GDRFA (General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs)
الإدارة العامة للإقامة وشؤون الأجانب
GDRFA is Dubai's residency authority — the body that issues entry permits, residence visas, status changes, and related immigration services for Dubai-sponsored files, operating alongside the federal ICP, which handles the other emirates and the national identity system. The split matters operationally: where a company or sponsor is registered determines which authority processes the file, which portal or app is used, and which service centres (Amer centres in Dubai's case) handle the paperwork. GDRFA also runs Dubai's entry approvals, overstay and fine settlements, absconding-related immigration records, and border-crossing systems at Dubai's airports. Lawyers and PROs deal with GDRFA constantly: verifying visa and entry-permit status, lifting immigration holds, processing family sponsorships after divorce or death, urgent travel approvals, and regularisation files. Knowing whether a matter is a GDRFA (Dubai) or ICP (federal/other emirates) file is the first routing question in any UAE immigration issue.
Also in
الإدارة العامة للإقامة وشؤون الأجانب هي سلطة الإقامة في دبي، وهي الجهة التي تصدر تصاريح الدخول وتأشيرات الإقامة وتعديل الوضع وما يتصل بها من خدمات الهجرة للملفات المكفولة في دبي، وتعمل إلى جانب الهيئة الاتحادية للهوية والجنسية والجمارك وأمن المنافذ التي تتولى بقية الإمارات ومنظومة الهوية الوطنية. ولهذا التقسيم أثر عملي: فمكان تسجيل الشركة أو الكفيل يحدد الجهة المختصة والمنصة المستخدمة ومراكز الخدمة، وهي مراكز «آمر» في حالة دبي. كما تدير الإدارة موافقات الدخول وتسويات الغرامات وسجلات الهجرة المتصلة ببلاغات الانقطاع عن العمل وأنظمة المنافذ في مطارات دبي. ومعرفة ما إذا كان الملف تابعاً لدبي أو للهيئة الاتحادية هي أول سؤال في أي مسألة هجرة إماراتية.
Related terms
Golden Visa
The Golden Visa is a long-term UAE residency permit valid for five or ten years, renewable, granted to specified categor
Garnishment (Third-Party Attachment)
Garnishment is the attachment of a debtor's money or assets that are in the hands of a third party — most commonly bank
Absconding Case
An absconding case (bulaq taghayyub) is a formal report filed by a UAE employer or sponsor with the Ministry of Human Re
Amer
Amer centres are the authorised service centres that process GDRFA Dubai transactions — the immigration counterpart of T
Change of Status
Change of status (also called status adjustment or amendment) is the in-country process of converting from one UAE immig
Deportation
Deportation is the compulsory removal of a non-citizen from the UAE by order of the competent authority. UAE law recogni
Related legislation
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