- The Dubai government published details of a service that grants residence permits to wives and children of GCC nationals holding foreign passports
- The permit is available without conditions to family members of citizens from six Gulf Cooperation Council countries
- Applicants can access the service through the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai
Dubai has stated that wives and children of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals who hold foreign passports are eligible to receive a residence permit in the emirate, with no additional conditions attached.
The service is published on the official portal of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFAD) and applies in 2026.
Source: Getty Images
It targets family members of GCC citizens who are travelling on non-GCC passports, offering them a route to legal residence in Dubai.
What is a GCC country?
The Gulf Cooperation Council is a political and economic alliance of six Arab countries in the Gulf region. The member states are:
1. Saudi Arabia.
2. United Arab Emirates.
3. Kuwait.
4. Qatar.
5. Bahrain.
6. Oman.
Citizens of all six countries are covered under the residence permit service for their families.
This means that if a GCC national's wife or children carry a foreign passport rather than a GCC-member passport, those family members can still apply for a Dubai residence permit through this dedicated service.
Dubai residence permit: How the service works
The permit is issued specifically through the GDRFAD, which oversees all residency and immigration matters in Dubai. The service is designed to simplify the process for mixed-nationality families where the GCC national head of household holds citizenship of a member state, but their dependants hold passports from outside the GCC bloc.
By offering this route without additional requirements tied to the foreign passport's country of origin, Dubai effectively opens the residence pathway to a wide range of nationalities, as long as the sponsoring family member is a verified GCC national.
Families who qualify can access the full details and begin their application through the GDRFAD service page.
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that Dubai had listed two conditions for foreigners to get a visa which allows them to enter the emirate and look for work.
Foreigners eligible for Dubai's Golden Visa
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Dubai had published the categories of foreigners eligible for its 10-year Golden Visa.
The information was published by Dubai's General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs and is available on the official Invest in Dubai portal.
The visa is designed to attract high-value residents and skilled professionals to the emirate.
Source: Legit.ng
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