As of 1 October 2026: every UAE visit visa sponsor needs ICP’s income thresholds met before applying. Sponsoring a friend or relative’s UAE visit visa costs AED 300 to AED 400 in base fees, plus a refundable financial guarantee of AED 1,000 for a single entry or AED 2,000 for multiple entries. Those figures come directly from ICP’s own service page, not a travel agency’s package price.
What does a resident actually need to earn to sponsor a visitor?
ICP sets the income bar by how closely related the visitor is to the sponsor:
- First-degree relatives (father, mother, spouse, son, daughter): minimum AED 4,000 a month
- Second- and third-degree relatives (siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, cousins): minimum AED 8,000 a month
- A friend, meaning anyone outside these family tiers: minimum AED 15,000 a month
Proof of kinship has to match the claimed degree of relationship, and the sponsor needs an active sponsor file with ICP before any of this can be applied for.
How much does the visa itself cost?
The fees break down into several parts:
- Application fee: AED 100
- Issuance fee, single entry, per month: AED 100
- Issuance fee, multiple entry, per month: AED 200
- Smart Service fee: AED 100
On top of that sits a refundable financial guarantee: AED 1,000 for a single-entry visa, AED 2,000 for multiple entry, plus a AED 20 financial guarantee deposit fee. ICP states this guarantee can be refunded after the visa is cancelled or the visitor has left the UAE, as long as no residency violations happened during the stay.
How long can the visitor actually stay?
The visa itself allows a stay of 30, 60 or 90 days, depending on which duration was selected when applying. ICP can extend it once or several times, but the total time in the UAE across all extensions cannot pass 120 days. Separately, the visitor has 60 days from the date the visa is issued to actually enter the country, though that entry window can itself be extended once if needed.
What else does ICP require?
Every applicant needs a valid health insurance policy covering their stay in the UAE, a passport valid for at least six months, and a return travel ticket. The required documents include a passport, a personal photo, a medical report, and proof of the family relationship where applicable. ICP processes the service in 2 working days once a complete application is submitted.
What happens if the visitor overstays?
This is enforced the same way regardless of whether the sponsor earns the minimum AED 4,000 threshold or well above it. The financial guarantee exists precisely to cover this risk, which is why ICP holds it until the visa is formally cancelled or the visitor’s exit is confirmed rather than releasing it automatically once the stated stay period ends.
Once the visa’s approved stay period or the entry window expires, ICP applies an overstay fine of AED 50 for every day past the deadline. This is the same overstay structure ICP uses across its other visa and residence services, so the penalty is predictable rather than a one-off surprise.
How is this different from sponsoring a family member’s residence?
This visit visa is a temporary stay, not residence. A sponsor bringing a spouse or child to live in the UAE long-term needs the separate residence permit process instead, covered in our UAE family visa sponsorship guide, which carries its own income threshold and fee structure built around annual renewal rather than a capped 120-day stay. Choosing the wrong one wastes the application fee, since a visitor who actually wants to move to the UAE permanently needs residence, not a visit visa extended repeatedly.
Anyone planning a longer family reunion should also check our UAE cost of living breakdown and, if the visitor eventually ends up needing their own Emirates ID, that only applies once they move from a visit visa to an actual residence permit.
What is the short version?
Sponsoring a UAE visit visa costs AED 300 to AED 400 in core fees depending on whether it is single or multiple entry, plus a refundable guarantee of AED 1,000 or AED 2,000. The sponsor’s required income scales with how closely related the visitor is, from AED 4,000 a month for immediate family up to AED 15,000 for a friend, and the visitor can stay up to 120 days total across any extensions.
Last updated: 1 October 2026. Primary source: ICP, Issuance of a Visa service page.
