Sponsorship
What is a sponsor?
All foreigners require a local sponsor in order to visit Dubai (whether on holiday or business) or live and work there.
Whereas in the west the word ‘sponsor’ is commonly used of individuals or businesses paying to have their names associated with an artistic or sporting event, in the Gulf it has a quite different meaning: a sponsor acts as a sort of guardian as well as guarantor and must undertake all administrative work (i.e. paperwork) on behalf of the foreigner, including applying for a work and residence visa, opening a bank account and signing a rental accommodation contract. A sponsor can be an individual, a company or an institution. In the case of employees, your employer usually also acts as your sponsor; visitors may be sponsored by a business partner or associate or by the hotel in which they’re staying. Those aiming to do business or set up a business in Dubai should research the local business environment, establish contacts and find an individual or company with a good reputation and experience in the relevant field to act as your sponsor, who will expect remuneration for his services.
If an individual acts as a sponsor he is required to hold a residence visa in Dubai and have a minimum income of AED4000. According to negotiations in June 2009 the required income might change to AED10,000 per month but this has not been implemented yet.
The sponsorship system is an effective form of immigration control. As your sponsor is responsible for you and ‘takes the rap’ if you misbehave or contravene any regulations (which will also involve him in loss of ‘face’ in the community), he automatically checks that you’re reliable and trustworthy, as well as ensuring that you don’t inadvertently step out of line. For this reason, your sponsor is an important source of help and advice and a valuable ‘ally’. Foreigners, who want to set up businesses in the free trade zones do not require a sponsor.
Also in this section
- Introduction: Employment prospects
- Sponsorship: What is a sponsor?
- Recruitment Agencies: How they operate
- Freelancing and Temping: What you should expect
- Teaching English in Dubai: Where can you teach English?
- Working Women: What is working in Dubai like?
- Working conditions: Salary & Working hours
- Employment Contracts: What you need to know
- Changing Jobs: The difficulties of changing jobs
- Dismissal & Redundancy: What you need to know
- Social Security: Dubai's social security system