Dubai Court of Cassation Revises Child Visitation Schedule After Father’s Work Timings Made Access Difficult

The Dubai Court of Cassation has revised a child visitation arrangement after finding that a father’s work schedule made part of an earlier court-approved access order impractical, in a ruling that reinforced the principle that visitation rights must remain realistic, balanced and centred on the child’s welfare.

The judgment highlighted that family court decisions cannot remain purely theoretical and must take into account the everyday realities of parents’ professional obligations, the child’s school routine and the emotional stability of the family structure after separation.

The case involved a father seeking broader access to his son, including regular visitation rights and the ability to remain involved in school-related matters. Earlier proceedings before a lower court had granted the father visitation and outing rights on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays between 4pm and 8pm. The order also allowed him to visit the child’s school once a week in accordance with school regulations.

However, the arrangement was later modified by the appellate court, which replaced one of the visitation days with Friday.

The father challenged the revised arrangement before the Court of Cassation, arguing that his Friday work schedule prevented him from exercising the visitation rights meaningfully because he remained at work until 5pm on that day.

The Court of Cassation agreed that the revised arrangement created practical difficulties that undermined the purpose of visitation itself. The judges observed that visitation schedules must not merely recognise parental rights on paper, but should also be structured in a manner that allows genuine and workable interaction between the parent and child.

The court further stressed that visitation arrangements should avoid disrupting the child’s studies, overburdening the child with unsuitable schedules or creating instability in the child’s daily routine.

In its final ruling, the court revised the visitation schedule and granted the father access to his son on Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays from 4pm to 8pm.

According to the judgment, the revised arrangement achieved a fairer balance between the rights of both parents while preserving the child’s best interests and maintaining consistency in the child’s weekly routine.

The court also took into account the mother’s circumstances while deciding the matter. Judges noted that granting visitation rights to the father on both weekend days would substantially reduce the mother’s available time with the child, particularly because weekends represented her regular days off from work.

The ruling is being viewed as part of a broader practical approach increasingly adopted by UAE family courts, where judges assess not only the legal entitlement of parents but also whether custody and visitation arrangements can realistically function without negatively affecting the child’s emotional wellbeing, education and everyday life.

Legal experts said the judgment reaffirmed that the welfare of the child remains the central consideration in custody and visitation disputes under UAE family law. The ruling also underscored that visitation is not treated as a symbolic or abstract legal right, but as a practical family arrangement that must fit around the realities of parents’ schedules while safeguarding the child’s interests.

Under UAE family law, visitation refers to the legal right of the non-custodial parent to see and spend time with the child through court-approved arrangements designed to preserve the parent-child relationship following divorce or separation.

Depending on the circumstances of the case and the child’s best interests, visitation arrangements may include weekly meetings, outings, overnight stays, weekend access, holiday schedules and school visits. In sensitive situations, courts may also order supervised visitation.

Where parents fail to reach an agreement on custody or visitation matters, UAE family courts determine the arrangements after examining factors such as the child’s welfare, emotional stability, educational commitments and overall daily routine.