UAE starts issuing visas to dependents

Abu Dhabi/Dubai: The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (FAIC) yesterday said it has begun issuing one-year renewable visas to parent-sponsored dependents who have completed their high school or university education, or crossed the age of 18 from June 15.

In a statement, the FAIC clarified that this type of visa can only be obtained as of the date of graduation from school/university, or when reaching the legal age, whichever is earlier.

Saeed Rakan Al Rashidi, director-general of Foreigners Affairs and Ports at FAIC, said all residents in this category can obtain the visa after submitting applications along with supporting documents, including attested high school or university certificates and documents where the student received his/her education, be it inside or outside the UAE.

Parents urged

Al Rashidi called on parents to take advantage of this visa by visiting FAIC customer service centres and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), which provide services from 8am to 8pm from Sunday to Thursday.

He stressed that guardians will no longer need to sponsor sons as humanitarian cases, which previously required a security deposit of Dh5,000.

They can simply apply for or renew this visa under normal procedures paying only a fee of Dh100.

Visas for dependents

Meanwhile, many Amer and Tasheel centres have started processing residency visas for dependents aged 18 years and above, and free tourist visas for children aged under 18, but not all are aware of the five-year visa for talented students.

On June 19, it was announced that residents can renew residency visas of their 18-year-old dependents, whether they are secondary school or university graduates, for up to two consecutive years.

Also, tourist visa fees for children aged below 18 years who are accompanying their parents to the UAE was waived between July 15 and September 15.

Roadblocks

On May 21, five-year visas for talented students were also announced, but not all Amer and Tasheel centres are aware about these visas. Gulf News yesterday visited these centres for clarity after many readers noticed inconsistencies while trying to apply.

An Amer representative in Dubai’s Mazaya Centre said: “You can apply for the residency visa for dependents aged 18 years and above here. You just ask for it and a document will be given.

"For daughters, they can remain on the father’s visa until she is married, you just need a declaration of their marriage status, while sons can get the visa through our centre with their university certificate.

“Tourist visas for those coming in from outside the country are largely done by travel agencies, but if the sponsor is a resident, it can be done from here.”

For the five-year visa, however, the same representative said: “We have heard of this, but we’ve not had any customers request this yet and there has been no new message in our system to tell us what to do.”

Another representative at the Amer centre opposite Oasis Mall in Dubai, agreed: “We still didn’t get any directive on what to do with that yet.”

She also confirmed that residency visas for dependents and free tourist visas for children below the age of 18 could be obtained on the premises, but that tourist visas were mostly processed by travel agencies.

In Abu Dhabi, however, representatives of some Tasheel centres were split on whether all types of visas were available.

An official at the Tasheel Centre on Muroor Road said: “We can’t process any such applications as our system does not permit that and we don’t have the format of such applications whether it’s about long-term, short term or tourists visa for those aged below 18 years.

“But if people approach us we can guide them to the immigration department to complete such requests. In fact, we didn’t receive any such communique from the immigration department and we also don’t have such formats in our system,” said the official.

“We have seen and read such news in the local media and for the sake of help, we can receive the application and submit under special categories and once we receive the reply from the immigration, we can then advise on such requests.”

‘All applications accepted’

However, Mohammad Sami, a supervisor at the Tasheel centre near Al Jazira Stadium, said: “We accept and process all kinds of applications pertaining to the long-term and student’s residency visas whether it’s for five years or 10 years.

“We have even issued such residency permits from our centre, and we also accept applications for tourists visas for below years who accompany their parents to the UAE.”

Sami even showed an investor’s visa, which the centre had recently processed.“Similarly, we have issued visas for other categories too and we have different forms and formats online, and we can fill it as per requests of applications. The applicants just have to produce documents for each category they apply for and we even have a desk here where they can be guided for documents and requirements,” he said.

An official at another Tasheel centre on Airport Road, said: “We don’t do tourist visas for below 18 years as we don’t process it here.

People can apply for tourists visas here but under regular rules where they have to pay visa fees for each person and Dh1,000 security deposit against each applicant.”

Three kinds of visas

Renewal of visas for dependents aged 18

Residents can now renew the residency visas of their 18-year-old dependent sons, whether they are secondary school or university graduates, for up to two consecutive years. The residence permit will be valid for a year and can be renewed for an additional year.

This benefit can be availed from the date of completion of secondary education of dependent sons, or those who have just graduated university, or those reaching the age of 18 years. Guardians are no longer required to make a deposit of Dh5,000.

Tourist visa fees waived for summer

No fees will be charged for children below 18 years of age who are accompanying their parents to the UAE between July 15 and September 15 each year, provided that they are accompanied by a parent, regardless of the length of the validity of the parent’s visa.

Five-year visa for talented students

Includes those with grades of 95 per cent in public and private school and university students in and outside the UAE with a GPA of at least 3.75 upon graduation. The visa includes families of the students.

Businessman gets Gold Card on birthday

Indian retail tycoon Vijay Samyani, chairman of the Concept Brands Group, received his 10-year residency visa on his birthday yesterday.

Samyani was issued the visa from the General Directorate of Residence and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai. “I am extremely thankful for this recognition,” he said. “Special thanks goes to the leaders of the UAE as this appreciation definitely motivates us to grow more in Dubai and fulfil our dreams in this growing part of the world.”