Dubai launches invitation-only five-year visa club

Welcome to UAE Law Watch. In this issue, we cover the past fortnight’s key UAE legal and regulatory developments, including Dubai’s new invitation-only visitor programme, real estate updates, family-law measures and employment process changes. We have focused on practical points for residents, investors, employers and internationally mobile families.

Visas & Residency

Dubai announces invitation-only programme with five-year multiple-entry tourist visa benefit

GDRFA Dubai and the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism announced details of “Dubai Access Club”, described as an invitation-only city-led tourism membership programme. The programme is intended for repeat visitors nominated through selected launch partners and loyalty channels. Once visa applications are approved and eligibility requirements are met, members may activate benefits including a five-year multiple-entry tourist visa and access to selected city services and experiences. The launch partners named in the announcement include Emirates, Accor and Visa, with further partners expected to join.

What this means for you: Frequent visitors and internationally mobile families should watch eligibility routes through launch partners if repeated Dubai entry is important but UAE residence is not yet available.

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Property & Real Estate

DubaiNow now supports a faster end-to-end Ejari journey

Dubai Land Department launched an enhanced Ejari service through the DubaiNow app. The upgraded digital journey allows customers to create and register tenancy contracts through a single process, with the Ejari certificate issued immediately after contract approval. Landlords and tenants can also renew and cancel contracts digitally through UAE PASS, and the service allows payment of the DEWA security deposit within the same journey to support activation of electricity and water services. The initiative is presented as part of Dubai’s “One Government” digital-integration approach.

What this means for you: Tenants and landlords should make sure contract details and UAE PASS approvals are correct before submission, as Ejari registration remains central to tenancy rights and utility activation.

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Al Satwa planning changes may expand development potential

Dubai Municipality announced an updated planning system for Al Satwa, expanding land-development options and permitting more varied residential and commercial uses depending on location and plot characteristics. Internal-road plots may now be developed as ground floor plus two residential apartment floors, replacing a planning approach previously centred mainly on attached villas. External-road plots may support denser mixed-use development, including a commercial ground floor with two or three residential apartment floors, subject to the approved planning requirements. The updated regime also introduces additional planning incentives for plots of 1,000 square metres or more, including plots created by amalgamating smaller parcels, with possible development up to a commercial ground floor plus eight residential floors and a floor-area ratio of up to 3.5 where conditions are met.

What this means for you: Al Satwa owners, buyers and developers should reassess plot value, permitted use and redevelopment feasibility before signing or renegotiating property contracts.

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Dubai court orders refund and compensation after unit transferred to another buyer

The Dubai Real Estate Court ordered rescission of a property sale after an investor who had paid AED 746,000 for a Dubai Marina unit could not take possession because the property had been transferred to another buyer. The buyer already held a final judgment confirming the validity and enforceability of his contract and ordering the developer to hand over the unit. The court found that transfer and registration in a third party’s name made performance impossible, justifying rescission and refund of the established payments. It also awarded AED 250,000 for material and moral harm, plus 5% annual interest on the refunded amount from the claim date and on the compensation from the date the judgment becomes final.

What this means for you: Buyers in developer disputes should act quickly to preserve evidence of payment, registration status and any prior judgments if delivery becomes impossible.

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Family & Personal Matters

Abu Dhabi issues Resolution No. 43 of 2026 on the Post-Separation Charter

WAM reported that the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department has issued Resolution No. 43 of 2026 concerning the “Post-Separation Charter – Year of Family”. The measure establishes a framework for parental responsibilities and children’s rights following separation, and is designed to regulate the relationship between parents where disputes or separation arise. The announcement states that the best interests of children are placed at the forefront of the framework. It forms part of the wider Year of Family 2026 package of initiatives intended to strengthen family stability and improve post-separation support.

What this means for you: Separating parents in Abu Dhabi should expect greater attention to structured co-parenting commitments and child-focused arrangements.

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Ras Al Khaimah court confirms children’s rights after khula

A Ras Al Khaimah court granted a 43-year-old mother khula for the second time within eight months after the parties briefly remarried and marital disputes resumed. The court confirmed her custody of the couple’s 10 children and rejected the father’s counterclaim for custody, relying on a custody committee report which found no impediment to the mother’s care of the children. It held that the children’s financial rights are independent of the wife’s waiver of her own marital financial entitlements for khula. The father was ordered to pay recurring obligations totalling AED 227,500 annually, including monthly child support, housing, transport, domestic help, school supplies and Eid clothing, plus one-off amounts including AED 25,000 for furnishing the custody home and up to AED 6,000 for domestic-worker recruitment costs.

What this means for you: A spouse’s waiver of personal financial claims in khula does not remove the children’s separate rights to maintenance and care.

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Employment

MOHAP upgrades sick-leave and companion-leave attestation

The Ministry of Health and Prevention announced an upgraded process for attesting and approving sick leave and companion leave certificates. Licensed health facilities may now submit attestation requests directly on behalf of patients and companions, and qualifying approval requests will move automatically without the customer filing a new application. The announcement states that the automatic link between attestation and approval applies, under the approved controls, to federal government employees and employees of the local governments of Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. The changes also extend facility-submitted requests to companion-leave certificates, reducing procedural steps for employees and employers dealing with medical leave documentation.

What this means for you: Employers and employees should update internal leave procedures to reflect the new facility-led attestation route where it applies.

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Federal Supreme Court quashes AED 100,000 labour-law fine

The Federal Supreme Court set aside an appellate judgment that had upheld the conviction of an establishment owner and an AED 100,000 fine for allegedly suspending business activity without settling workers’ rights. The defendant argued, with supporting documents, that the establishment remained operational, that employees were paid regularly, and that the work was being performed away from the registered premises. The Supreme Court held that a conviction judgment must clearly state the facts establishing the elements of the offence and must respond to material defence arguments. It quashed the judgment for failing to address that substantive defence.

What this means for you: Employers facing labour enforcement action should keep clear evidence of operations, wage payment and work arrangements, especially where work is performed away from registered premises.

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Financial Centres & Regulation

ADGM publishes guidance on crypto-mining activities

ADGM’s Registration Authority published guidance on crypto-mining activities in and from ADGM, describing crypto mining as a licensable commercial activity overseen by the Registration Authority rather than a regulated financial service. The guidance identifies ADGM’s commercial licence for crypto mining under business activity code 7230 and draws a boundary between commercial crypto mining and FSRA-regulated financial services, supported by a pre-application self-assessment. It also addresses governance and transparency expectations, including corporate-structure and beneficial-ownership disclosure, confidential disclosure of on-chain reward-flow addresses, and proportionate risk-based supervision. ADGM stated that the guidance is the first phase of its approach and that a regulatory framework will be developed for market consultation later.

What this means for you: Crypto-mining operators considering ADGM should assess licensing, ownership disclosures and whether any connected activity could require FSRA authorisation.

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DFSA publishes white paper on scaling tokenisation

The Dubai Financial Services Authority published a new white paper titled “Scaling Tokenisation: The Road Ahead”. The paper brings together market perspectives on how tokenisation may develop as it moves from experimentation toward practical use across financial products, payments and market infrastructure. The DFSA announcement states that the paper considers conditions for responsible scaled tokenised markets, including custody, digital settlement, interoperability and cross-border coordination. The regulator expressly states that the white paper does not prescribe a particular technological, regulatory or commercial outcome.

What this means for you: DIFC firms and digital-asset projects should treat the paper as useful regulatory context when planning tokenised products, custody models and cross-border structures.

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