Nina2008

Hi everyone; hope you're all doing well!

I am a working mum who'll be posted by my agency to AD soon (by 1 Oct) and am getting a trite concerned about the whole process of visa applications for the family - hubby and 2 kids (don't want to be separated from them for too long!!). I have a few questions i hope some kind souls will help me answer:

(a) Can I only apply for the family visa AFTER i get my residence visa? Problem is that the residence visa can take anything from 2 weeks to 2 mths to be processed, or so I'm told. If it is the latter, my family would not be able to come with me to AD and risk having their tourist visa expire while waiting for their family visas.

(b) How long typically would it take to process the family visa?

(c) Does anyone know if there is an issue with females sponsoring their husbands/kids for a family visa? I thought i read somewhere that only females in certain professions (ie teachers. nurses) were allowed to sponsor their families for residence visas. My field of work is adult training.

(d) Finally, how do people get ard the problem of waiting out the indefinite wait for the residence visa before securing a home (i understd the visa is a necessity for leasing)? If the visa takes 2 mths for processing, does that mean i'm stuck in a service apartmt for that long?!! ahhhh! kids are 5 and 10!

thanks in advance to anyone who can help me with any of my questions...

my hiring company's PRO will only be able to advise on the same after the contract is signed in mid-august, but the sooner i figure out the best plan of action, the better for the family!

thanks all!

Sam FTQ

Hi Nina,

No time for a substantive answer as I am just about to go out, but I was in the same position as you, and I am sure everything will be fine. Briefly:

a) Yes, but if their Tourist visas expire, they can just get new ones, or an extension until Res Visas sorted out.

b) It differs, depending on who you work for, but maximum a couple of months.

c) Depends on your salary. The worst that could happen is that you would be required to pay a 'deposit' in order to sponsor them, although I am not sure how much it is.

d) You just have to keep on at your PRO to get it sorted out. I lived in a hotel on my own, then with my family when they arrived, and it is amazing how quickly you can get sick of living in a 5* hotel. Serviced apartment is much better.

Good luck!

Sam x

busybee2

double check that you can sponsor your family because the rules were that only teachers/doctors etc were allowed, but i do know people in the financial sector who are women and sponsor so there has always been ways around this if the company is able to 'sort' it for you. now the rules may have changed, as they do frequently here.

Nina2008

Sam/BB - thanks very much for yr prompt responses!

Sam - so seems like it shouldn't be an issue for my family to come with me and keep getting their tourist visas renewed till the family visa is sorted, eh? might this be expensive if they need renewals every month... i thought i read somewhere that it is AED500 per renewal per person? btw, what are the 'visa runs' i keep reading abt meant for?

Salary-wise, I'm quite sure i meet the criteria for sponsorship, and i hope the company will be able to 'sort' it out for me coz it's a govt agency...crossing my fingers anyway!

Sam- how long after did yr family join u? how old are the children (or child), and was it tough? u can PM me the response if u prefer...i dont want to delay the family getting in only because the school term (al yasmina) starts on 7 Sept, and the kids desperately want to start school as soon as possible with the other kids....the older one (10, F) is esp anxious abt making friends and doesnt want to join school late...

thanks again for all yr advise!

busybee2

dont worry about the visa, if the company have it sorted, but i would double check it though, with regard to schools, you can give the school a letter to say 'visa being processed' and to a point they will accept that, but you only have a couple of months or so grace, so the company would need to 'organise it' but remember everyone else is usually in the same boat if they are a newbie, it just depends on how on the ball the company is. in the past you can do visa runs, ie leave the country and then return on a new visit visa, the prob with this come 1st august new rules coming in that you can only do that and return 1 month later, so that would not be the case, but as with anything new here we dont know exactly how it will work, so just have to go with the flow.