Losing your job in the UAE doesn’t have to mean pulling your children out of school — here’s how to navigate visa rules and keep them enrolled
Losing employment or having your visa cancelled in the UAE can be stressful, especially when your children’s schooling is at stake.
Under UAE law, a child’s visa is tied directly to the sponsoring parent’s residency status, meaning once the parent’s visa is cancelled, the dependent’s visa becomes invalid too.
However, there are practical options to ensure your children’s education continues without disruption, including transferring sponsorship, placing visas on hold, or exploring alternate visa types, reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
From transferring sponsorship to your spouse to using a 60-day visa hold, families have several legal routes to keep their children in school during visa transitions
Once a parent receives notice of termination, the most common route is transferring sponsorship to the other working parent. This requires the spouse to hold a valid UAE employment visa, meet minimum salary requirements (AED 4,000–6,000 depending on emirate), and provide proof of accommodation along with attested marriage and birth certificates.
For those in between jobs, the GDRFA and ICP offer a “visa hold” option for up to 60 days, provided both the sponsor’s and dependent’s visas have at least three months’ validity.
This must be applied for before cancellation, with supporting documents like a new job offer and a refundable AED 2,500 deposit.
Other less common options include student visas for older children, visit visas for short-term legal stay, or investor visas if starting a business. Acting within the grace period — typically 30 days for employment-linked visas — is crucial to avoid daily overstay fines of AED 50 and potential issues with future residency applications.
