Q: Until the 5th February 2016, I was in the UAE. Now, I am in Pakistan and my 18-year-old son is living with his mother in the UAE. Can I apply for the custody of my son from my home country?

Q: Hello, I would love to understand the new child custody laws in-depth for non-Muslim residents. My wife was granted our child's custody in the judgment of the first instance court but I have appealed against it. Having said that, I have a family here in Dubai to support raising my son whereas my wife has only herself (she is currently employed) and has a nanny only. How can I get full custody of our son or maybe apply for joint custody as per the new law?

Q: Hello, I have a question. My brother turned fourteen and he is with my mother and he does not need anything and he is getting 100% in his school. So now my father wants him back, will he get asked with whom he wanna stay or he will be forced to transfer to my father's house?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I am a French national who divorced my Dutch wife in Dubai under Dubai law. We have been divorced for 7 years and have a 15-year-old son. Until recently (December 2022), our son was under my ex-wife's sponsorship. However, her visa expired in December last year and she has not renewed it. As a result, both our son and my ex-wife have been overstaying for the past 6 months. I have informed her that I can and should sponsor our son, as I am the legal guardian and the legitimate father. However, she has not been willing to hand over her Emirates ID so that I can transfer the sponsorship and apply for visa renewal and health insurance. I simply need to be able to transfer the sponsorship of the expired visa in order to process the residency visa renewal for my son, who needs to be registered for the next school year and needs health insurance as he is currently not covered and is on overstay.

Q: Dear Lawyers, Can a husband renew only his 6-year-old child's visa and refuse to renew his wife's visa? What happens in that case?

An interview-format article covering the topic of custody and guardianship in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

UAE Personal Status Law (also known as Personal Affairs Law) governs marriage, divorce, inheritance and other personal affairs in the United Arab Emirates. The law equally applies to citizens of the UAE and non-citizens unless one of them asks for the application of his home country law.