UAE scraps ‘profession’ criteria for expats to sponsor family

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has approved a new rule for expats under which foreign workers will now be able to sponsor their family members if they fulfil certain income criteria and has scrapped the previously listed ‘professions’ criterion.

Indians in UAE

According to the data from the Indian Embassy, Indians in the UAE constitute the largest part of population of the country. Approximately 3.3 million non-resident Indians constitute about 30 per cent of the total population of the UAE.

What did the old criteria say?

• Male expats could sponsor their immediate family members such as wife and children if he earned a monthly salary of Dh 4,000 (approximately Rs 75,000) or Dh 3,000 (Rs 56,000) plus accommodation provided by his company and had to be employed in certain categories for him to be eligible to sponsor his family.
• Similarly a female resident could sponsor her family only if she was a teacher, engineer or a health professional and earned Dh 4,000 per month and if she worked in any other sector, she needed to have a minimum monthly salary of Dh 10,000 (Rs 1.88 lakhs) and a special approval from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.

The new rules have done away with the profession criterion. The UAE has taken the decision aimed at enhancing family stability of foreign workers and social cohesion, as well as attracting highly skilled workers while maintaining a healthy balance between professional and personal lives.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2019