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Here is the part no competitor explains, and it is the single most useful thing to understand before you apply. You will find published figures that flatly contradict each other: some say AED 10,000, some still say AED 20,000. Both numbers are real, and the disagreement has a cause.
A federal reform effective 3 October 2022 lowered the salary required to sponsor parents from AED 20,000 to AED 10,000. So AED 10,000 is the headline standard today, and the recent guidance reflects it.
But GDRFA-Dubai has historically applied a higher AED 20,000 bar for the standard parent route, and some Dubai-specific guidance still reflects that older figure. So the AED 20,000 number has not entirely vanished — it can still surface as the higher, Dubai-specific bar. That federal-versus-emirate split is why the published figures conflict, and it is exactly why you confirm your own figure with GDRFA (Dubai) or ICP (other emirates) before you commit a dirham.
The logic behind the higher cost is straightforward once you see it from the government's side. A spouse or child is expected to be a dependant for the long term, often working or studying. A parent is older, more likely to need medical care, and is presumed to have no income of their own in the UAE.
So the authorities want evidence that you can carry that cost without strain. The salary requirement, the per-parent security deposit, and the pricier mandatory insurance all flow from the same assumption: an elderly dependant is a heavier financial responsibility than a spouse.
This also explains why a parent visa is issued for only one year and renewed annually, even when your own visa runs for two or three years. The government re-checks your salary, your insurance, and your housing every twelve months, because a parent's situation — and yours — can change quickly.
Don’t want to figure this out alone? Sarmat is a KHDA-certified training provider and registered typing centre in Deira, Dubai. Message us on WhatsApp — we answer questions like this every day.
If you have already sponsored a spouse, you have a mental model of the process. Reset it. The parent visa is heavier on almost every axis that involves cost or paperwork.
| Factor | Parent residence visa | Spouse residence visa |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum sponsor salary (Dubai) | ~AED 10,000/month standard (Dubai may still apply a higher AED 20,000 bar — confirm) | ~AED 4,000/month (or AED 3,000 + accommodation) |
| Visa validity | 1 year, renewed annually | Matches your visa term (2 or 3 years) |
| Security deposit | Refundable, lodged per parent (~AED 5,000) | Lower; not the main hurdle |
| Mandatory health insurance | Higher — scales with parent's age | Standard dependant rate |
| Extra document | Attested affidavit (sole-supporter declaration) | Attested marriage certificate |
| Both-or-one rule | Generally both parents together (exceptions below) | N/A |
The takeaways: budget for renewal every single year, expect the deposit and insurance to land per parent rather than per family, and prepare an attested affidavit that the spouse process never asked you for. For a side-by-side on the spouse route, see our guide to spouse and family visa sponsorship.
If you fall short of the standard parent-salary rule, you are not automatically out — but the answer is not a lower "salary tier." GDRFA-Dubai runs a separate humanitarian residence permit, and it is a discretionary path decided case by case, not a fixed income band.
It exists for genuine hardship and eligibility-gap situations: widowed or divorced sponsors, guardianship cases, and applicants who cannot meet the standard parent salary but have a compelling reason. It is not a route you elect simply because you earn a particular amount.
The humanitarian permit carries its own financial guarantee — around AED 5,000 per request, capped at AED 15,000 in total — and is granted at GDRFA's discretion. If you think this describes your situation, treat it as a conversation with GDRFA rather than a box you tick, and get your eligibility confirmed before you build a file around it.
Short answer: it is a refundable security deposit, and it is generally lodged per parent, not once per application. Sponsor two parents and you should expect to lodge the deposit for each, subject to GDRFA's per-file rules.
Now the amount. Treat the deposit as a refundable security deposit, lodged per parent, set by GDRFA-Dubai and revised periodically. Current Dubai parent-sponsorship guidance puts it at around AED 5,000, refundable once the residence visa is approved and released when the visa is cancelled with no fines outstanding.
One clarification that saves confusion. GDRFA's general published deposit for a first-degree relative appears lower — around AED 1,020 — but the ~AED 5,000 figure reflects the parent process specifically, so confirm the live figure the day you apply. And do not confuse the refundable deposit with the separate entry-permit fee (around AED 1,035 in-country) covered in the steps below — that is a fee, not a deposit, and it is not refundable the way the security deposit is.
Health insurance is mandatory, non-negotiable, and the cost item most people underestimate. As of 2026 every emirate enforces health cover, and GDRFA will not issue or renew a parent's visa without an active policy in the parent's name.
For elderly parents, premiums sit well above the standard dependant rate. Expect a basic Dubai Essential Benefits-style plan to start around AED 1,500 to AED 3,000 per year per parent, with comprehensive cover for older parents — or those with pre-existing conditions — climbing to AED 5,000 or more annually. The premium scales with age and health, so a parent in their seventies costs noticeably more than one in their fifties.
Two practical points. First, this is a recurring annual cost, not one-off — it repeats at every renewal. Second, buy a policy that genuinely meets the GDRFA minimum coverage requirement; a cheap plan that falls short of the required cover is a common, avoidable rejection trigger.
By default, no — GDRFA expects you to sponsor both parents together. The reasoning is that splitting a couple leaves one parent unsupported in the home country, which the authorities try to avoid.
There is one clear exception: if the other parent has died or the parents are divorced, you may sponsor the surviving or single parent alone. This is the route behind most "mother visa Dubai" and "father visa UAE" searches.
To use the single-parent exception you must prove it. That means an attested death certificate or an attested divorce decree in the file. A single-parent application without that proof is one of the most common rejections — the system simply will not accept the file. Because the UAE is not a Hague Apostille country, that certificate must be legalised through the full consular chain (your home-country authorities, then the UAE Embassy in that country, then UAE MOFAIC) — never an apostille alone.
This trips people up, so it is worth stating plainly: no, you generally cannot sponsor a sibling on a standard residence visa. Residence sponsorship is reserved for immediate family — spouse, children, and parents. Brothers and sisters sit outside that circle under the standard rules.
The realistic path for a sibling is a visit visa, not residence, and even that carries its own sponsor-salary band: AED 8,000 per month, the official ICP minimum for sponsoring second-degree relatives on a visit visa. Residence sponsorship of a sibling only happens under narrow, case-by-case humanitarian or guardianship circumstances. If a relative is selling you on an easy sibling residence visa, be cautious. For the full map of who can sponsor whom, our breakdown of UAE visa types lays out each category.
The mechanics are document-heavy but predictable. In Dubai you will move through GDRFA (in person or via the GDRFA app and an Amer-authorised typing centre); in other emirates the equivalent flow runs through ICP.
If your salary proof relies on a qualification — for some roles GDRFA wants degree-backed evidence of standing — your certificate may need attesting too; our guide to degree certificate attestation in the UAE covers that consular chain.
Most rejections are not bad luck — they are predictable, and avoidable. Knowing them in advance is the single best thing you can do for your file.
You can assemble all of this yourself, learn the GDRFA forms by trial and error, and find out which attestation you got wrong only after a rejection. Or you can have it typed and submitted correctly the first time. The two document steps that most often go wrong — the entry-permit application and the attested affidavit — are exactly the steps a typing centre handles every day.
As an Amer-authorised typing centre in Deira, Sarmat's typing and document services prepare the entry-permit submission, format the supporting documents to GDRFA's expectations, and tell you which attestations your specific file needs before you pay deposits or buy insurance. With 12+ years in UAE government services and 5,000+ clients handled, the aim is simple: one clean submission instead of two.
If you want a quick read on whether your salary fits the standard route — and what your parents' file will need — message us on WhatsApp at wa.me/971506395245 and we will walk you through it before you start spending.
The current standard is around AED 10,000 per month, following a federal reform effective 3 October 2022 that lowered it from AED 20,000. Dubai may still apply a higher bar for the standard parent route in some cases, which is why published figures disagree — confirm your exact figure with GDRFA (Dubai) or ICP (other emirates) before applying.
It is refundable and is generally lodged per parent, so sponsoring two parents means a deposit for each, subject to GDRFA's rules. Current Dubai parent-sponsorship guidance puts it at around AED 5,000, refundable once the residence visa is approved and released on cancellation with no fines outstanding — confirm the live amount with GDRFA or your typing centre on the day you apply.
By default both parents must be sponsored together. You can sponsor a single parent only if the other has died or the parents are divorced, and you must back that with an attested death certificate or divorce decree.
Expect roughly AED 1,500 to AED 3,000 per year per parent for a basic compliant plan, rising to AED 5,000 or more for comprehensive cover or older parents. It is mandatory, recurs at every annual renewal, and must meet the GDRFA minimum coverage level.
The parent residence visa is valid for one year and must be renewed annually, regardless of whether your own visa runs for two or three years. Each renewal re-checks your salary, insurance, and housing.
Generally no — residence sponsorship covers immediate family only (spouse, children, parents). Siblings normally route to a visit visa, which carries an AED 8,000 sponsor-salary band (the official ICP minimum for second-degree relatives), with residence sponsorship reserved for narrow humanitarian or guardianship cases.
A parent visa is the kind of file where one missing affidavit, one wrongly attested certificate, or one under-lodged deposit costs you weeks and a second trip. Sarmat's typing-centre and document services prepare and submit the application the way GDRFA expects it — salary documentation, the sole-supporter affidavit, Ejari, insurance, entry permit, Emirates ID, and the refundable deposit, end to end.
Message us on WhatsApp at wa.me/971506395245 with your monthly salary and whether you are sponsoring one parent or both, and we will confirm whether you fit the standard route and map your file before you spend a dirham.
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