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UAE: How a single mother can sponsor her children's visas

Dubai - Know what the law says about residency procedures in such cases.

Question: I am a divorcee working in the UAE. My two children are currently in my home country with their father. What is the procedure to sponsor visas for my kids? Can my ex-husband create any legal hurdles that would prevent me from bringing the children here? We have verbally agreed that they would come here, but in case he has a change of mind, would he be able to create hurdles? Please advise.

Answer: Pursuant to your queries, we assume that you have custody rights of your children, and your ex-husband has visitation rights, and that the same has been mentioned in the divorce judgement pronounced by a court in your home country.

A single woman who is divorced is eligible to apply for sponsorship of her children in the UAE, provided she fulfils the requirements. She should have a valid employment residency visa in the UAE and her salary must be Dh3,500 along with accommodation provided by the employer or Dh4,000 without accommodation.

Further, she needs to have documents such as:

>> Birth Certificate of child/children attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or equivalent in her home country, UAE Embassy/consulate in home country and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE. It is recommended to translate the attested birth certificate of child/children to Arabic. The legal translation needs to be attested by Ministry of Justice, UAE.

>> Copy of the registered tenancy contract in the UAE.

>> If the applicant woman is not a nurse, doctor, engineer or teacher, an original bank statement for the last three months duly stamped by the bank where the salary of the applicant woman is credited.

>> Divorce judgement confirming the custody of children to the applicant woman. The same should be duly legalised. Thereafter, the same should be attested by Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE. If the divorce judgement is in a language other than Arabic, it needs to be legally translated and attested by the Ministry of Justice, UAE. The applicant woman needs to pay relevant fees and security amount to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.

Further, other than the above requirements, it is recommended that you obtain an NOC from your ex-husband stating that he is granting his consent to you to sponsor your children in the UAE to be on a safer side. In the event your ex-husband disagrees, there is a possibility that he may apply for a travel ban for the children.

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However, matters related to restriction on travel of children depends on the law of your home country.

Therefore, in case your husband changes his mind, you could approach the competent court in your home country and obtain an order, which allows you to sponsor your children’s residency outside your home country and to allow them to travel with you anywhere.

For further advice on this matter, you may obtain detailed legal advice from a legal counsel in the UAE and in your home country.

Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.