how we obtained mama’s residence visa

Finally, Mama is a legal resident of the UAE! Contrary to what I expected, and considering the bad luck we usually have with these matters, we didn’t have a difficult time to process it…although, it did take us a while. In June, aside from checking the internet for information on the procedures on how to sponsor a parent, I also asked our company PRO what the requirements were. They were a lot, and the entire process would take some time!

Requirements:
• Clear passport copies of the sponsor and sponsored
• Clear UAE residence visa copies of the sponsor
• Passport-size photographs of the sponsored
• Affidavit letter from the Consulate stating that the sponsor will take care of the sponsored. Details of the sponsor’s brothers and sisters (if any), where they live and work should also be mentioned.
• Labour contract attested from the Ministry of Labour. Salary should be Dhs10,000 or Dhs9,000 + accommodation
• Bank statement for the last 3 months
• Tenancy contract attested from the official department (should be at least 2 bedrooms)
• Latest DEWA bill

Notes:
o If both parents are alive, both of them needs to be sponsored unless they are divorced or one of them died. In this case, a divorced or death certificate (attested from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) should be presented
o Parents and parents-in-law cannot be sponsored at the same time/period; only one couple is allowed at a time
o Upon getting the approval, a Dhs5,000 deposit should be paid

So since my sister was going to the Philippines for a short vacation in August, and we wanted Mama to join her on her flight back to Dubai, we decided to start the visa application in July.

Knowing that the Affidavit Letter from the Philippine Consulate would take time, I decided to do that first. I downloaded the form from the consulate’s website, completed the necessary information, and attached a copy of my passport and UAE Residence Visa, birth certificate, and Mama’s passport. Two sets were required and it cost Dhs100. I submitted the papers on the 18th of July, and three days later, the affidavit was in my hands.

Unfortunately, as luck would have it, my visa had just been renewed so I had not yet received the copy of my latest labour contract…and according to our PRO, because it was Ramadan, it might take up to a month…which would be too late. We then opted to have Hubby be the sponsor instead, but according to the person at Immigration, since I was the daughter and my salary fit the minimum requirement, I should be the sponsor. We were running out of time so we decided Hubby will sponsor Mama’s one month Visit Visa, and then process her Residence Visa when she’s in the country.

Mama arrived in Dubai on the 17th of August. On the 26th of August, Hubby and I went to DNRD directly after work to submit the documents for her Residence Visa. Unfortunately, the counter for Humanitarian Cases was already closed. The only things we were able to do was have my labour contract attested (Dhs130) and go to the typing center for the visa application (Dhs260). The following day after lunch, I went back to DNRD with all the documents, both originals and several copies of each. I showed the application form to the person at the Information Desk, and he gave me a number for the Humanitarian Counter. The man at the counter took my papers, glanced through it, then told me to pay Dhs130 at the payments counter which he said was fees for the application to be submitted to the committee. I did this, and returned to him with the receipt. Then he asked me several questions: my mobile number, if she was my mother, if she was in Dubai or out of the country, and if anyone else was under my sponsorship. After he wrote all the answers on the form, he gave me a stub/sticker and told me to return after a week. This was a nice surprise because the information I got from the internet was it takes two weeks for the Approval Committee to decide whether to confirm or reject the application.

Before Hubby went to work on the morning of the 6th of September, he dropped me off at the Immigration Department. I went back to the Information Desk of the Entry Department Permits/Visa area, showed the man there the stub that was given to me, and he told me to just go to the Ladies Section. Inside, I showed the stub to the lady at the counter, and after a few minutes, she gave me my papers and told me to pay Dhs2,020 at the payments counter as the deposit and admin fees. No questions asked, and no other documents required to be submitted. Whew! And to top it off, the deposit was lower than the Dhs5,000 that I was informed by our PRO that I had to pay. After paying, I returned to the lady and showed her the receipt. Then she asked me if my mother was in Dubai; when I answered “yes,” she said that I needed to pay Dhs530 at the counter, which I did. When I returned to her again and showed her that receipt, she gave me the pink Residence Visa paper and told me to go to the typing center for a Change Status Form. This cost Dhs610. I signed the form and went back to the lady (again!) with the papers. She returned the pink Residence Visa to me and gave me a Change Status paper, and told me that Mama had to do the medical within two months.

Now that we finally had a Residence Visa in our hands, Hubby could get the refund of the Visit Visa. We went back to the Information Desk of the Entry Department Permits/Visa area where the man there gave Hubby a number, and we waited for his turn. At the counter, Hubby gave the man the receipt of the deposit (Dhs1,020); the man checked the system, then he stamped and signed the receipt. After that, we went to the Commercial Bank of Dubai in DNRD. The bank’s security guard told Hubby to write his full name and mobile number at the back of the receipt, and gave him a number. At the teller, Hubby gave the receipt and received Dhs990 as the refund.

Since we had plenty of time for Mama to have her medical done, we waited to do this until after I had given birth. Hubby accompanied her at Al Baraha Hospital on the 7th of October where a sample of her blood was taken and she was x-rayed. They also applied for her Emirates ID there (typing, photo and fingerprints). Everything cost Dhs780. I thought an SMS would be sent to me once the test results were ready, but after waiting for more than a week without receiving any notification, I decided to go to the hospital…and got the medical results. And since I was already there (and because Mama and Hubby forgot to get it), I got Mama’s health card as well. All I had to do was go to the office behind the hospital’s typing center, submit the documents (health card paper with the yellow receipt, Mama’s passport copy, our tenancy contract copy, her pink residence visa copy, and Emirates ID application copy) to the man at the counter, and after around ten minutes, Mama’s health card was in my hands.

Right after that, I went directly to DNRD. I went to the typing center first to have the application form done. The requirements were Mama’s original passport, the pink Residence Visa paper, her medical results, two of her passport-size photographs, a copy of my passport and visa, and Dhs310 (for urgent processing). Once the form was given to me and I had signed at the bottom, I went to the Ladies Section of the Residency Section area, took a number from the machine, and waited for my turn. Fortunately, the lady at the counter who served me was very nice. She took my documents, told me to give her a copy each of Mama’s Emirates ID application and the Dhs2,020 deposit receipt. I didn’t have any copies of those with me (just the originals), so I had to go out and have these done. When I returned to the lady (she was talking to her colleague at another desk), she just told me to put the papers on her desk and collect Mama’s passport which she had left there...with the residence visa already stamped! Hurray! So as of the 16th of October 2012, Mama is a valid resident of the UAE…for one year at least.