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Every Indian family member travelling to Dubai needs a visa of their own, from the grandparents to the baby. Children of tourists under 18 pay no visa fee between 15 July and 15 September each year if they travel with a parent. A relative living in the UAE can also sponsor the family on a visit visa, with a salary of at least AED 4,000 a month for parents, children or a spouse.
One visa per traveller
The ICP and GDRFA pages we read do not set out a special rule for children. In practice a visa is issued to a passport, so each child who has an Indian passport gets their own visa. Dubai agencies publish child visas as separate prices, which shows the same thing.
Each person can be on a different route. A common case: one parent works in the US and holds a US visa, the other parent and the children hold only Indian passports. The parent with the US visa can use the 14-day or 60-day visa. ICP says family members qualify on the same conditions, which means each needs their own qualifying document. Everyone else takes a tourist visa. The visa on arrival page for Indians explains who qualifies.
Children: fees and the summer waiver
A UAE Cabinet decision, reported by Gulf News on , exempts tourists' children under 18 from the visa fee from 15 July to 15 September every year. The child travels with a parent.
Two things to check before you count on it. First, the decision speaks of tourists' children, so it fits the tourist visa. Second, the waiver covers the visa fee. Health insurance and any agency charge may still be billed.
Outside the summer window, Dubai visa agencies publish about AED 100 to AED 299 for a child's 30-day visa and AED 150 to AED 500 for 60 days (published prices of 2 Dubai agencies, checked ). For adults the 30-day single entry tourist visa runs about AED 340 to AED 800 (8 agencies).
Parents and grandparents visiting family in the UAE
Many Indian families travel the other way: parents fly out to see a son or daughter working in Dubai. The resident child sponsors them on a visit visa. ICP sorts relatives by degree:
- First degree: father, mother, spouse, son, daughter. Sponsor salary AED 4,000.
- Second degree: brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandchildren. Sponsor salary AED 8,000.
- Third degree: uncles, aunts, cousins. Sponsor salary AED 8,000.
Emirates uses a different table when it files a visa for its own passengers: AED 4,000 for a wife, children, parents and parents-in-law, AED 5,500 for brothers and sisters, AED 7,000 for brothers and sisters-in-law. If an in-law is the visitor, the Emirates route may be the clearer one, since ICP's degrees do not list in-laws.
The sponsor also pays a refundable guarantee: AED 1,000 for single entry, AED 2,000 for multiple entry. It comes back after the visitor leaves with no violation. The visit runs 30, 60 or 90 days and can be extended. ICP's issuance page caps the total at 120 days, its extension page at 180. The Dubai family visit visa page goes through the sponsor side in full.
Parents who visit every year
If your parents fly to Dubai several times a year, compare the 5-year multiple entry tourist visa. ICP charges AED 3,720 in all, which includes an AED 3,000 guarantee. Each stay can last up to 90 days, with no more than 180 days a year. The applicant shows a bank balance of USD 4,000 over the last 6 months and UAE health insurance. See Dubai 5-year visa.
Fees for a family
| Visa | Official fee per person |
|---|---|
| Tourist, 30 days single entry (GDRFA) | AED 210 |
| Tourist, 60 days single entry (GDRFA) | AED 315 |
| Relative visit, single entry (ICP) | AED 100 application, AED 100 per month, AED 100 smart services |
| Relative visit guarantee (ICP) | AED 1,000 single, AED 2,000 multiple, plus AED 20 |
| GDRFA relative visit insurance | AED 40 (30 days), AED 60 (60 days), AED 90 (90 days) |
| 5-year tourist visa (ICP) | AED 3,720, of which AED 3,000 is a guarantee |
Source: GDRFA and ICP service pages, checked . The summer waiver above removes the visa fee for eligible children. Every other fee is on Dubai visa fees for Indians.
Papers for minors
- The child's own Indian passport, valid 6 months from entry
- A photo of the child on a white background, no hat. Babies count too.
- A copy of the birth certificate in Arabic or English, which Emirates asks for on sponsored visits
- Proof of the relationship to the sponsor, for a relative's visit visa
- The parent's passport copy, for the summer waiver
A baby born during the visit
If a child is born in Dubai while the parents are on visit visas, the baby needs a departure permit to fly home. GDRFA charges AED 241. The father attends in person with the passport, a photo, the birth certificate and a ticket leaving within 7 days. ICP's version costs AED 200 plus AED 100 smart services. After that permit expires, overstay runs at AED 50 a day from the eighth day.
Processing time
GDRFA states 48 hours for tourist and relative visit visas. ICP states 2 days. File all members together. A visa approved for three of four travellers is not a family trip.
Why family files get held up
- One child's passport has under 6 months left. Check every passport in the group, not only the adults'.
- Sponsor salary in the wrong tier. A son earning AED 5,500 clears the AED 4,000 tier for his parents, not the AED 8,000 tier for his grandparents.
- Waiver dates missed. A trip from 10 July pays the full child fee.
- Birth certificate only in a regional language. Get an English version.
- One family member applied late. Missing papers close a GDRFA request after 30 days.
How it works with us
Send passport copies for every traveller on WhatsApp or through the form on this page, with your dates and who, if anyone, sponsors you in the UAE. A visa adviser sets the right visa for each person, checks whether the summer child waiver applies, and gives you one total price for the whole family before you pay. Our team files all the visas together and follows them up. The e-visas come by email. DubaiVisaDesk.com is a private visa service, and GDRFA or ICP decides each visa.
A refusal means the government fees for that visa are gone: the authorities do not refund them. Before you pay, the adviser confirms in writing what part of our total, if any, you get back for a refused family member.
Official sources
- ICP visit visa: relationship degrees, sponsor salary, guarantee, 120 days.
- ICP visa extension: 180-day total for relative visits.
- GDRFA relative visit, single entry: fees and insurance.
- ICP 5-year tourist visa: AED 3,720 and stay limits.
- GDRFA departure permit: newborns.
- Gulf News, children's fee waiver: Cabinet decision.
- Emirates UAE visa information: sponsor salary table, birth certificate rule.
