UAE raises minimum salary limit for expats with family

Expatriates in the UAE who want to bring their families into the country must earn a minimum monthly salary of $1,251, up from $751, a top government official said on Thursday.

Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, director general of the naturalisation and residency department, told Gulf News foreigners must also provide their families with independent accommodation.

He said the decision to raise the earning amount was made after a study into the negative effects of allowing residents to bring their families without sufficient income and a suitable place to stay.

Previously, the minimum salary requirement was dirham 3,000, which was later raised to dirham 4,000 and then dirham 6,000, which has now been increased to dirham 10,000, the paper reported.

Al Menhali said it was best for the minimum wages to be raised to cope with the cost of living, rent, school fees and healthcare.

A resident should be able to support his family and afford their living costs to enable them to live a decent life, in line with the labour and residency laws, he said.

The new rules will come into effect after an amendment to the residency law, Al Menhali said, without adding a specific date.