The UAE government has launched the Family Book. It is said that this will benefit expats living and working in the country. So what is the Family Book and how will it change things for people? We look at this and also at new visa regulations that make it easier for people in the UAE to sponsor their family members wishing to come to the UAE.
Simply put, the family book will contain all the relevant financial and other information about citizens and residents as well as their families. This is in line with the government's push for shifting to smart service trends. It will apply to citizens as well as expats residing in the UAE.
The family book will be linked directly to one's Emirates ID and will be useful for conducting various transactions all across the UAE since all relevant information will be available via a single reference source. The family book will also help in reducing customer service queues by as much as 80% over the next couple of years.
The electronic family book will become the approved document for all transactions in the UAE along with the smart application for the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.
This has been done with a view to streamlining and computerising all government services so that people don’t have to queue up to get their jobs done. The family book will store the data in the smart chip of the ID card and will also help to reduce instances of fraud, identity theft and other fake transactions; thereby safeguarding people.
In a departure from the norm, UAE residents wishing to bring their families to the UAE will now only have to fulfill certain income criteria. With about 30% or 3.3 million of UAE residents being of Indian origin, this will largely benefit the expats from India since the sponsorship will no longer be restricted only to the previously listed professions.
Any male living and working in the UAE, earning Dh 4,000 (approximately Rs. 75,000) or Dh 3,000 (Rs. 56,000) plus company accommodation can sponsor his immediate family members. Females can sponsor their family if they are engineers, teachers or health professionals earning Dh 4,000 and above a month. For other sectors, women are required to earn Dh 10,000 and above and obtain appropriate approvals. However certain categories such as domestic help will be excluded.
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