At the beginning of 2021, Dubai Decision No. 3 of 2021 laid down the visitation timings by one of the parents, and the Decision organized the time duration and types, as well as the age of the child and the relationship between the applicant and the child.
- If the applicant is one of the parents, and if the child’s age is less than 2 years then the visitation can be between 1-2 days a week and each visit shall not exceed 2 hours and the applicant's parent shall have the right to see the child on the second day of each Eid for not more than 2 hours.
- If the child is between 2-4 years, then the visit shall be between 1-2 days a week between 2-5 hours without giving the applicant the right to accompany the child away from the custodian. The applicant parent shall have the right to see the child on the second day of each Eid for not more than 2-5 hours, and visitation through online means not exceeding 15 minutes once a month.
- Starting from the age of 4, the applicant's parent shall have the right to see the child 1-2 times a week for 5-8 hours. In this case, the parent has the right to request the child to have an overnight stay with them, including the second day of each Eid for 2-5 hours without an overnight stay, and visitation through online means not exceeding 30 minutes once a month.
The same decision organized the visitation for the grandparents. If the child is less than 2 years, then the visit shall be 1-2 times a month, each visit not more than 2 hours, without the right to accompany the child. From the ages of 2 -4 years, the visit shall be 1 or 2 times a month, each visit not more than 5 hours without the right to accompany the child, and visitation through online means not exceeding 30 minutes once a month. Starting from the age of 4, the visit shall be 1-2 times a month, each not more than 7 hours, and visitation through online means not exceeding 30 minutes once a month.
If the parent that is requesting the visitation is detained, then the visitation shall only be through online means of communication. Should the applicant expose the child to any risk, or if there is any risk in the execution of the visitation, or if the applicant did not abide by the visitation order, then the Judge has the right to request the suspension of the visitation court order.
Furthermore, the law indicates that the applicant could be in breach of the court order if the child was not returned after accompanying, if they were absent and did not attend without a valid reason, and if such absence happened with a promptly advanced time for notice, or if the applicant left the child with a third party or if the applicant did not consider public order or tradition or harmed the custodian at the time of receiving the child.
The same law considers that the custodian could be in breach of this law if they refused to bring the child or deliver the child as per the visitation court order, and if such a breach happens, the Judge may warn the custodian and apply daily penalties between AED 1,000-10,000 a day or issue a detention order. Should this happen, the Judge may prepare a report indicating the number of times the custodian has breached the visitation and the time and date of each breach, as such a report could be used to claim custody at a later stage.
In regards to other family relatives, they are organized in the same decision and are given the right to visit the child with different arrangements. However, since the aforementioned are the most common, I wanted to highlight them in this article It is important to highlight that as per Article No. 2 of Dubai Decision No. 3 of 2021, the context of this decision is issued for the sake of guidance and not mandatory to be applied and shall be considered in each undecided procedure or case, before the date of the decree’s issuance.
It must be noted that the visitation rules incorporated in the Dubai Decision No. 3 of 2021 do not apply to the non-Muslim population of the UAE, since custody and guardianship under Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 On Civil Personal Status are not distinguished. Parents have been granted 50-50 custody of the children under Article 10 of the Law, and are responsible for raising them together unless they choose otherwise.
Legal Update:
The above information might not apply if both parties are non-muslim. Starting from the 1st of February 2023, UAE issued specific family law to be applied between non-muslim expatriate residents in case none of them wanted to apply his/her home country's law in the UAE. To know more information about this law, please feel free to click this link.
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About the Author
Dr. Hassan Elhais publishes analysis of UAE family law matters, including child custody, parental responsibilities and arrangements affecting children. For readers researching a child custody lawyer in Dubai, his writing offers insight into the legal questions surrounding these topics. Explore his published work and practice-area information for further context.
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