374 beneficiaries get over Dhs26 million from marriage grants

The UAE Ministry of Community Development has approved the names of 374 beneficiaries from the marriage grants during the first quarter of 2019 with a total amount of over Dhs26.2 million that were disbursed to the beneficiaries and transferred to their bank accounts and notified through SMS text messages.

Dhs70,000 will be disbursed as one payment for those who fulfill the conditions.

Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development, said, "The goals of the marriage grants coincide with the visions of the UAE government and reflect the ministry’s objectives "A Cohesive Family in a Coherent Community" since cohesive families are the main elements of the Emirati society.

She noted the keen interested of the UAE wise leadership to build a stable family reflected in social and development initiatives. The UAE has become a role model in community development services and a leading country in wellbeing and high living standards of its citizens in all fields.

Furthermore, Waheeda Khalil, Director of Marriage grants Department, stated that there are a number of conditions and regulations for obtaining the grant, namely, the applicant and his wife must be UAE nationals, husband’s age not less than 21 years old while wife’s age not less than 18 years old, the applicant is unable to afford marriage expenses because of his limited income or social assistances beneficiaries, the applicant’s income must not exceed Dhs25,000 after deduction of retirement allowance and housing allowance if available.

The grant application must be submitted within a period not exceeding 6 months, the applicant and his wife must attend "Eddad" awareness lectures and seminars organised by the Ministry of Community Development within one year from the date of applying for the marriage grants, the applicant must fulfill the required documents within a period not exceeding 3 months from the date of submission of the application, the applicant must not have benefited from the marriage grants previously or any other grant in the UAE or participated in a group wedding or married.

She explained that documents to be presented by the applicant must include a certified copy of the marriage contract from a competent court, husband’s and wife’s Emirates ID, a document that proves the applicant’s monthly net income including a detailed salary certificate, detailed report on any ownership of lands, real estate and trade licenses, or any other documents that the Ministry of Community Development deems necessary.

WAM