive Regulation of Decree-Law 29/2021 on Entry and Residence of Foreigners, Art. 54(1)-(3); Art. 55, UAE Cabinet (uaelegislation.gov.ae) , on .
General information, not legal advice. ICP (or GDRFA in Dubai) decides your case.
Salary threshold
u.ae, citing ICP: "The sponsor must have a minimum salary of AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus accommodation."[source] We read this on 2026-10-06 and have not found the ICP decision behind the figures.
Who you can sponsor
| Your residence | Family you can bring | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Any residence permit (male or female) | Spouse; children under 25; unmarried daughters; children with special needs regardless of age | Cabinet Resolution 65/2022, Art. 54[source] |
| Green Residence | Also first-degree relatives | Cabinet Resolution 65/2022, Art. 54[source] |
| Golden Residence | Spouse, children regardless of age, and parents, for a renewable 10 years | Cabinet Resolution 65/2022, Annex Art. 1 and 3(1)[source] |
Parents: not yet verified
For Golden and Green Residence holders the regulation is clear (table above). For an employee on a standard residence permit, we have not found an official page that says whether parents can be sponsored, or on what income. Conditions you may see elsewhere, such as income figures or a requirement that both parents come together, are not confirmed by any official source we read. We do not guess: ask ICP or GDRFA before you apply or pay.
Health insurance: Dubai and Abu Dhabi differ
Who must insure a sponsored family member differs between the two emirates.
- Dubai: a sponsor must "enrol the persons he sponsors where such persons are not provided with Health Insurance by an Employer" and "bear the cost".[source]
- Abu Dhabi: the employer must enrol the employee's "wife and three children under the age of 18". The sponsor covers anyone else he sponsors.[source]
If the sponsor's visa is cancelled
ICP: family members' permits under a worker's sponsorship "must be cancelled before his residence is cancelled, or placed on hold for a limited period with applicable fees".[source] Cancelling the sponsor's permit without cancelling the family's requires a guarantee of AED 5,000.[source]
u.ae says dependants get a 6-month grace period after their visas expire or are cancelled.[source] ICP's own tiers give 180 days only to families of Golden, Green and Blue Residence holders, so the two texts do not fully agree. See grace period after visa cancellation.
What changed on this page
-
Published: AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus accommodation (u.ae), who can be sponsored (Art. 54). Parents for ordinary employees marked not yet verified.