Thursday, June 26, 2008

Resident visa for your parents -Dubai Visa Rules

Criteria ( see the new posting for changes)


UAE expatriates, holding valid resident visas having a minimum salary of AED 6,000 with accommodation or AED 7,000 without accommodation can get one year renewable resident visas for their parents or parents-in-law.


As per new regulations, you have to sponsor both your mother and father together and show proof that you are their sole provider and that there is no one to take care of them in your home country. However, if your parents are divorced or one is deceased, you should carry documentary proof, when visiting DNRD to obtain the entry permit visa, which is the first stage before you can apply for a residence visa.


Documents required for entry visa• Typed application form
• Original passport of sponsor
• Passport copy of parent/s & 1 photo
• Proof of relationship from your embassy/consulate attesting both relationship and that you are sole provider for your parent/s
• Copy of job contract for the sponsor or salary certificate from employer.


Procedure:• Take the documents and go to Dubai Naturalisation & Residency Department (04 398 0000). Submit along with a letter from your side appealing on humanitarian grounds for entry visa for your parent/s. Enclose copies of all above documents along with your contact numbers. The Approval Committee will either confirm or reject your application within two weeks. If approved, go to next step.
• Have a registered typist complete the form after paying the fees.
• Go to the residency section of DNRD and hand in the documents.
• Entry Permit will be sent by Empost usually within 48 hours, or if you have applied for urgent visa, then you should receive it from the counter in a few minutes.


Fees:


- AED 5,000 refundable deposit (keep receipt safely for renewal or reimbursement)


- AED 110 application fee + typing centre fee (or pay AED 100 more for urgent application)


Convert entry visa to residence visa for parents


Once your parents enter the country with the entry visa, you must convert it to a residency visa no later than 60 days from the date of entry.


Documents required for residence visa
• Application form & 3 photos of parent
• Original passport of parent/s and sponsor
• Original entry permit
• Health card or medical insurance policy for parent/s
• Refundable deposit receipt
• Original job contract or salary certificate of the sponsor


Fees:


- AED 110 residency fees each year + typing centre fee
- AED 100 urgent application (optional)
- AED 10 Empost fees


Procedure:• Do a health check up and obtain a medical card.
• Take the documents and go to Dubai Naturalisation & Residency Department
• Have one of the typists there complete the form for you after paying the fees.
• Go to the residency section and hand in the documents.
• The passport/s with the residency visa stamp will be sent to you through Empost.

Criteria for sponsoring a maid in Dubai

Last updated: February 2008
A maid’s visa can be obtained by the head of the family (called sponsor, and usually the male), whose salary is not less than AED 6000 a month or AED 5000 + accommodation. Bachelors are not eligible to sponsor a maid. You can only sponsor a maid from the following countries: India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.
Employment of domestic workers now requires work contract
A new unified contract (called employment agreement for domestic workers and sponsors) to regulate the rights and duties of domestic workers has been put into place from 1st April, 2007. The contract will be valid for one year with option to renew and governs vacation, air tickets, medical care and procedures, in case of breach of contract. See media update, media update.
The sponsor must provide the maid: Airfare to home country at least once every two years, decent living conditions in sponsor’s house or additional AED 500 for external housing. All 11 articles of the unified contract must be adhered to.
Country specific requirements
Do keep in mind that each country has its own regulations regarding minimum salary, age etc and you will have to check with the respective consulate embassy for these details. A maid from India or Philippines must be older than 30, but not over 60. Even recommended minimum salaries differ, with Indian maids to be paid from AED 1,100 onwards (see update), as advised by the Indian Embassy, while new regulations from the Philippines say the minimum salary should be AED 1,400. See update . As per the Sri Lankan embassy, the minimum salary for Sri Lankan maids is AED 825. See update.
Dubai.ae Tip: Maids from the sponsor’s country are subject to approval by DNRD. In addition, an affidavit from your country's embassy/consulate certifying that the maid is not related to you. If you need more than one maid for a large family, DNRD has the right to decide, but much will depend on sponsor’s salary and size of the family. Always carry copies and original documents, including labour contracts, salary certificates and passports. You may be asked to show your accommodation contract and are advised to carry this.
Documents Required for Residence Visa:Salary certificate of sponsor in Arabic (for government employee) OR, labour contract of sponsor (for private employee) and accommodation contract
Filled up application form from authorized typing office
Sponsor’s passport
Copy of maid’s passport
Passport photos of maid (minimum 3 required, though advisable to carry more)
Affidavit from embassy/consulate certifying non-relationship, if maid from same country
Also obtain a list of people that you are already sponsoring from DNRD (eg. wife, children, other maids, etc)
Steps: Apply in the following order:Residence Visa (employment permit to enter country)
Medical Check & Health Card (after maid enters)
Residence Stamp on Maid's Passport & Labour Card
Procedures: Go to authorized typist & get form filled up. Pay AED. 100 for application fee + separate typing fee (which varies from typist to typist). If urgent, pay additional AED 100 and mention to typist. Do keep in mind that an additional AED 10 is charged as knowledge fee for each transaction.
  1. Go to Immigration & Naturalization Department & submit all documents after attaching Empost sticker for non-urgent visa. For urgent, wait for a few minutes and receive the employment entry permit. You will have to pay a refundable deposit of AED 5000/- along with the application. Please ensure that you collect the deposit receipt.
  2. Empost will courier the visa to you within 2 working days, at the address listed on the sticker.
  3. Send either original or copy to your maid. If only copy was sent, then deposit original at DNATA Visa Desk at Dubai airport, at least three hours before flight. Write flight number/date & time on reverse of original & get your copy stamped by DNATA as proof of their receipt of original.
Applying for a residence visa for your maid
1. After your maid arrives, you must apply for a residence permit and health card. This must be done within 30 days of your maid’s entry into the country. You will need to go to a typist, pay for either urgent or or non-urgent residence permit and submit to residency section.
2. After stamping, you need to take your maid for her medical test and health card (average cost AED 250, though waiting time differs from 12 hours to 36 hours for some government hospitals to receive the results - Iranian Hospital can give it to you in 12 hours for AED 400)
3. Take medical results to the typist and pay AED 5,200 (or 5,100 for non-urgent) to apply for residence visa.
4. Submit medical report with stamped employment permit, maid's original passport, sponsor's passport copy and a salary certificate/labour contract to residency section. It is preferable to take your maid with you. You must declare to the officer what salary you propose to pay your maid, and this will be entered into the contract. You will receive 4 printouts of the unified contract which has to be signed by both sponsor and maid. If your maid is with you, request her to sign. Go to the bank inside the visit visa section and purchase an AED 10 sticker for attestation, and re-submit copies of the contract to the officer, who will counter-sign all copies, attest one and return 2 copies to you. One is for the sponsor, the other for the maid to keep. A residence stamp valid for one year will then be placed in your maid's passport. You may have to return after 24 hours to collect the labour card.
4. To collect your deposit, take your AED 5,000 sticker receipt and the passport to Counter 17 (Deposit Refund Counter). Get it signed by the officer and present the sticker to the Commercial Bank of Dubai branch inside the Immigration office for refund of deposit.
For further enquiries, or clarifications, you can call DNRD on 04-3980000 or the toll-free Amer helpline

A visit visa for your friend coming to Dubai

Last updated: March 2008

Criteria: Visit visas for friends can be obtained by residents (called sponsors), whose monthly salary is not less than AED 10,000

Documents Required:
• Typing form
• A copy of the sponsor’s passport
• A copy of the sponsored person's passport & 3 passport photos
• Attested work contract if the sponsor is working in a private company or a salary certificate if working in government

Fees
• AED 110 + typing fee
• Additional AED 100 for urgent application fee (optional)
• AED 10 Empost sticker for non-urgent visa
• AED 2000 refundable deposit (must retain receipt to obtain refund)

Procedure

1. Go to any authorized typing office & get forms typed. If urgent visa required, ask for urgent visa form to be typed & pay additional AED 100.
2. Go to any DNRD branch or main office. If you are applying for non-urgent visa, go to Empost Counter & purchase AED 10 sticker before submitting visa form. Urgent visas are given in 5-10 minutes.
3. Empost will courier non-urgent visas to you within 2 working days at the address you have listed on the sticker.
4. Send either original or copy to your friend. If only copy was sent, then deposit original at visa counter at respective UAE airport at least 5 hours before flight lands.

Please Note:

This visit visa is valid for 60 days from date of entry into UAE. It can be renewed for a further 30 days, on payment of AED 500. Any stay beyond this is punishable with fines. For more information, visit DNRD website or call their friendly Amer Toll free service on 800-5111

Dubai visit visa for a family member

Criteria:

Visit visas for immediate family members can be obtained by residents (called sponsors), whose monthly salary is not less than AED 4000 or AED 3000 + accommodation.

Documents Required:
• Typed Application form
• A copy of the sponsor’s passport & family member's passport
• 1 photo of the family member
• Marriage contract attested from Ministry of Foreign Affairs or UAE Embassy (for sponsoring a wife or husband)
• Attested birth certificates (for sponsoring children)
• Relationship proof attested from the Embassy (in case relationship cannot be proved from from family names in sponsor and relative's passport)
• Attested work contract if the sponsor is working in a private company or a salary certificate if working in government

Fees
• AED 110 Application fee + typing fees
• AED 100 urgent application fee (optional)
• AED 10 Empost label (if you do not need urgent service)

Procedure:

1. Go to any authorized typing office & get application form typed. Specify if urgent or non-urgent visa.
2. Go to DNRD & for non-urgent visa, purchase an AED 10 Empost sticker. Write your complete address & contact details. Submit along with your documents to Visa Section.
3. Empost will courier the visa to you within 2 working days, at the address listed on the Empost sticker.
4. Send either original or copy to your relative. If only copy was sent, then deposit original at the airport. It is advisable to deposit visa giving sufficient time for flight to land. You can also write flight number/date & time on reverse of original before submission.

Please Note: This visit visa is initially valid for 30 days, though it is automatically renewed without charge for another 30 days. To extend beyond these 60 days, you can renew for a further 30 days on payment of AED 500. Any stay beyond this is punishable with over-stay fines.

For more information, visit DNRD website or call their friendly Amer Toll free service on 800-5111

Mission Entry Visa - Dubai

Expatriate doctors, engineers, lawyers and technicians are entitled to obtain the newly introduced Mission Entry Visa, according to an Interior Ministry decision.


Under the decision issued by Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior, the visa will be issued to those who come for temporary jobs with the permission of the Labour Ministry.


It is issued for three months for a fee of Dh600 and can be renewed for another three months for an additional fee of Dh1,200, also with the permission of the Labour Ministry.

The decision also entitles these professionals as well as businessmen; company managers, representatives and sales managers; auditors and representatives of companies who visit the country for business to obtain Mission Entry Visas for 14 days.

This visa allows the holder to enter the country once during its validity and to stay for a maximum of 14 days, the decision said.

The 14-day Mission Visa is not renewable and the application for it must be submitted by an authority or company operating in the country at least 48 hours before the arrival of the visitor.

The grace period for the renewal or departure of a visitor on a 90-day visa will be seven days, according to the decision which takes effect immediately.


In all categories qualified for the visa, visitors may bring their wives and children.
The issuance of Mission Entry visas is restricted to establishments operating in the oil industry and any other establishment or sector specified by a decision of the Minister of Labour.


But Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, Minister of Labour, said the facilities will also be granted to other projects soon.


Workers brought in must be provided health care and paid sick leave by the company.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Residents sponsoring their immediate family members, to shell out Dh1,000

The new visit visa rule in UAE that comes into effect from August 1 stipulates that residents sponsoring their immediate family members, are expected to shell out Dh1,000 as deposit, refundable on exit.
Colonel Darwish Eid Ebaid Al Meheri, Director of Visas and Residency Department at the Federal Naturalisation and Residency Department (FNRD) at the Ministry of Interior, said, "The sponsors who want to bring their relatives to the country on visit visa must pay the guarantee of Dh1,000, in addition to providing the health insurance before issuing the visa".
Also, the sponsor applying for the UAE visit visa for his immediate family or first degree relatives (brother, sister, aunt, uncle) should be getting a monthly salary of Dh5,000, the new rule says. The amended rule, according to the by-laws in the UAE, regulates issuance of visit visas and will now oblige the sponsors who want to bring their relatives to pay. Expatriate residents can seek visit visas only for their relatives such as spouses, parents, children, brothers and sisters. However, in case of friends, the sponsor must be a UAE national.