Ejari for Family Visa 2026: What GDRFA and ICP Accept, Ejari Fees, Other Emirates and Common Mismatches

Ejari for family visa applications is the Dubai Land Department’s registration certificate for the sponsor’s tenancy contract, which GDRFA Dubai uses as proof that the family has lawful, suitable housing in Dubai. A resident who rents must show a registered (Ejari) tenancy, usually with the latest DEWA bill; a resident who owns shows a DLD title deed; a resident in company accommodation shows the employer’s housing evidence. The document is checked when the sponsor file is opened, when each family member’s residence is issued, and again at every renewal, when GDRFA asks for at least 60 days’ validity.

This guide is written from the official GDRFA, ICP, Dubai Land Department, DEWA, u.ae and emirate-level pages, checked on 23 September 2026. It covers why the tenancy contract for family visa files is required, what counts in each housing situation, Ejari fees and channels, the DEWA link, the equivalents in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman, renewal, the mismatches that stop files, and Ejari cancellation when you move. Where official sources disagree, both are shown.

Ejari for family visa: the short answer for your situation

Find your housing situation in the left column. The rest of the guide explains each row in detail, with the source for every rule.

Ejari for family visa: how MIRDXB PRO helps

The housing side is where most family files in Dubai stall, and it is rarely because the family is ineligible. It is an Ejari certificate that expired in month fourteen, a DEWA account still in the previous tenant’s name, a contract registered for the wrong unit number, or a landlord who has to act and has not. We are a PRO and visa services firm based in Al Barsha 1. We handle the Ejari and the family visa as one job, in the right order, at GDRFA for Dubai files and through ICP for the other emirates.

If you want the registration itself done for you, that is our Ejari registration service in Dubai. If you want the whole sponsorship handled, from the sponsor file to the Emirates IDs, that is our family residence visa service.

What we do

• Check the housing evidence first. We compare your Ejari certificate, title deed or company accommodation documents with the GDRFA or ICP list that applies and tell you in writing whether they will pass.
• Register or renew the Ejari through the correct channel for your landlord type, or tell you plainly when the managing agent has to do it and what to ask them for.
• Line up DEWA: the move-in after a new Ejari certificate, the name on the account and the latest bill.
• Open or update the sponsor file at GDRFA when your address, passport or employer has changed.
• Submit and track each family member’s entry permit, status change, residence and Emirates ID, and the medical for anyone aged 18 and over.
• Handle the move: Ejari cancellation, DEWA move-out, the new registration and the new address on the family file.

How it works

1. WhatsApp us a photo of your Ejari certificate or title deed, your latest DEWA bill, your Emirates ID, and tell us who you are sponsoring.
2. We check the documents against the current GDRFA or ICP card and send you a written list of anything missing, with the government fees and our fee.
3. You approve. We register or renew the Ejari if needed and book any medicals.
4. We submit the family applications and send you each application number, then the issued permits.

What it costs

Government fees, including DLD’s Ejari fees, DEWA charges and GDRFA or ICP fees, are passed on at cost and you see the receipts. Our own service fee depends on what the file needs: an Ejari check, a registration, or the full family sponsorship. It is quoted in writing before we start. Our general pricing approach is on the fees page.

Why residents use us

• We publish our sources. Every fee and rule in this guide links to the DLD, GDRFA, ICP, DEWA or u.ae page it came from.
• We cover both systems: GDRFA for Dubai-issued residences and ICP for the other emirates, including tenancies registered outside Dubai.
• We tell you when you do not need us. If both you and your landlord are individuals, you can register Ejari yourself on the Dubai REST app for AED 177.75, and we will say so.
• You can walk in. Our office is in Al Barsha 1, open by appointment; whatsApp us any time, 24 hours; office open Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 (Dubai time).

Why GDRFA asks for Ejari for family visa sponsorship in Dubai

The requirement appears in several places on GDRFA Dubai’s website, and it is worth seeing all of them, because each one applies at a different stage of the same family file.

In Dubai, “attested tenancy contract” means a contract registered in Ejari. The legal basis is the Dubai tenancy law: Article 4 of Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, says that all lease contracts for property governed by the law “will be registered with RERA”, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency of the Dubai Land Department. Ejari is the system that does that registration, and the document it produces is the e-Contract Registration Certificate.

What the requirement is really checking

The family visa does not care about your landlord relationship for its own sake. It uses the tenancy to answer three questions, and a file can fail on any one of them.

This is why a valid Ejari certificate alone does not always settle the matter. A registered studio, on an application for a spouse and three children, answers the first question and invites the third.

ICP says the same thing at federal level

ICP’s Issuing residency permit card, which governs family sponsorship in the other emirates and sets the national conditions, says: “Adequate housing must be secured for family members, in proportion to the property’s capacity (owned or rented).” The same card sets the income test as “a minimum monthly income of AED 3,000 plus employer-provided housing, or AED 4,000 if housing is not provided.” ICP’s renewal card lists a “Lease Agreement” and a “Water/ Electricity Bill” among the documents for a family member of a foreign resident, and adds that “all residence issuance requirements must be maintained when applying for renewal.”

So there are two layers. ICP sets the national condition (adequate housing). GDRFA, for Dubai files, asks for the Dubai proof of it (Ejari or a DLD title deed). Our guide to ICP vs GDRFA explains which authority holds your file.

What the Ejari certificate is, and what it is not

DLD describes the service in one sentence: it “allows customers to register or renew a Tenancy contract in the Emirate of Dubai.” The output is a PDF certificate with an Ejari contract number, the parties, the unit, the rent and the contract dates.

Three things follow from what Ejari is:

• It is Dubai only. A lease for a flat in Sharjah or Abu Dhabi is registered in that emirate’s system, not in Ejari.
• It has an end date. The certificate carries the contract period. When the contract is renewed, the registration must be renewed too, through the same DLD service.
• It is one unit, one contract. The Ejari certificate records a specific unit number and plot. A certificate for flat 1203 does not prove you live in flat 1204, however close they are.

Tenancy contract for family visa files: what counts in each situation

This is the part most guides skip. The official cards are written for the standard case: a resident who rents a flat in his or her own name. Real households are more varied. Here is each common situation, what the published rules say, and where they are silent.

1. You rent, and the Ejari certificate is in your name

This is the case the rules were written for. You need the Ejari certificate, the latest DEWA bill and, at stamping or renewal, at least 60 days left on the contract. Check three details before you apply: your name is spelt exactly as in your passport, the unit number matches the DEWA bill, and the end date is at least 60 days after the date you will submit.

2. You rent, but the Ejari is in your spouse’s name

This happens when a wife signed the lease before the husband arrived, or when both work and the landlord chose one name. GDRFA’s cards do not address it. The sponsor file card asks for an attested lease contract without saying whose name it must carry, but typists and GDRFA officers usually expect the sponsor to be the tenant or a named party, because the sponsor is the person whose housing is being assessed.

A 2008 Khaleej Times report quoted officials saying contracts in “the applicant’s or close family member’s name” were acceptable, but that article predates the current system. Our practical advice: if the Ejari certificate is in the spouse’s name, ask the landlord to issue the renewal in the sponsor’s name, or both names, and register that. It costs the same as any other renewal and removes the question.

3. You live in company accommodation

ICP’s income condition, AED 3,000 “plus employer-provided housing”, only makes sense if company housing can satisfy the housing condition, and it can. The evidence changes, though. Instead of your own Ejari certificate, the employer provides it:

• A salary certificate or employment certificate that states housing is provided. ICP’s list asks for an “employment certificate confirming family’s monthly income and housing”, so the certificate should say so in terms.
• A letter from the employer confirming the address and that the family may live there. This is practical guidance: the letter is not on the published card, but files without it are regularly queried.
• A copy of the company’s Ejari certificate for the unit, and the DEWA bill for it.

4. You own the property

GDRFA’s sponsor file card names the alternative directly: “ownership of a property issued by the Dubai Land Department.” That is your title deed. DEWA’s move-in service also accepts a “Title Deed/Sales Purchase agreement” for owners. The adequate-housing condition applies exactly as it does for tenants.

If you bought off-plan and have not yet received a title deed, you will usually hold an Oqood (the DLD’s register for off-plan sales) rather than a title deed. GDRFA’s card does not mention Oqood, and a unit that is not yet built cannot be lived in. Until handover, plan on renting and registering an Ejari for the home you actually live in.

If you own a property jointly, the deed will show all owners. Ownership shares are not addressed on the family cards; bring the deed, and the DEWA bill in your name, and expect questions if the property is jointly owned with someone outside the family.

5. You share a flat, rent a room, or sublet

This is the hardest position to evidence, and usually the reason people search for a family visa without Ejari. Three rules work against it:

• Ejari records one contract per unit. As reported in Gulf News in 2025, “the issuance of Ejari is limited to one tenancy contract per unit for a single tenant or entity.” A room-renter usually has no Ejari of their own.
• Subletting needs the landlord’s written consent. Article 25 of the Dubai tenancy law, as amended, allows eviction where “the Tenant sublets the Real Property or any part thereof without obtaining the Landlord’s written approval”, and the eviction applies to the subtenant too.
• Co-occupants must be registered. DLD runs an occupants registration service in which the tenant or owner enters each co-occupant’s Emirates ID and date of birth. It records who lives there; it does not give a co-occupant a tenancy contract of their own.

Our honest advice: do not build a family application on a room or a bed-space. Even where the paperwork can be assembled, shared accommodation is difficult to present as adequate family housing, and the flat’s main tenant can end the arrangement at any time.

6. You live in a hotel apartment

GDRFA’s family cards do not mention hotel apartments. Hotel apartment stays are normally sold as hospitality, not registered as tenancies in Ejari. Some operators offer long-stay agreements registered in Ejari; if yours does, that registration is what matters. If the operator cannot give you an Ejari certificate and a DEWA bill or an equivalent utility statement, treat the stay as temporary and sign a lease before the family application.

7. You live with relatives

A brother, uncle or cousin who rents a large flat and offers to house your family is a kind offer, but it does not give you the document GDRFA asks for. The published cards do not provide for an NOC from a relative in place of an Ejari. The workable routes are for the relative to have you added formally to the tenancy and registered as a co-occupant, and to ask at the counter whether that will be accepted for your file, or, more reliably, for you to take your own registered tenancy.

8. You are between homes

If your Ejari certificate has ended and the new home is not ready, do not submit the family application in the gap. Register the new tenancy first. If a family residence is due to expire during the gap, renew it while the old Ejari certificate still has 60 days left, or talk to us about timing.

Ejari fees for family visa files, from the Dubai Land Department

DLD publishes the Ejari fees for registering or renewing a tenancy contract on its Register / Renew Tenancy Contract service page. The same fees apply to a new registration and a renewal.

Two small points. First, AED 95 plus 5% VAT is AED 99.75, which makes AED 219.75, while DLD states the trustee total as AED 220; the receipt at the centre is what you pay. Second, the Ejari fees do not include the landlord’s or agent’s own charges, which are private and vary.

DLD Ejari fees versus what DEWA’s FAQ still says

DEWA’s Ejari FAQ gives a different, older breakdown: “Ejari attestation – D 170.00” and “Service Charge – D 40.00”, plus the security deposit and “supply activation fees – D 130.00”. Those figures do not match DLD’s current service page. DLD is the authority that sets Ejari fees, so we use DLD’s figures and treat DEWA’s FAQ as out of date on this point.

How long it takes

DLD publishes a service time of 25 minutes at a trustee centre, excluding waiting time. Online, the certificate is emailed after a DLD employee reviews and approves the request, so it is quick but not instant.

Ejari for family visa files: which channel you can use

This is where people lose days. The channel is decided by who your landlord is, not by your preference. DLD publishes the terms for each channel:

Documents to register or renew the Ejari certificate

Before you register, check the tenancy contract itself against your passport. The Ejari certificate reproduces what the contract says. If the contract misspells your name, the certificate will too, and the mismatch will surface at GDRFA, not at DLD.

Step by step: from tenancy contract for family visa to residence in Dubai

This is the order that avoids rework. Every step depends on the one before it.

1. Sign the Unified Tenancy Contract for a unit suitable for the family you will sponsor, in the sponsor’s name, spelt as in the passport.
2. Register it in Ejari through the channel your landlord type allows. Keep the PDF Ejari certificate and the Ejari contract number.
3. Activate DEWA. After Ejari is issued, DEWA sends a welcome email with the account number and the deposit payment link. Pay it; supply is connected within 15 working hours.
4. Wait for the first DEWA bill, or download the account statement. GDRFA asks for the “latest electricity and water bill”.
5. Open or update the GDRFA sponsor file with the Ejari certificate, passports, Emirates IDs, attested marriage and birth certificates and, for government and semi-government employees, a salary certificate. GDRFA lists AED 200 + 5% VAT + AED 10 + AED 10 and 48 hours.
6. Apply for each family member’s entry permit (if they are abroad) or status change (if they are in the UAE on another visa).
7. Medical for anyone aged 18 and over, then residence stamping, when GDRFA asks again for an attested tenancy contract with at least 60 days left.
8. Emirates ID biometrics at an ICP centre for anyone aged 15 and over, if called.

The family side of this, with fees and timings, is covered in our family residence visa service page and the guide to the family visa salary requirement.

DEWA: the second half of the housing proof

GDRFA asks for the latest electricity and water bill alongside the tenancy, and ICP lists a “Water/ Electricity Bill” for every family residence. The two documents prove different things. The Ejari certificate proves you have the right to live there; the DEWA bill proves someone does.

How Ejari and DEWA are linked

u.ae says: “Getting electricity and water connection is digitally integrated with Dubai Land Department. After Ejari is issued, DEWA will send a welcome email to the customer.” DEWA’s own FAQ confirms that since 1 July 2017 “all customers will be required to obtain Ejari for DEWA Move-in service”, and that when you get your Ejari, “your data is automatically transferred to DEWA system and a Move In request is generated”.

The 5% housing fee is worth knowing for another reason: it appears on the DEWA bill as a line linked to the registered tenancy. A bill that shows it is good evidence that the Ejari certificate and the DEWA account belong to the same unit.

DEWA problems that stop family files

• Account in the previous tenant’s name. If the Ejari was registered but the DEWA move-in was never completed, the bill still shows someone else.
• Account in the landlord’s name. Common in villas and older buildings where the owner kept the account. GDRFA may accept a landlord’s bill with a letter, but it is not on the card; the safe route is to move the account into the tenant’s name.
• Chiller or district cooling bills only. These are not DEWA bills. GDRFA’s wording is “electricity and water”.
• No bill yet. In a new tenancy, the first bill arrives after the first billing cycle. Download the account statement or the welcome email in the meantime, and expect that the counter may still ask for a bill.

Outside Dubai: Tawtheeq, Sharjah and Ajman equivalents for ICP applications

If the sponsor’s residence was issued in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah or Fujairah, the family application goes to ICP, not GDRFA. The first digit of the residence file number shows the issuing emirate: 1 Abu Dhabi, 2 Dubai, 3 Sharjah, 4 Ajman, 5 Umm Al Quwain, 6 Ras Al Khaimah, 7 Fujairah. ICP’s card asks for a “Lease Agreement” and a “Water/ Electricity Bill” for a family member of a foreign resident. There is no Ejari outside Dubai; each emirate registers leases in its own system.

Abu Dhabi: Tawtheeq and the municipality fee

u.ae explains: “In Abu Dhabi, landlords have to register lease contract in the Tawtheeq system, which is the city’s register for tenancy contracts. Once the lease contract has been registered, a municipality fee will be levied. The fee is calculated at 5 per cent based on either the rental value or the rental index, whichever is higher.” It is added to the tenant’s water and electricity bill over 12 months. u.ae also says ADDC and TAQA supply is available only “after registering the contract in the Tawtheeq system”.

Sharjah: attestation by the municipality

u.ae says simply: “In Sharjah, lease contracts are registered with Sharjah Municipality.” The municipality’s service guide lists the documents for a new residential contract, including a copy of the title deed, the landlord’s and tenant’s IDs, a copy of the passport or Emirates ID of the tenant’s wife, a copy of the marriage certificate “if wife is sponsored by someone other than husband”, and SEWA’s stamp of approval. The guide is undated; Sharjah Municipality reduced the rate to 2% temporarily in 2020 and 2021 as part of an incentive package. Confirm the rate on the day.

Ajman: authentication through Digital Ajman

Ajman’s service catalogue lists “Authentication of Lease Contract for Residential Purposes”: attestation form, an Ajman Sewerage Company NOC in most areas, and the tenant’s Emirates ID; 2% of the rent for expatriates, minimum AED 400; one day, via UAE Pass.

What stays the same everywhere

The condition is federal: adequate housing, owned or rented, in proportion to the property’s capacity. The proof is local. A Dubai Ejari will not support a file for a residence issued in Sharjah if the family actually lives in Sharjah, and a Sharjah contract will not support a Dubai file if the family lives in Dubai. Register the lease where you live, and apply to the authority that issued your residence.

Ejari for family visa renewal: the 60-day rule

At renewal, the housing condition is tested again. ICP: “All residence issuance requirements must be maintained when applying for renewal.” GDRFA’s FAQ on dependent residence renewal: “Attested tenancy contract with a minimum validity of 60 days.”

Why the Ejari for family visa renewals catches families out

Your tenancy renews every year. Your family’s residence usually runs for two years, matched to yours. Nothing in either system keeps the two dates aligned. The pattern we see most often: the family renewal falls due in month 23, the tenancy was renewed with the landlord in month 12 but the new Ejari certificate was never issued, and the file stops on a document nobody was watching.

Everything else on the renewal list is in our family visa renewal documents checklist, and if you want it done for you, our family visa renewal service handles the Ejari and the renewals together.

Mismatch problems: name, expiry, unit and occupants

An Ejari certificate can be valid and still fail the family file because it does not match something else. These are the mismatches that return applications, and how to fix each one.

Moving home: Ejari cancellation and the family visa file

When you move, two registrations change: the old Ejari has to be cancelled and a new one registered, and DEWA has to be closed at the old address and opened at the new one. Do both before the family’s next GDRFA transaction.

Ejari cancellation at DLD: fees and documents

DLD’s Cancel Tenancy Contract service “allows customers to cancel a Tenancy contract that has expired for a property that has been vacated in the Emirate of Dubai.”

The practical point is the last document: if you leave before the contract ends, Ejari cancellation needs the owner’s letter. Agree it with the landlord when you give notice, not after you have handed the keys back.

DEWA move-out

DEWA requires all previous bills to be paid before a move-out. Deactivation takes place within 24 working hours of the date you choose, the final bill is emailed within 24 working hours, and the deposit is set against it and the balance refunded. Deactivation charges are AED 125 (small meters) or AED 300 (large meters) plus AED 10 Knowledge and AED 10 Innovation. DEWA says it has linked move-out “with the Ejari Cancellation from RERA”, so the Ejari cancellation and the DEWA closure run together: when the owner requests cancellation, DEWA prompts the tenant to deactivate.

What changes on the family file

GDRFA’s cards do not publish a rule that you must notify it within a set time after moving. In practice, the address matters at your next transaction: a new entry permit, a residence stamping, a renewal, or a sponsor file update. Our advice is to register the new Ejari certificate, complete DEWA move-in, and update the sponsor file address before you apply for anything else. If you moved emirate, for example from Dubai to Sharjah, the housing proof must follow the family; that change is worth discussing with us before you move.

When the landlord is the obstacle

Registration depends on the landlord side. The app needs the owner’s data to be current; managed buildings are registered by the manager; a cancellation before expiry needs the owner’s letter. A landlord who is overseas, slow or uninterested can block a step your family’s residence depends on.

• Find out who owns and who manages. They are often different. The owner may be abroad while the manager has system access and the obligation.
• Put the request in writing, with the reason and a date: “Please register the renewal in Ejari by 15 October; my family’s residence renewal depends on it.” It carries weight and creates a record.
• Check whether it is already registered. DLD’s Download Rental Certificate (Ejari) service retrieves a certificate with the Ejari contract number, DEWA premise number and municipality number. Agents sometimes register and never send the PDF.
• Know where disputes go. A refusal to register, or a dispute over the contract, belongs with the Dubai Land Department and the Rental Disputes Centre, not GDRFA. GDRFA cannot register your tenancy.

Adequate housing: what the rule says, and what nobody can tell you

ICP’s wording is the only published standard: adequate housing “in proportion to the property’s capacity (owned or rented).” There is no published square-metre figure and no bedrooms-per-child rule for a spouse and children. Pages that quote one cannot point to an official source, and we will not invent one.

• It is a fit test. The question is whether the home suits the family, not whether you have an address.
• It is applied again at renewal. A one-bedroom that suited a couple is judged two years later against a couple with two children.
• Studios and shared units are where it bites. Most queries we see on this condition involve a studio with several dependants or a room in a shared flat.
• Income and housing interact. A salary certificate that says housing is provided changes the income threshold to AED 3,000, and makes the employer’s housing evidence part of the file.

If you are close to the line, settle it before you apply. A refused family file costs fees and time; a move planned in advance costs less. Our guide to why family visas get rejected covers the other conditions.

If the Ejari certificate lapses while the family is on residence

A family residence does not end because the Ejari certificate expires; nothing in the published rules cancels a permit for that reason. The problem arrives at the next transaction, which the lapsed Ejari will block. The risk is timing: if the renewal is blocked and the family residence expires, the grace period starts. ICP publishes tiers of 180, 90, 60 and 30 days by category; in Dubai the standard grace period is 30 days (some categories get 60, 90 or 180 days; after a cancellation, the exact period is on the cancellation letter); u.ae’s family page says “dependents are granted a 6-month grace period”. After it ends, the fine is AED 50 per day. Plan to the shortest figure, and see our residence visa grace period guide.

Ejari fees and family visa housing costs at a glance

For the visa fees themselves, see our UAE government fees list.

Ejari for family visa: five cases, worked through

These cases are built from the situations we see most often. Names and identifying details are left out, and the figures are the published ones.

1. Ejari for family visa renewal in a managed building: Ejari lapsed, spouse’s renewal due in five weeks

A sales manager in Dubai Marina rents a two-bedroom through a property management company. He renewed the lease with the company in March, paid the cheques, and assumed the Ejari followed. In September his wife’s residence renewal is due. The typist finds the Ejari certificate expired in March.

• Can he renew the Ejari on the app? No. DLD’s app term is that tenant and landlord must be individuals.
• At a trustee centre? No. That channel excludes property managed by a real estate company.
• Who does it? The management company, through the system.

Outcome: a written request to the manager with the renewal date, registration within the week, DEWA already active. The renewal went in with the new Ejari’s 60+ days of validity. Government Ejari fees: AED 177.75 or AED 220 depending on the manager’s channel, usually recharged to the tenant.

2. Tenancy contract for family visa held by the employer: salary certificate silent on housing

A hotel engineer earning AED 3,500 a month lives in a family flat leased by his employer. He wants to sponsor his wife and daughter. His salary certificate states the salary but says nothing about housing, so the file is assessed against the AED 4,000 threshold and falls short.

Outcome: the employer re-issued the certificate stating that family accommodation is provided, and added a letter confirming the address with a copy of the company’s Ejari and the DEWA bill. The AED 3,000-plus-housing test then applied, and the housing proof came from the employer’s documents rather than an Ejari in his name. Our guide to the family visa salary requirement covers the income side.

3. Valid Ejari certificate, but a studio and a growing family

An IT consultant has a valid Ejari certificate for a studio in his own name, DEWA in his name, and a salary well above AED 4,000. He wants to bring his wife and their two children.

Outcome: every document was in order, but the housing had to be judged against a family of four. We told him plainly that the adequate-housing condition was the exposure. He moved to a one-bedroom before applying, registered the new Ejari, cancelled the old one online at no cost, and completed the DEWA move. The family file then went in without a query.

4. Ejari certificate in the wife’s name, husband sponsoring

A nurse signed a lease two years before her husband arrived in Dubai. He now has an employment residence and wants to sponsor her and their son. The Ejari certificate shows only her name.

Outcome: the published cards do not address this, and the typist expected the sponsor on the tenancy. At the annual renewal, the landlord issued the new contract in both names, which was registered in Ejari at the normal fee. The sponsor file was opened with that certificate. Alternatively, where both spouses qualify, the wife could be the sponsor; that is a separate decision with its own income test.

5. Ejari cancellation in Dubai, new lease in Sharjah, Dubai residence

A family moves from Al Nahda in Dubai to Al Nahda in Sharjah for lower rent. The father’s residence is Dubai-issued. The family’s renewal is due in four months.

Outcome: Ejari cancellation in Dubai with the owner’s letter because the contract had months left, DEWA move-out, a new Sharjah contract attested by Sharjah Municipality (AED 100 form and 4% of the annual rent), and SEWA connection. Because the residence is Dubai-issued, the renewal remains a GDRFA transaction, and GDRFA’s list refers to an “attested tenancy contract” without limiting it to Ejari. The published cards do not say whether a Sharjah attested contract is accepted for a Dubai-issued family file, so the right step is to confirm with GDRFA (8005111) before submitting, not after. Our advice in this situation is always to confirm first rather than assume.

What circulates online that is not true

How to verify every figure in this guide

What we will and will not do

• We will check your Ejari certificate, title deed or company housing documents against the published GDRFA and ICP lists before you pay any visa fee.
• We will tell you when you can register Ejari yourself on Dubai REST, and when the managing company has to do it.
• We will pass on DLD, DEWA, GDRFA and ICP fees at cost, with receipts, and quote our own fee in writing first.
• We will not register a tenancy for a unit you do not live in, or present a shared room or a bed-space as family housing.
• We will not promise that a borderline housing case will be approved. The decision is GDRFA’s or ICP’s.
• We will not quote a square-metre rule or any other figure that no official source publishes.

Related guides

• Family visa renewal documents checklist (UAE)
• Family visa salary requirement
• Why family visas get rejected
• ICP vs GDRFA: which authority handles your file
• UAE residence visa grace period
• UAE visa medical test process
• Attestation process in the UAE
• Family visa eligibility checker
• Dependent visa service and parents visa sponsorship

Getting the tenancy, DEWA and sponsor file to line up before a family application is exactly what our PRO services in Dubai team handles.