Foreign workers will be allowed to sponsor family members based on income rather than profession under the latest changes to the UAE’s residency rules.
The UAE Cabinet yesterday said the decision is aimed at "enhancing family stability of foreign workers and social cohesion, as well as attracting highly skilled workers".
At present, a resident can sponsor family members if they meet certain criteria, including a “managerial” title.
Non-professionals and those who are skilled workers rather than degree holders do not necessarily meet the criteria to sponsor their families.
The Cabinet said that would change, although it did not set out how much a resident would have to earn to bring their family to the country.
Salary is currently taken into account when sponsoring a relative, but the minimum for a man is Dh4,000 or Dh3,000 plus accommodation. For a woman to sponsor her children, she must earn Dh10,000.
By making income as one of the criteria instead of profession, the law has become more inclusive to cover not just professionals but skilled workers
By making income one of the criteria instead of profession, the law has become more inclusive to cover not just professionals but skilled workers.
The Cabinet called on relevant government departments “to conduct studies to assess and enhance the services provided to residents, including aspects of education and health, and encourage the active participation of their family member in the job market as an alternative to recruiting new workers from abroad, within the existing policies and regulations,” state news agency Wam reported.
Details are expected in the coming weeks, officials said on Sunday.
Barney Almazar, a director at Gulf Law who deals with immigration issues, said the move is likely to mean more foreign workers will be eligible to sponsor their families.
“By making income as one of the criteria instead of profession, the law has become more inclusive to cover not just professionals but skilled workers as well," he said.
“It is not uncommon that skilled workers, having years of experience, have been promoted to higher salary grades but cannot obtain a managerial position stamped on their visa due to lack of educational degree.
“Now, they may be able to sponsor their families as they can demonstrate their ability to support their dependents based on their income.
“Working on a foreign land is already difficult. But being with your family makes it worthwhile.”
The development is the latest in a series of changes to the visa system in the past year and follows a 2018 cabinet decision to relax rules in offering 10-year visas to some professionals.
Key workers like those in science, research and medicine were among a list of executives and entrepreneurs offered the opportunity to extend residency visas, as the nation shifts towards a more knowledge-based economy.
Keren Bobker, senior partner at Holborn Assets who covers personal finance and government regulations in her column for The National, said the cost of sponsoring a family member is expected to remain low.
“It seems to be intended to be fairer than the current rules as it should not exclude any occupations,” she said.
“Under the previous rules domestic workers were not able to sponsor family members but most of these workers will have relatively low salaries, so may not have the means to do so.
“A further complication is where a domestic worker lives in their employer’s home but there may be cases where the employer may wish to employ both husband and wife, so this could work.”
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Price: From Dh2,099
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
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Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
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Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title
Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship
Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns
Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party
Randy Orton beats Triple H
Braun Strowman beats Bobby Lashley
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Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal
The Undertaker beat Goldberg
ARGYLLE
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