How to Sponsor Children in UAE: Documents & Fees
Sponsoring your children follows the same framework as sponsoring a wife — same salary threshold, same Ejari requirement, similar fees — but with its own documents and, crucially, its own age rules. A son’s sponsorship ends at 18 unless he is studying; a daughter’s continues until marriage. This guide covers the documents per child, the fees, and the rules that catch parents out.
The short answer
Each child needs an attested birth certificate, passport and photos, plus your salary proof (AED 4,000/month basic, or AED 3,000 + accommodation) and Ejari tenancy contract. Fees run roughly AED 3,000–5,500 per child (entry permit, medical for 18+, Emirates ID, visa). Sons can be sponsored until 18, or 21–25 with proof of university enrolment; daughters until marriage. Newborns must be registered within 120 days to avoid fines.
Documents required per child
Unlike a spouse application, the key document here is the birth certificate — and it needs the same full attestation chain:
- Birth certificate (attested) — home-country authentication, UAE embassy stamp in the home country, and UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation in Dubai, plus legal translation if not in English or Arabic. Start this early; it is the longest step.
- Child’s passport — valid 6+ months, plus passport-size photos to UAE spec.
- Sponsor’s salary proof — labour contract, employer salary certificate and 3 months of bank statements showing AED 4,000+ basic monthly (or AED 3,000 + accommodation).
- Ejari tenancy contract — in your name, registered, and sensibly sized for the family.
- Sponsor’s documents — your passport, residence visa and Emirates ID.
- Previous visa/Emirates ID copies — if the child was previously sponsored (for renewals or transfers).
- School enrolment proof — required when extending a son’s sponsorship beyond 18 for higher studies.
One attestation tip: if you have several children, get all birth certificates attested in one batch in your home country — it is far cheaper and faster than doing them one by one later.
The age rules: sons vs daughters
This is the part most parents do not discover until renewal time:
| Child | Sponsorship valid until |
|---|---|
| Sons | 18 years old — extendable to 21–25 with proof of full-time university/college enrolment |
| Daughters | Until marriage, with no age cap |
For sons in higher education, you must provide an enrolment letter or student certificate each renewal. Once a son finishes studying (or turns 25, depending on the emirate’s practice), he needs his own visa — typically through employment, a freelance permit or a student visa. Daughters remain sponsorable regardless of age until they marry, though many working daughters eventually move to employer sponsorship.
Fees per child: the full breakdown
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Entry permit | AED 500–1,000 |
| Status change (if already in the UAE) | AED 500–800 |
| Medical fitness test (18+ only) | AED 300–700 |
| Emirates ID | ~AED 100/year + typing fees |
| Residence visa issuance | AED 500–1,200 |
| Typing centre / AMER service fees | AED 100–300 |
| Health insurance (mandatory) | AED 650–2,500+/year basic |
Realistic total: AED 3,000–5,500 per child, before attestation costs and insurance. Children under 18 skip the medical test, which trims a few hundred dirhams. Multiply carefully for larger families — three children can mean AED 9,000–16,500 in visa costs alone, before you have paid a single school fee. Our UAE family visa cost guide lays out the complete picture across the whole family.
Newborns: the 120-day rule
Babies born in the UAE do not automatically get residency — you must apply for it. The rule: register the newborn and apply for their residence visa within 120 days of birth, or daily fines start accruing (around AED 100 per day in practice, plus the standard process). The sequence is: hospital birth certificate → attested/translated as needed → passport from your embassy/consulate → entry-style residence application → Emirates ID. Because embassy passport issuance can take weeks, start the passport application as soon as you have the birth certificate. Do not wait until day 100.
The process, step by step
- Entry permit per child — filed via GDRFA, an AMER centre or typing centre; a few working days.
- Arrival or status change — children entering from abroad arrive on the entry permit; children already in Dubai on visit visas get a status change.
- Medical fitness test — only for children aged 18+ (AED 300–700).
- Emirates ID — biometrics at an ICP centre; for young children this is a simplified process without fingerprinting.
- Residence visa issuance — electronic, linked to the Emirates ID.
Allow 1–3 weeks per child with complete documents. Families applying for several children at once should file together — typing centres handle batch applications routinely and it keeps everyone’s renewal dates aligned.
Schooling and visas: plan them together
A residence visa is usually required before a school will finalise enrolment, and schools ask for the child’s Emirates ID during registration. If you are arriving mid-year, sequence it as: visas first, school applications in parallel — most schools will hold a place with a passport copy while the visa processes. For budgeting the other half of the equation, our guide to childcare costs in Dubai covers nurseries and early-years expenses, and the school-fee guides cover what comes after.
Get Your Exact Number
Run the free MoveWise UAE calculator and get your personalised Dubai budget in about two minutes — it includes per-child visa costs and school fees mapped to your children’s ages.
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FAQs
What if my child’s birth certificate is not in English?
You will need a legal Arabic translation in addition to the attestation chain. Get the translation done by a UAE Ministry of Justice-approved legal translator — schools and immigration both accept these, and the same translation can be reused for school admissions.
Can I sponsor my son if he is over 18 but not studying?
Generally no. Sons’ sponsorship ends at 18 unless they are in full-time higher education (extendable to 21–25 with enrolment proof). A non-studying adult son needs his own visa route — employment, freelance permit or another residence category.
What is the 120-day rule for newborns?
A baby born in the UAE must have a residence visa applied for within 120 days of birth. Miss the deadline and fines accrue daily. The practical bottleneck is getting the baby’s passport from your embassy, so apply for it immediately after receiving the birth certificate.
Do children need a medical fitness test?
Only those aged 18 and above. Younger children skip the medical entirely, which saves AED 300–700 per child and a trip to the medical fitness centre.
Can a mother sponsor her children?
Yes. Mothers can sponsor children under similar salary conditions (typically the same AED 4,000 / AED 3,000 + accommodation threshold, though exact practice can vary by emirate). The documents are the same, with the mother’s residence visa and salary proof as the basis.