When we started planning our move from Canada to Sharjah, the document side looked manageable. Passports, birth certificates, some paperwork. How complicated could it be?
More complicated than we expected. We are a family of four -- two boys, ages four and one -- relocating on a business visa we are sponsoring ourselves. By the time we added up the free zone setup, flights, accommodation, car rental, and attestation, we were close to $26,000 CAD. We initially thought that was just the price of the move. Later we found families who had done it for significantly less. The gap mostly came down to knowing what to expect before you start.
This is the guide we wish we had found first.
The real cost of relocating a Canadian family to the UAE
Before getting into documents specifically, here is what our move actually cost -- broken down honestly. The biggest single expense was the consultant who handled our company setup and visas through a UAE free zone.
Where our $26,650 CAD went
Free zone setup and visa costs (USD)
| Item | Amount (USD) |
|---|---|
| Company License - 2 Visa, 1 Year | $3,651 |
| Annual License Registration Fee | $954 |
| Residence Visa Administration Fee x2 | $787 |
| Residence Visa Processing Fee x2 | $234 |
| Establishment Card | $545 |
| VIP Medical, Biometrics and Emirates ID x2 | $1,752 |
| Bank Account Setup (Emirates NBD and WIO) | $500 |
| Child Dependent Visa x2 | $3,600 |
| Professional Service Fee | $2,500 |
| Total | $14,523 |
Note: This was our specific package. Costs vary by free zone, number of visas, and provider. Some families have done this for less by choosing different free zones or negotiating the professional fee.
The documents you expect
Everyone knows you need passports. But even passports have a gotcha -- the UAE requires at least six months validity remaining on arrival. With young children whose passports expire faster, check this early. Our youngest needed a fresh passport before we could move forward with anything else.
What every Canadian family needs before leaving
Attestation -- the part nobody warns you about
Attestation is the process of getting your Canadian documents officially verified so the UAE government recognises them as legitimate. It is not optional. Without attested documents you cannot get your residency visa, cannot enrol your children in school, and cannot open certain bank accounts.
Our attestation cost about $70 CAD per document when we handled it ourselves. That sounds cheap. The real cost is time and the risk of getting the order wrong -- which means starting over.
The Canadian document attestation chain
What caught us off guard: Birth certificates for children need to go through this full chain too. With two boys, that meant two complete sets. Start at least three to four months before your intended move date. Not because every step takes that long, but because managing multiple documents simultaneously while following up on delays takes more time than you expect.
The business visa route -- what it adds
We went the self-sponsored business visa route rather than coming in on employment. This means you set up a UAE company first, then use that company to sponsor your own residency and your family's dependent visas. The child dependent visas alone were $3,600 USD in our invoice -- $1,800 per child.
On the document side, the business route requires everything above plus your UAE trade licence and establishment card before you can process family visas. These are obtained inside the UAE through your free zone after arrival -- so there is a sequencing element. You land, get the company documents sorted, then sponsor the family.
Track every document in one place
Our free document tracker helps you stay on top of every certificate, attestation deadline, and step during your Canada to UAE move.
Open the document tracker →The RCMP police clearance
A Canadian police clearance certificate from the RCMP is required for adult applicants. Processing takes several weeks, and the certificate needs to be recent (within six months of your visa application). It also needs full attestation.
Apply for this before anything else. It is the one document in this process you cannot rush, and it has caused delays for families who left it until they had a flight booked.
Medical fitness certificates
Every family member applying for UAE residency needs a medical fitness certificate. This is done inside the UAE after arrival at an approved medical centre -- blood test and chest X-ray for adults, physical examination for children. You cannot do this in Canada beforehand.
In our invoice this was bundled as VIP Medical, Biometrics and Emirates ID at $876 per person. Factor the time for this into your expectations for when residency visas will actually be issued after landing.
Final thoughts
The document side of a Canada to UAE move is one of the most underestimated parts of the process. Not because any single step is impossible, but because there are many steps, they need to happen in the right order, and getting something wrong affects everything downstream.
Start earlier than you think you need to. Build more buffer into your budget than the online estimates suggest. And if you are moving with children, treat their document process as a separate project with its own timeline.
We are going through this right now as a family relocating to Sharjah. As we learn more on the ground, we will keep updating this guide.