• Home
• /
• UAE

Widows, divorcees, their kids get UAE residency visa extension

The visa will be granted to the woman and her children provided that the wife can sustain herself in the UAE.

Read more...

Widows and divorced women and their children can now apply for a one-year visa extension, which starts from the date of the divorce or the death of the spouse.
"Under the new visa reforms enacted by the Cabinet, widows and divorced women and their children have been granted a one-year residency without the need for a sponsor," said Brigadier Saeed Rakan Al Rashidi, acting director-general of foreigners affairs and ports at the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship. "The aim is to give women the opportunity to adjust their social and economic status after the loss of the head of the family," he said.
Al Rashidi explained that the one-year visa will start from the date of the death or divorce and that the woman and the children must be under the husband's visa at the time of divorce or death of the head of the family.
Related coverage: UAE visa reforms

New visa rules in UAE: All you need to know
KT edit: Feel at home with visa reforms
New UAE visa system to roll out from October 21
Visit, tourist visa holders can extend their stay for up to 60 days in UAE
Grade 12 students, fresh graduates can stay in UAE for two more years
Husbands can no longer misuse sponsorship power against wives in UAE

"The visa will be granted to the woman and her children provided that the wife can sustain herself in the UAE. Children will be under the sponsorship of their mother and only those staying here with their parents at that time of divorce or death will benefit from this type of visa," he explained.
Previously, divorced and widowed women who did not have an employment visa would have to leave the country soon after their divorce or the death of their husband.

Conditions and requirements

>The mother and children must be under the husband's visa at the time of the death or divorce, and the visas must not have expired
>The woman should present evidence (official letter) as proof of divorce or death of the husband
>No need to pay extra money upon leaving the country after the one-year visa has expired
>Medical fitness certificate for the mother and children over the age of 18, in addition to the Emirates identity card
>Proof that the mother can provide for the family
>Health insurance required in some emirates
>Dh100 fee for the one-year residence visa
>Cancellation fee for the old visa of the mother and children
>A tenancy contract, which should be in the name of woman
ismail@khaleejtimes.com