It’s a dramatic departure from the norm and a huge cause for celebration for working women in the UAE to know that when they sponsor their husbands to the UAE, the latter can now legally seek employment here, an option that was not previously available to them. In a single stroke, the new law from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation turns into the long-awaited breakthrough, further elevating the UAE’s position as a world-class destination to live and work in. Husbands coming to the UAE on their wives’ visa can now obtain a UAE work permit, procure a job and be able to live as a family unit.
The new law works at many levels: first, it closes the gap in family aspirations. There are many working women in the UAE, specifically in categories such as nursing, teaching, medical and other such professions, who live alone as they are unable to support their husbands financially through sponsorship to the UAE. The new law does away with this predicament and enables both spouses to live and earn together to build their dream future. Second, with the husbands now eligible to seek employment in the UAE, the new influx of talent and skills in the workforce will help employers dip into a larger pool of candidates, all locally available, thus saving them the cost of overseas recruitment.
Equally important, the new law will help retain the richness of the talent pool as the working wives, and husbands, are now assured of a stable family life and will thus lend longevity to their careers in the UAE, rather than leave the UAE due to the challenges of staying alone.
This new, ever more conducive climate is a result of the UAE’s consistent efforts to expand the advantages in the domain of work permits and now, the categories of individuals who can seek employment in the UAE as a dependant are all-encompassing: men sponsored by their wives, women sponsored by husbands or parents, sons and daughters, aged 18 and above on their family’s residence visas, are all eligible to contribute to the UAE’s dynamic economy. This is in addition to the ministry’s reduction of fees announced earlier this year for issuing work permits linked to a new classification system of companies based on the skills level and the diversity of workers.
Every one of these progressive policies is a testimony to the UAE’s commitment to create the happiest society in the world.
