What a Dubai visit visa asks of the person sponsoring it

The question a resident actually asks is never «can my mother visit». It is «what do I have to prove», and until this summer the answer depended on which Amer centre you walked into.

Three salary floors

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai set them out by closeness of relation. A first-degree relative — parent, spouse, child — needs a sponsor earning at least Dh4,000 a month. A second- or third-degree relative — sibling, grandparent, cousin — needs Dh8,000. A friend needs Dh15,000.

What the visa itself can be

Single-entry or multiple-entry, valid for 30, 60 or 90 days, with total stays of up to 120 days a year. Single-entry visas run Dh200 to Dh400 and multiple-entry Dh300 to Dh700, before the refundable deposit — Dh1,000 or Dh2,000 — VAT, medical insurance and service charges.

The documents

The sponsor's Emirates ID and passport copy; the visitor's passport with at least six months left and a photograph; proof of income, as a salary certificate, labour contract or business documents; proof of where the visitor will stay; and an attested certificate for the relationship where one is claimed.

The line that catches people out

The relationship has to be documented, not asserted. A cousin at the Dh8,000 tier and a friend at Dh15,000 are the same person to the counter unless the paperwork says otherwise — and attestation is the step that takes weeks, not the application.