Dubai has introduced a residence permit service for the wives and children of nationals from six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries who hold foreign passports, allowing them to apply without additional conditions based on their nationality.
The service, announced on the official website of Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), is scheduled to take effect in 2026.
It is designed to help family members of GCC nationals who travel with non-GCC passports obtain legal residency in Dubai.
Six countries covered by the scheme
The Gulf Cooperation Council is a political and economic alliance comprising six Arab countries in the Gulf region. They are:
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates
- Kuwait
- Qatar
- Bahrain
- Oman
The residence permit service applies to eligible family members of nationals from all six countries.
Under the arrangement, the wives and children of GCC nationals can apply for Dubai residence permits even if they hold passports issued by countries outside the regional bloc.
How the Dubai residence permit service works
The service is administered by the GDRFA, the authority responsible for residency and immigration matters in Dubai.
It is intended to simplify residency applications for families whose sponsoring member is a citizen of a GCC country, while their dependants hold foreign passports.
The arrangement provides a route for eligible dependants without imposing additional conditions based on the country that issued their passports, provided the sponsoring family member is verified as a GCC national.
Eligible families can consult the GDRFA’s official service page for further information and application procedures.