How much does family sponsorship cost in the GCC? 2026 fees
Bring your spouse, children, and parents to live with you on the country's terms, with the right salary, attested papers, and insurance in place.
Indicative fees, renewal cycles and the issuing authority for all six Gulf states, plus an honest view of whether this is worth filing yourself.
Family Sponsorship fees across the six GCC states
| Country | Known locally as | Issuing authority | Indicative fee | Renewal cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 United Arab Emirates | Family Residence Visa | ICP / GDRFA | AED 1,170 entry permit + AED 650 status change + AED 370 Emirates ID per dependant | 2 years aligned with sponsor; Golden Visa dependants 10 years |
 Saudi Arabia | Dependent Iqama (Family Residence) | Jawazat via Absher, Muqeem, Enjaz | SAR 2,000 family residence fee per dependant + SAR 500 visa stamping + SAR 650 Iqama issuance | Annual, tied to sponsor's Iqama renewal |
 Qatar | Family Residence Permit (RP) | Ministry of Interior (MOI) | QAR 200 entry visa + QAR 500 RP + QAR 100 QID per year | Annual via Metrash, up to 90 days early |
 Bahrain | Family Dependant Visa | NPRA on bahrain.bh | BHD 60 per dependant for 2 years + BHD 5 CPR | 2 years aligned with sponsor |
 Oman | Family Joining Visa | Royal Oman Police (ROP) | OMR 201 for 2 years + OMR 10 Resident Card | 2 years aligned with sponsor |
 Kuwait | Article 22 Family Residence | PAM and MOI via Sahel | KD 10 entry visa + KD 10 residence per year + KD 5 Civil ID | Annual, daily KD 2 fine if late |
Compare the fee and the renewal cycle together
A headline fee on its own is misleading. A lower fee renewed every year can cost more across three years than a higher fee renewed every three. Both columns matter.
What you are paying for
Family sponsorship is the GCC mechanism that lets a resident or citizen bring close relatives, usually a spouse, children, and in some cases parents, to live with them under a residence permit linked to the sponsor's own. It is not a single regional system: each country sets the salary floor, the acceptable accommodation standard, the recognised relationships, the attestation chain, and the fees. The same family can be eligible in Dubai, marginal in Riyadh, and refused in Kuwait City. Most rejections trace back to a salary slip below the threshold, an unattested marriage certificate, a tenancy contract that does not list the dependant, or health insurance bought after the residence stamping deadline rather than before it.
Country naming and authorities differ. The UAE issues a Family Residence Visa through the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) and, for Dubai files, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA). Saudi Arabia issues a dependent Iqama through the Jawazat with applications filed via Absher, Muqeem, and Enjaz for the entry visa abroad. Qatar issues a Family Residence Permit (RP) through the Ministry of Interior, processed in Metrash and at the MOI service centres. Bahrain issues a Family Dependant Visa through the Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA) on bahrain.bh, distinct from LMRA work residence. Oman issues a Family Joining Visa through the Royal Oman Police. Kuwait issues family residence under Article 22 of the Foreigners Residence Law through the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) and the Ministry of Interior via the Sahel app.
Eligibility hinges on three pillars: relationship, salary, and accommodation. The UAE expects AED 4,000 monthly with employer-provided accommodation or AED 5,000 without, and lists eligible relationships down to first-degree relatives for some Golden Visa nominees. Saudi Arabia requires a minimum Iqama salary around SAR 4,000 for spouse and children and a higher band for parents, with the sponsor's profession often determining whether the application is accepted at all (engineers, doctors, teachers, and managerial titles are favoured). Qatar requires QAR 10,000 plus housing or QAR 15,000 without, with the sponsor's profession on the residence card vetted by MOI. Bahrain NPRA asks BHD 400 for a wife, with higher thresholds for parents and a tenancy contract in the sponsor's name. Oman requires a monthly income around OMR 600 with a white-collar profession code. Kuwait Article 22 requires KD 500 in most cases and restricts sponsorship to specific job titles published by PAM; labour titles such as drivers, cooks, and general workers are excluded.
Should you file it yourself, use a typing centre, or use a desk?
We run a paperwork desk, so treat this as coming from an interested party. It still contains the case for not paying us, because for a clean, simple filing that is the right answer.
Do it yourself
- Cost
- Government fee only
- Time
- Your own hours, plus any counter visit
- Best for
- Straightforward cases where every document is valid and the transaction is available in an app or portal.
- Watch out for
- A rejected submission costs you the resubmission and the wait, and the reason is often not explained.
Typing centre
- Cost
- Government fee plus a service fee per transaction
- Time
- One visit, usually same day if documents are complete
- Best for
- Transactions that still need a correctly formatted submission or original document sighting.
- Watch out for
- Service fees vary widely between centres and are rarely quoted separately from the government fee.
A desk like ours
- Cost
- Fixed fee quoted before we start, plus government fees at cost
- Time
- You send documents once and we handle the sequence
- Best for
- Cases already rejected once, sequences spanning several authorities, or deadlines where the fine exceeds the fee.
- Watch out for
- Not worth paying for a clean, simple filing you could complete in an app in ten minutes.
Decided you want it handled?
We file family sponsorship in all six GCC states
Fixed fee quoted before we start, government fees shown separately at cost. Tell us the country and where you are stuck.
Work out your own number
Indicative fees only take you so far. These calculators run your actual dates, salary and case against the published rates.
What the process looks like
- 1Confirm sponsor eligibilityVerify current salary on the most recent three pay slips, profession code on the residence card, and accommodation contract against the country threshold.
- 2Attest civil documentsRun marriage, birth, and where required adoption or custody certificates through the home-country foreign ministry, the destination GCC embassy abroad, and the destination MOFA on arrival.
- 3Buy compliant health insuranceActivate a dependent policy meeting CCHI, DHA, DOH, NHRA, MOPH, or Dhamani standards from the date of expected entry, not the date of arrival.
- 4File the entry permitSubmit on ICP or GDRFA, Muqeem and Enjaz, MOI Qatar via Metrash, NPRA on bahrain.bh, ROP eVisa, or PAM via Sahel and pay the entry-visa fee.
- 5Travel, medical, biometricsDependant enters within the entry-permit validity, sits the government medical at an approved centre, and gives fingerprints at the identity authority.
- 6Status change and stampingPay the residence and status-change fees so the dependent residence is stamped on the passport or the digital file.
Before you pay anything
Family Sponsorship document checklist, by country
Most extra cost comes from a rejected submission. Tick off what you need first.
Traps that differ between countries
- Salary thresholds vary by profession, not only by country: a Saudi accountant on SAR 4,500 may sponsor a wife but not parents, while the same income in Qatar fails the QAR 10,000 floor outright.
- Saudi Arabia requires the sponsor to be physically inside the Kingdom at the moment of dependent Iqama issuance and most renewals; biometric capture and absher.gov.sa authentication cannot be done from abroad.
- UAE Federal cabinet rules allow mothers and fathers to be sponsored only against a refundable deposit (AED 2,500 per parent) and an annual medical insurance covering full hospital cover, not the basic package.
- Attestation chains differ: India and Pakistan need MEA or MOFA stamps before GCC embassy attestation; the Philippines uses DFA Apostille that GCC missions still re-stamp; Hague Apostille alone is never sufficient for any GCC country.
- Newborn registration deadlines run on different clocks: 120 days in the UAE for birth certificate and Emirates ID, 60 days in Qatar for the QID, 90 days in Saudi Arabia for the dependant Iqama, 90 days in Bahrain for CPR, and immediate exit-or-regularise in Kuwait beyond 60 days.
- Qatar and the UAE require the tenancy contract (Ejari in Dubai, Tawtheeq in Abu Dhabi, municipality registration in Qatar) to name the sponsor and list the dependant address; a hotel address or a shared-bedspace tenancy fails on inspection.
Who has to pay this
- Salaried expat residents bringing a spouse on a dependent residence linked to their own
- Residents bringing children below the ceiling age (sons typically under 18, or under 25 if enrolled full time; unmarried daughters with no upper age in most countries)
- Residents sponsoring parents on long-stay family residence subject to the higher salary band
- Citizens of one GCC state living in another and bringing dependants under reciprocal rules
- Investors, business owners, and trade-licence holders sponsoring family on their commercial registration
- UAE Golden Visa and Saudi Premium Residency holders nominating spouse, children, parents, and in defined cases siblings
What pushes the cost above the headline fee
- Marriage or birth certificate missing the destination GCC embassy stamp, the single most common rejection reason at the entry-permit stage
- Sponsor salary slipping below the threshold after a job change, a non-cash allowance, or a switch from basic-plus-allowances to gross pay
- Tenancy contract not naming the dependant address, or a hotel or shared bedspace listed where a sole tenancy is required
- Profession code on the sponsor's residence card listed in the labour-class bracket that is excluded from family sponsorship in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait
- Health insurance bought after arrival rather than before stamping, voiding the residence in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman
- Sponsor outside the country at the moment of dependent Iqama or RP issuance in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, blocking biometric authentication
Family Sponsorship by country
United Arab EmiratesFamily Residence VisaSaudi ArabiaDependent Iqama (Family Residence)QatarFamily Residence Permit (RP)BahrainFamily Dependant VisaOmanFamily Joining VisaKuwaitArticle 22 Family ResidenceCosts you will hit at the same time
Guides that go deeper
Frequently asked questions
It varies substantially by country because each state sets its own schedule. United Arab Emirates: AED 1,170 entry permit + AED 650 status change + AED 370 Emirates ID per dependant. Saudi Arabia: SAR 2,000 family residence fee per dependant + SAR 500 visa stamping + SAR 650 Iqama issuance. Qatar: QAR 200 entry visa + QAR 500 RP + QAR 100 QID per year. The table on this page lists all six. Treat every figure as indicative and confirm with the issuing authority before paying, since fees change.
Not always, and we would rather say so. If your documents are valid and the transaction is available in an app, file it yourself. Paying a service fee makes sense when a submission has already been rejected without explanation, when several authorities are involved in sequence, or when a deadline fine would exceed the fee.
Comparing headline fees alone is misleading, because renewal cycles differ between states. A lower fee renewed annually can cost more over three years than a higher fee renewed every three. Compare the fee and the renewal cycle together, both of which are in the table on this page.
Because the government fee is only one line. Typing or service centre fees, urgent processing surcharges, delivery, medical tests, insurance and translation are charged separately, and providers bundle them differently. Ask for the government fee and the service fee split out before agreeing to anything.
They are indicative planning figures drawn from the issuing authorities and consistent public sources, and they are dated. Government fees change without much notice and free zone schedules are set independently. Always confirm the current amount with the issuing authority before you pay.
Most GCC authorities count basic salary plus housing allowance only; school and car allowances are excluded. The UAE allows AED 4,000 plus employer accommodation against AED 5,000 without, and Qatar accepts QAR 10,000 plus housing against QAR 15,000 without, but only if the housing benefit is written into the labour contract and shows on the payslip. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain look at the gross figure on the Iqama or CPR record. A salary-certificate from the employer confirming the in-kind benefits, attested by the chamber of commerce, can lift a marginal case, but it does not work in Kuwait where Tahweel WPS data alone counts.
Deadlines run from the birth date, not the date the parents return home. The UAE gives 120 days for the birth certificate, passport, and Emirates ID file, after which AED 100 per day in fines accrues. Qatar requires QID registration within 60 days and charges QAR 10 per day late. Saudi Arabia gives 90 days for the dependent Iqama record. Bahrain CPR must be filed within 90 days. Oman allows 60 days for the Resident Card application. Kuwait sets a 60-day window for the Civil ID and family-residence file; beyond that the newborn must exit and re-enter. Birth certificates must be attested in every country before passport issuance abroad.
Yes, but each country treats parents as a higher-friction category. The UAE asks for a salary above AED 20,000, full medical insurance (not basic), an AED 2,500 deposit per parent, and proof that no sibling can support them at home. Saudi Arabia restricts parental sponsorship to specific Iqama profession bands and requires Jawazat approval, often refused for blue-collar titles. Qatar accepts parents on a long-stay family RP at QAR 10,000 plus housing and asks for a guarantee letter. Bahrain NPRA needs a notarised medical-liability undertaking. Oman allows it on a case-by-case basis. Kuwait permits parents only above KD 500 with MOI approval and yearly renewal.
The most frequent reasons are an unattested marriage certificate (home MOFA stamp missing or the destination GCC embassy stamp missing), a tenancy contract not naming a residential property in the sponsor's name, profession code on the sponsor's residence card outside the eligible list, an active travel ban or fines on the sponsor's record, or a CCHI or Hamad insurance policy that does not meet the minimum class for spouses. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia also reject when the sponsor was outside the country on the application or biometric date. Reapplication usually works once the underlying defect is fixed, without a fresh entry-permit fee.
Want family sponsorship handled without the counter?
We quote a fixed fee before we start, with government fees shown separately at cost. If your case is simple enough to do yourself, we will tell you that instead.