cabbery

Hi All,

I'll be moving over to Dubai in August. I have a job and my residence visa will be sorted.
I'm looking for a concrete answer on a few things, as google searches seem to give differing information and advice. I've seen this guide which seems logical..however there appears to be differing opinions..
How to sponsor your spouse in Dubai - The Knowledge Features - TimeOutDubai.com


To those of you who have sponsored your wifes residence visa:

Hopefully people here have actually sponsored their wife and can help me out!!


Thanks!
Cabot

Mogs

If she has a UK Passport then she just comes in on a visitor visa (passport stamped on arrival at the airport - no need to obtain any paperwork prior).

If she is working then her employer will sponsor her at their cost.

If she is not working, then you as her husband will sponsor her. Normally your employer's PRO (Public Relations Officer) would sort all the formalities for you. Double check with your employer's HR dept.

If you need to do it yourself, then your residence visa, plus salary certificate (provided by your employer) plus a notorised copy of your marriage certificate are required. There is a medical fee of around 750 Dhs (blood test and chest x-ray to make sure there are no signs of TB or HIV, etc). Actual cost of the visa is probably another 700-1,000 Dhs but I don't personally know as my employer sorts this out (and pays for it) for my wife.

i'd recommend getting The Dubai Explorer red tape book to provide accurate detailed information on all the formalities required when you move here.

Irishbeekeeper

^^ what he said basically but ill add a few points
1. just got my wife and kids' visas renewed and its 3000 aed per family member now. Im a partner so they get a 3 years visa btw. For a salaried person I guess it will be for 2 years.
2. she can come in on a visit visa and then apply for your sponsor visa while being here. It shouldnt take more than 10-15 days so it will be well within her visit visa allowed days.
3. no she cannot work if she is on your visa
4. once she does find a job then its just a documentary procedure to get the visas changed, a good employer should sort that out for you although I do think she will have to 'exit' the country once. A quick oman run will do that.
5. get all her degrees and your marriage certificate notarized mate. we just loooooooove our bureaucracy here

norsk

Adding a few bits...

6. If you have kids get their birth certificates attested as well

Irishbeekeeper

oh didnt know about the FZE bit and the NOC bit. You know the NOC bit is quite handy actually.
and Yes, just get EVERYTHING attested man

scrubbedexpat141

Don't you also get text messages when she leaves the country etc? #control #wearthetrousers #ownyourwife

cabbery

She has a Russian passport, so obtaining a 'tourist' visa just to then do a border run, or pay to convert it to a residence visa will probably be more costly and difficult then just getting her in on a residence visa.

Which brings me to the 'Entry Permit' specifically.
I've seen a lot of information about what you need to sponsor the spouse for the actual residence visa when it's time - but what do I need to bring when I fill out the form to get my wife her entry permit so that she can enter the country to start processing the residence visa (And how long does this entry permit last, 30 or 60 days?)

Irishbeekeeper: Is there a breakdown on those costs to reach 3000 aed? I can't see anywhere those kind of numbers, seems a little high?
Also, have read a lot of conflicting reports on whether if she can work - most saying she can if I provide a NOC (No Objection Certificate) - others saying she can't work, but it will be much cheaper to employ her as she already has a residence visa, and others like you saying she can't work at all?

Norsk: I am actually going to be employed in a freezone - could you please elaborate on how this works?
As the person employing me is going to be applying for my visa, does he need to do anything special for my wife or is that something I can do, and if so is there a seperate form/process for this 'freezone' type of visa?

Regarding attestation - yes it's a huge pain. I've only got our marriage certificate, but we were married in Aus. Luckily i'm returning there in July before heading over, so will have to get it certified by the Aus gov, then sent to UAE embassy in Aus.
Then in Dubai I have to get it certified for the 3rd time by Aus embassy there, and 4th time at the ministry of foreign affairs?
Do I need to get my birth certificate attested for any paperwork in Dubai? If so does that need to be done in country of birth, embassy of uae in country of birth, then Aus embassy in UAE? Or is there a quicker process for getting this attested in Dubai..

Thanks for all of the information guys, sorry if this is a bit rambling!

norsk

no need for text messages. she can only leave the country if you give her an exit visa...qatar style

norsk

Freezone is automatically 3 years. Possibly only for managers, but I believe for all. You will have to sort your wife out, but some companies will help or even pay for you.

I sorted my family visas out myself, but my employer reimbursed me.
I paid as follows (just a couple months ago).

Entry Permit (with person in the country) AED 1070
Change Status to Entered AED 550 (this is so they don't have to exit the country and come back in)
Immigration File AED 220
Medical VIP AED 750
Emirates ID AED 370
Urgent Visa stamping AED 560

scrubbedexpat141

Your company should definitely be helping you with all of this.

cabbery

Would anyone know about the 'Entry Permit' doc requirements? As that's what my wife will be entering the country on as the first part of the residence visa.

Attestation looks to be a mess but I can investigate that further.

norsk

You cannot apply for an entry permit for your wife until your visa is in your passport by the way. She can however enter on a tourist or visit visa and then have it converted to residence later. This is what the costs I mentioned are based on. No idea if Russians get a visa on arrival or not, but based on the number of tourists over the last few years I would have thought so.

1. Wife passport copy
2. Sponsor passport and residence visa copy
3. Wife passport photo
4. Sponsor salary certificate
5. Attested marriage certificate
6. Ejari certificate

cabbery

Thanks Norsk. I understand that I need my residence visa before applying for the entry permit for my wife.

Russians definitely don't get tourist/visit visa on arrival, it would probably be simpler if I could just do the entry permit from the get go but will cross that bridge when it comes to it.

Thankyou though, I was worried there may be some minimum time-frame from me getting my residency visa to then being able to sponsor my wife and getting her in on the entry permit.

archie159

I'm astonished how many people say "your PRO will do this" or "your company will sort it"... I know lots of people, even quite senior ones in big-name local companies, who have to sort these sort of things themselves. I think many western companies will help, but lots of local ones will only sort the paperwork out for the employee, but leave the employee to do their family's paperwork. Some companies certainly still provide the old-style "full-PRO service", even arranging car licensing and flat-hunting, but many don't.

My company does do my family's visa paperwork (I have to pay), but all the western expats in more junior grades have to do it themselves.

Having said all this, I would still expect the company to be able to explain the process to the employee, even if they won't sort it out...

scrubbedexpat141

Oh absolutely, they should at least make some effort to assist.

We provide attestation, visas and medical and it will all be arranged and ready to be processed PDQ. We provide minimal short term accommodation though.