UAE: New fostering law protects children from abandonment

The UAE’s new law, which also allows expatriates to foster children of unknown parents in the country, grants children legal identity and documents, as well as reduces the occurrence of abandoned or unregistered children.

Legal experts said the amendments ensure the preservation-of-identity agreement protects the child against cultural or religious assimilation of the foster child, which aligns with the UAE’s constitutional values of freedom of belief.

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Federal Decree-Law No. 12 of 2025 introduced several important updates, reshaping the eligibility criteria for foster families and the procedures for addressing breaches of obligations and aligning with international standards on children’s rights.

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Essa Galadari, director and deputy head of litigation at Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants, said the new law ensures comprehensive protection for children of unknown parentage, safeguarding them from neglect, loss, or exploitation, while providing adequate health, psychological, educational, and social care.

“They grant children legal identity and documentation (such as a birth certificate), supporting their integration into society. (The amendments) strengthen social security and reduce the occurrence of abandoned or unregistered children, establish clear legal frameworks for foster families, protecting children’s rights and minimising legal disputes,” Galadari told Khaleej Times.

He noted that by widening eligibility to include non-Muslims and non-nationals, the law adopts a more inclusive and compassionate approach - ensuring that children of unknown parentage have greater access to stable, loving, and protective family environments.

Asma Siddiqui, senior associate at BSA Law, said the new amendments deliver significant social and humanitarian benefits by giving children of unknown parentage greater access to stable, long-term homes within the UAE.

“It expands family-building options for residents wishing to foster, supports social inclusion by placing child welfare at the forefront, and encourages broader community participation in caring for vulnerable children. The reform also enhances the UAE’s attractiveness to global talent by offering a progressive, family-friendly legal framework. Overall, it promotes a more inclusive, compassionate, and cohesive society aligned with the UAE’s modern and diverse population,” she said.

Legal firm Horizons & Co. stated that at the macro-societal level, the reform promotes civic solidarity, increases community participation in structured child-care volunteering, and reflects the UAE’s strategic focus on social sustainability, inclusivity, and institutionalisation of child welfare.

“The framework creates broad access to fostering while simultaneously codifying strong safeguards against child-identity tampering and providing a proportionate compliance pathway that privileges child stability without compromising regulatory authority,” it said.

Horizon & Co. added that the amendments ensure the preservation-of-identity undertaking protects the child against cultural or religious assimilation of the foster child, aligning with constitutional values of dignity, personal identity, and freedom of belief, while also shielding welfare institutions from politicised identity-based objections.

It added that the rehabilitative corrective-plan mechanism prevents avoidable traumatic separation caused by minor, solvable issues, and reinforces community integration by enabling children to remain within the UAE’s social fabric — their schools, linguistic environment, friendships, and healthcare systems — when placed with screened, compliant resident families.

 Some key highlights of amendments in the law.

• The requirement for the spouses to be Muslim or nationals has been removed.

• It is now sufficient that both spouses reside in the UAE.

• For a single woman applicant, it is sufficient that the applicant is a resident of the State.

• Single women aged 30 and above from any nationality allowed; no upper age limit.

• Any married couple over the age of 25, regardless of nationality or religion, is permitted to foster a child.

• Law protects a child’s identity and beliefs.

• Instead of automatically removing a child if concerns arise, a dedicated committee will now assess the issue and recommend corrective steps unless the matter is serious.

• The committee has the power to withdraw the foster child in the event of any breach that resulted in harm.

• The foster family has no right to object to the committee’s decision.

• Couples or women should meet financial and caregiving criteria.

• Law requires that a single woman be resident in the UAE, divorced, widowed, or never married.

• Women younger than 30 years are not allowed.

• Fostering remains an administrative custody construct, not a conventional parent-child lineage relationship as understood in full adoption.

• Law does not create inheritance rights by virtue of fostering.

Courtesy: BSA Law, Horizon & Co., Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants

Waheed Abbas

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.