Visa for stepchild Abu Dhabi

Hello All,

We are due to move to Abu Dhabi in the next few months although have been hit by a potential stumbling block.

We are a family of four - myself, wife, daughter (1) and stepdaughter (13) from my wife's previous relationship.

My employer/sponsor is a public sector organisation and they have, when making my employment offer, rejected my stepdaughter as a dependent child and therefore will not pay school fees etc.  We have accepted this and will pay her school fees, not a showstopper.

In the last few days however my employer has warned us that my stepdaughter's residence visa is at a high risk of being rejected due to the fact that they have already rejected her as a dependent i.e. the government have already said No, as such.

Has anyone out there had a similar experience recently with stepchildren?

Many thanks,
Simon.