Twenty-three percent of the respondents in the survey said they plan to sponsor relatives in the UAE for the holidays, with a hope that they can find greener pastures here.
If a job is found, the visiting relative would have to exit the UAE while the visit visa is processed by the government to an employment visa.
Along this line, Filipinos holding resident visas can bring their relatives over provided all requirements are met, including an Affidavit of Support and Guarantee (ASG) by the Philippine Consulate General and Embassy, attesting their financial capability.
“I plan to bring my nephew here for vacation. I will support him and if he wants he can try get a job,” said Josefina Espina (real name withheld), adding that she had sent a few relatives before, “and they now have work.”
“That’s how it usually goes,” she said, “I help them and if they are successful, they help other relatives in return.”
Dulce Caldera of Sharjah who has been working in the UAE for the past nine years, for her part said , “we are all together here now.”
“See, if we can’t help them back home, might as well bring them here for visits and occasions – and if they get lucky, they get a job,” she said, adding that she first sponsored a brother “so I could have help in trying to save money.”
