Sponsor a Visit Visa in the UAE for Family or Friends: Salary by Relationship, Fees, Deposit Refund and Steps

In short: As of October 2026, a UAE resident can sponsor a 30, 60 or 90-day visit visa, single or multiple entry, for a relative or friend. ICP requires a monthly salary of AED 4,000 for parents, spouse and children, AED 8,000 for siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, and AED 15,000 for a friend. Dubai residents apply through GDRFA (48 hours), others through ICP (2 days). A refundable guarantee of AED 1,000 (single entry) or AED 2,000 (multiple entry) applies.

This guide is for the person in the UAE who wants to bring someone over: who is allowed to sponsor, the salary line for each relationship, which visa to choose, every official fee and the deposit, the documents for you and your visitor, the steps on each channel, your duties while they are here, why applications get refused, and three worked examples with full government totals.

On 28 October 2026 we read every rule and charge on this page from the source: ICP’s cards for issuing, extending and cancelling a visa; GDRFA Dubai’s cards for relative and friend visit visas, for registering a sponsor file and for cancelling an entry permit; and u.ae. If those sources leave a point open, or contradict each other, the text tells you. Other visa categories are covered in our UAE visa types guide.

Who can sponsor a visit visa in the UAE?

The host must be a UAE resident or a UAE citizen. For a resident host, ICP’s Issuance of a Visa card (category “Visitor: for visiting relatives, friends”) sets a minimum monthly salary by how closely the visitor is related to you, and asks for proof of kinship that matches that degree.

Source: ICP Issuance of a Visa service card, terms for a visit visa for a friend or relative (resident sponsor), checked 28 October 2026. The documents column is our practical reading of “proof of kinship according to the degree”.

Situations people ask about

• UAE citizens. The GDRFA cards cover relatives and friends of “a UAE citizen or a foreign resident”. ICP prints its salary lines for resident sponsors only; we found no salary line published for citizens.
• Employees, government staff and partners. GDRFA asks for proof of work that fits your employer: a salary certificate if you work for a government, semi-government or free zone entity, the employment contract if you work for a private company, and the partnership contract if you are a partner in a company.
• Self-sponsored residents and investors. A partner or investor proves income through the partnership contract and company papers. Golden visa holders are residents like any other on these cards; we found no separate visit visa rule for them. If the plan is for parents to live with you, a Golden visa holder has a residence route, covered in our Golden visa family sponsorship guide.
• Women sponsors. Neither the ICP nor the GDRFA visit visa card limits the host by gender. A resident woman who meets the salary line and has an open sponsor file can apply in her own name.
• Tenants. Renting is fine. In Dubai, GDRFA’s Sponsor File Registration (resident) card asks for an attested Ejari tenancy contract or a Dubai Land Department ownership document. If your Ejari is not attested, or the tenancy is in someone else’s name, sort that out first.
• An open sponsor file is required. ICP states that the host “must have an active sponsor file”. In Dubai, opening one is a separate GDRFA service, done at Amer centres only: AED 200 plus 5% VAT, plus AED 10 Knowledge and AED 10 Innovation Dirhams, so AED 230, with a published time of 48 hours. If you already sponsor a spouse or child, your file is usually open.

Which visit visa should you choose?

You pick three things: the authority (set by where your residence was issued), single or multiple entry, and 30, 60 or 90 days. A multiple-entry visa suits a visitor who will travel in and out, for example a parent visiting other children in the region; a single-entry visa is cheaper and carries the smaller guarantee.

Sources: GDRFA Dubai cards “Issuing a visit visa for a relative or friend for one entry” and “Multi-Entry Visa for a relative or friend”; ICP Issuance of a Visa card. All checked 28 October 2026. ICP lists the visa fee “per month”; the 60 and 90-day figures are our arithmetic from that line. If the visitor is already inside the UAE, GDRFA adds AED 10 Knowledge Dirham, AED 10 Innovation Dirham and AED 500 inside-country fee; the ICP card lists no inside-country line.

What does it cost in total? Government fees by option

The table adds up every line printed on the cards for a visitor applying from outside the UAE. “Paid upfront” includes the refundable guarantee; “kept by the authority” is what you do not get back.

Our arithmetic from the GDRFA and ICP cards checked 28 October 2026. GDRFA notes that the total “may vary” with the sponsored person’s circumstances. Amer, typing centre or agency charges come on top, and a Dubai sponsor file costs AED 230 once if yours is not open. For your own case, our Dubai visa cost estimator covers the residence visa routes.

The visit visa deposit: how much, and how to get it back

The deposit (GDRFA calls it a financial security deposit, ICP a financial guarantee) is AED 1,000 for a single-entry visa and AED 2,000 for a multiple-entry visa, on both authorities’ cards. It is security for the visit, not a fee.

• When it can be refunded. ICP: “by submitting a request for refund after the visa has been cancelled or after the beneficiary has exited the UAE, provided that no residency violations have been committed.”
• What it costs to hold and return. GDRFA lists an AED 20 deposit service fee and an AED 40 collection and reimbursement fee. ICP lists an AED 20 guarantee deposit fee.
• How to ask for it. Request it through the same authority and account that issued the visa: the GDRFA website or app or an Amer centre in Dubai, the ICP smart services elsewhere. Keep the payment receipt and the application number from the day you apply.
• When it is lost. An overstay or another residency violation stops the refund under the ICP condition above. Settle any fine before you ask.
• Timing. Neither card publishes how long the refund takes or how card and cash payments are returned, so allow for it and check the status in your account.

If the visitor changes to a residence visa inside the UAE, the visit visa is closed by that change of status, which is the other point at which the deposit becomes refundable.

Documents for you and for your visitor

Do the relationship documents need attestation? The visit visa cards ask for proof of kinship and do not say “attested”. In practice, certificates issued abroad are usually expected to be attested for UAE use, and residence files always need it. If you may later move your visitor to residence, attest once and use the documents twice. See our birth certificate attestation and marriage certificate attestation pages, or document attestation in Dubai for the full chain.

How to apply: step by step for each channel

1. GDRFA website or smart app (Dubai residents)

1. Make sure your sponsor file is open. If it is not, open it at an Amer centre first (AED 230, 48 hours).
2. Sign in on the GDRFA site or app, using UAE PASS or a GDRFA username.
3. Search for “Issuing a visit visa for a relative or friend for one entry” or “Multi-Entry Visa for a relative or friend” and pick 30, 60 or 90 days.
4. Enter the visitor’s details, upload the documents, and pay the visa fee, insurance and the deposit with its charges online.
5. Track the application; the published time is 48 hours. Send the approved visa to your visitor as a PDF.

2. Amer centre (Dubai residents)

1. Bring your Emirates ID, the visitor’s passport copy and photo, and the relationship and salary documents.
2. The counter files it for you; you pay the government fees and the centre’s service charge there. Keep the deposit receipt somewhere safe, as the refund depends on it.

3. ICP Smart Services or the ICP app (Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the northern emirates)

1. Use UAE PASS to sign in on the ICP smart app or on smartservices.icp.gov.ae.
2. Open Issuance of a Visa and choose the category “Visitor: for visiting relatives, friends”, then the duration and single or multiple entry.
3. Review the data the system retrieves, attach documents only where retrieval fails, and pay. The published completion time is 2 days.
4. No UAE PASS? Any ICP-registered typing centre, or an ICP Customer Happiness Centre, will file the same application on your behalf.

4. After approval

• Your visitor has 60 days to arrive. ICP’s card says the holder “must enter the UAE within the 60-day validity period of the entry permit from its date of issuance”.
• The stay clock starts at entry. Note the last permitted day and diarise a reminder a week before it.
• Need more time? A relative or friend visit can be extended from inside the UAE while it is still valid. We cover the limits and fees in the visit visa extension guide.

Your responsibilities as the sponsor

Hosting a visitor puts your name and your deposit behind the visit. These are the points that cost sponsors money.

• Every extra day costs your visitor AED 50. That is the ICP and u.ae daily overstay rate, and no grace period is published for a visit visa, so plan the flight home for the last permitted day at the latest. How the days are counted is in our overstay fine guide, and our overstay fine calculator does the sum.
• No work on a visit visa. u.ae: “The UAE law strictly prohibits working while holding a visit or tourist visa (whether for pay or without compensation).” A visitor who finds a job must change status through an employer first.
• The deposit is on the line. Any residency violation by the visitor stops the refund under ICP’s condition.
• Cancel an unused visa. If your visitor will not travel, cancel the entry permit before it expires. ICP: AED 50 plus a AED 100 smart application fee, and cancellation is allowed “only if the applicant has not entered the country”. GDRFA lists entry permit cancellation at AED 50 (plus AED 20 if the person is inside), 48 hours. Then request the deposit back.
• After entry, you cannot simply cancel. ICP says a visitor’s permit may not be cancelled after entry unless it is linked to a status adjustment. The visitor leaves before the last day, or changes status to a residence visa.
• If the visitor disappears or refuses to leave. Contact the authority that issued the visa straight away and ask how to record it; GDRFA has a Violator Follow-up service for a sponsored person in its administrative list, but it publishes no conditions or fees. Our absconding guide explains what such records mean, and the immigration crimes and penalties guide covers the law on sheltering people who break residency rules.

Common refusal reasons and how to fix them

A refused application is decided by the authority, and the reason is not always shown. Our family visa rejection guide covers the residence side of the same documents.

Worked examples with full government totals

Three made-up hosts, with figures rounded to keep the sums readable; none of them is a client. Every fee is from the cards as we read them on 28 October 2026, and no agency charge is added.

(a) Parents for 90 days, sponsor lives in Dubai

Ahmed earns AED 9,000 a month in Dubai and wants both parents for 90 days. Parents are first degree, so the AED 4,000 line is met. He uses GDRFA, single entry, 90 days, parents applying from outside:

• Per parent: visa AED 400 + AED 20 VAT + insurance AED 90 + deposit charges AED 60 = AED 570 kept, plus AED 1,000 deposit.
• Two parents: AED 1,140 in fees plus AED 2,000 in deposits, AED 3,140 paid upfront. Add AED 230 once if his sponsor file is not open.
• If they leave on time, he asks for the AED 2,000 back. If they then decide to stay longer, one extension can take a relative visit to 180 days in total (see the extension guide), or he can look at a parent residence visa instead.

(b) A brother via ICP, sponsor lives in Sharjah

Sara lives in Sharjah and earns AED 8,500. A brother is second degree, so the AED 8,000 line is met. Sharjah residence means ICP. She chooses single entry, 60 days:

• Application AED 100 + visa AED 200 (two months at AED 100) + smart service AED 100 + guarantee deposit fee AED 20 = AED 420 kept, plus AED 1,000 guarantee, AED 1,420 paid upfront, plus a UAE health insurance policy bought separately.
• Even if her brother stays with friends in Dubai, the visa is still an ICP visa, and any extension or cancellation goes through ICP.

(c) A friend for 30 days

Ravi lives in Dubai and earns AED 16,000, above the AED 15,000 line for friends. GDRFA, single entry, 30 days:

• Visa AED 200 + AED 10 VAT + insurance AED 40 + deposit charges AED 60 = AED 310 kept, plus AED 1,000 deposit, AED 1,310 paid upfront.
• If Ravi earned less than AED 15,000, the friend would apply for a 30-day tourist visa through a tourism office instead: GDRFA lists AED 200 plus 5% VAT with no deposit, and only accredited tourism offices can issue it. The office adds its own charge. Many passports also qualify for a visa on arrival, in which case no sponsor visa is needed at all.

Visit visa or residence? Choose the right route

How MIRDXB PRO helps

For a sponsor, our work covers the whole visit: matching your salary to the right relationship line and visa, opening or updating your sponsor file, preparing the kinship papers, and filing with GDRFA, with ICP or at an Amer or typing centre. Once the visit ends, we can also claim the deposit back, extend the stay or switch the visitor to another status. Visit visa sponsorship has no fixed price listed on our fees page, which is why we quote it on WhatsApp first. A routine application goes straight to that quote; a problem case begins with the AED 100 file check, later credited to your fee. If the person you bring in will need residence, see our entry permit service.

Who we are, and who we are not. We are a private PRO and visa services company. GDRFA and ICP are the government authorities that issue visas; we are neither, and we act as partner or agent for neither. They decide each visa, so we do not promise any outcome.

Frequently asked questions