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I have gotten a job and Dubai and will be moving there by mid-Jan. I was planning on coming with my wife. However, while processing the visa the company has said that I will have to bring my wife with me on a visit visa and then transfer to a residence visa. The additional transfer fees will have to be borne by me.

Could some one advise me if this is a normal term and how much are the transfer fees.

vizkids wrote:I have gotten a job and Dubai and will be moving there by mid-Jan. I was planning on coming with my wife. However, while processing the visa the company has said that I will have to bring my wife with me on a visit visa and then transfer to a residence visa. The additional transfer fees will have to be borne by me.

Could some one advise me if this is a normal term and how much are the transfer fees.

It is "normal" in the sense that before you can bring your wife into the country as a resident you need to have a resident visa yourself. And that means processing time once you are here. As such, there is no way she can arrive with a resident's visa. The cost of transfering her visa form visit to resident is a matter of your arrangment with your employer. In some cases the employer pays in others not. How much it is for the 'transfer" fee I do not know.

Another choice will be for her to remain behind and then join you once you sponsor her in which case there would be no transfer fee as the only visa she would apply for would be the residency visa (for which your employer might be paying). If all goes well she could join you with a resident visa in as soon as a month!


Good luck.

DP

A spouse residency fee is always payable. There is no exception to this rule and the cost is 10k Dhs. Whether or not your employer will pay this is dependant on the terms and conditions of your contract with your employer.

The employer/employee visa is in no way connected with a "spouse" or "dependants" visa. The 2 visa's are unrelated and the spouse/dependant visa does not allow them to work only "reside".

10K seems like a lot of money. Is there any website from where I can confirm this?

Or is it possible that she comes over on a visit visa and then go back. After that I process her application for residence visa.

vizkids wrote:10K seems like a lot of money. Is there any website from where I can confirm this?

Or is it possible that she comes over on a visit visa and then go back. After that I process her application for residence visa.

I supposed you read my post and Arnie's post. The Employer may pay for your wife's residents visa (this is a matter between you an your employer check and make sure). Othewise you will have to pay it (in which case just negotiate a salary 10K higher).

My company pays for its employee's spouses visas - it makes good business sense. Happy employees (family reunion) helps to have happy employees (but not always).

Good luck.

she can come on a visit visa yes, but depending on her passport/country she will have to renew the visa. Whatever the situation the residency visa will cost the same whenever it is applied for.

vizkids wrote:10K seems like a lot of money. Is there any website from where I can confirm this?

Or is it possible that she comes over on a visit visa and then go back. After that I process her application for residence visa.

If your money is a concern then in most cases the Employer will only pay for your spouses residency visa and not for a visit visa and not for a transfer which was the point in my first response.

Thanks for the response.

Money is not the concern, I just want to know what those additional transfer fees are. The employer is willing to pay for the residency if she comes later on. I will only have to pay the incremental transfer fees if I decide to bring her with me.

So in light of the above, what are the additional cost of getting her visa transferred as compared to her coming later on on residency visa?

Viz

dont confuse a visit visa with a residency visa, they are unrelated, and as such a "transfer" is not applicable.

Concord has explained the employer situation well, it should be quite clear.

I've been reading this with interest as I will have to go through the same procedure with my (Russian) wife.

What about kids? I have 2 spogs, will I need to pay 10k each for them as well?

hi there andy,

no, don't confuse the two issues, one relates to having your wife on your residency sponsorship, but being employed by another company.

what you are refering to is simply sponsoring your wife and children, this is a simple process that all married expats go through - and much cheaper as well. their residency would then be for an initial period of 3 years, and is renewable as long as you still hold residency.

Phew! Thanks for the clarification.

This posting is mostly relevant to couples where the husband is working and wants to sponsor his (non-working) wife for a residence permit, as is our case, but it may also be helpful to applicants in other cases.

1. In all cases, BEFORE YOU COME TO DUBAI, make sure that you have all the vital (birth, marriage) certificates and academic certificates that you will need to support your application. VERY IMPORTANTLY, these must be authenticated or attested (ie, certified as genuine) by the relevant authority of the country where they were issued, as required by United Arab Emirates (UAE) law. Authentication / attestation processes vary from country to country; to get more information, try checking with your country's consulate in Dubai. For example, the US Consulate in Dubai has a webpage on this subject: http://dubai.usconsulate.gov/dubai/Docu ... vices.html In our case, the only certificate we have had to provide so far is our marriage certificate.

If you are already in Dubai and have not had your certificates authenticated, there are some companies which undertake to do this for you. Unfortunately I do not know of any but your consulate in Dubai may be able to give you some details.

The next step in the authentication process is to have your certificates authenticated by your country's consulate in Dubai (ours cost AED 111 for 1 certificate). Final step is to have them authenticated at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dubai office, in Deira. Cost is AED 150 for 1 certificate. Details in a separate post.

The rest of this post is an account of what we have been able to do so far!

2. Assuming that the husband's employer has now obtained labour and residence permits for him, he is now eligible to sponsor dependants (wife, children) for residence in Dubai. In our case, the next step was for me (wife) to enter Dubai on a visit visa.

3. Shortly after my arrival, my husband's employer collected the necessary documents and obtained the application form (fee payable) for the next stage in the process: obtaining an entry permit. Why an entry permit? If you enter Dubai on a visit visa, as I did, you have to "convert" the visit visa to an entry permit, as a visit visa cannot be used as the basis fora residence visa. The other way is for your husband to obtain the entry permit before you come to Dubai but I am not familiar with this option. The necessary documents for an entry permit are: application form; 2 passport-size photographs; photocopy of own passport (photo page); photocopy of husband's passport (photo page and residence permit page); photocopy of authenticated marriage certificate; photocopy of husband's salary certificate issued by his employer (check how long this is valid for as they are often of limited duration); photocopy of husband's E-Gate card; receipt for application form fee. (The E-Gate card can be obtained at the same office where you file your application.) Don't forget both passports and any original documents as you may be asked to show them!

4. Next stop: the Department of Naturalization and Residency, Dubai (DNRD). I believe there are several locations; we went to the one in the basement of the Bin Souqat Centre on Airport Road. It opens at 7.30 am and conveniently there is a "House of Translations" office opposite the DNRD which can help with the application form if the husband's employer does not, it varies! Take a ticket from the machine at the entrance (choose the "Visa") option and wait to be called to the Entry Permit section. Providing that all your documents are in order, the official will process the application (fee is AED 520) and give you the entry permit.

5. Well, that's as far as we've got. Our next step is to apply for the residence visa; so far all I know is that for this we need to get another application form and provide a photocopy of my husband's passport photo page and residence permit page. The residence visa enables you to apply for a residence permit (apparently these terms are often used interchangeably). Hopefully this information will be of some use; although I have presented it as accurately as I can, there may be errors or changes so please do check with other sources just in case.

Thanks Mizhos - really helpfull post

Keep us posted on the next part of the process please

arniegang wrote:Thanks Mizhos - really helpfull post

Keep us posted on the next part of the process please

You're welcome! The last item number in my previous post on this subject was 5. so I will continue with this numbering:

6. Having obtained the entry permit (an A4 size pink form titled "Residence"), my husband and I returned to the DNRD at Bin Souqat Centre with the permit, our passports and my passport photos. At the "House of Translation" opposite, we requested a "Status Change" form and had one of the staff complete it for us, using the entry permit as a reference. The Status Change* form is prepaid and cost AED 530; the charge for filling the form was AED 40. After attaching a photocopy of my husband's passport photo page and residence permit page with his signature, and 2 passport photos, we took these together with my passport and entry permit to the DNRD, got a ticket (choose option "Cancellation" from the ticket machine) and waited to be served. The official processed the Status Change form, stamped my passport and put a sticker on the entry permit, both of which were returned to me. Next steps are to apply for a health card and have a medical exam; I will post again as soon as these have been completed, sometime next week.

* PS: Forgot to mention that the Status Change form has to be signed by the sponsor; in our case, my husband!