Salary norm for family visas to be revised

Abu Dhabi: Expatriate residents who want to bring their families into the country should now earn a minimum monthly salary of Dh10,000 and provide their family with independent accommodation, a senior official has said. Previously the minimum salary requirement was Dh3,000, because this was acceptable under previous conditions, he said. The amount was later raised to Dh4,000 and then Dh6,000 after rapid development and economic growth.

 

Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, director-general of the Naturalisation and Residency Department (NRD), told the Gulf News that the expatriates must also provide their family with independent accommodation.

He said the decision was made after a study on the negative effects of allowing residents to bring their families without sufficient income and a suitable place to stay.

 

Al Menhali said a resident should be able to support his family and afford their living costs in line with the labour and residency laws. The new rules will come into effect after an amendment to the residency law, Al Menhali said.

 

However, he pointed out that the Interior Ministry does not mind studying the humanitarian situation of any resident and helping them bring their family, if there is an urgent humanitarian need.