Six Month Immigration Ban to Continue in Dubai

Ministry of Interior used to put an automatic six-month ban on expatriates if they cancelled their employment / residence visas or left their jobs. The decision to lift the immigration ban that came into effect on 21 st August 2005 has brought some relief to expatriate community. It would enable the people to return to UAE on a visit visa even if they got a labour ban. The main advantage of the new decision is that people can still come back and visit their friends and relatives. But expatriates who violated the country’s Immigration and Residence Laws would still face the entry ban.
Article 6 of the Cabinet Decree No. 18 of 2005 annulled Decree No. 30 of 2001 pertaining to the entry ban. The Cabinet also authorized the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to put together necessary regulations to implement the decision on the ban.
Subsequently, iris scanning has also been stopped. Besides, the names of expatriates with cancelled visas will no longer be on the administrative lists nor will their passports be stamped with the ban. The ban to enter the UAE will only be applicable on expatriates who violate laws governing the entry and residence of foreigners. Such violators would face the entry ban administratively for a multitude of reasons and in line with existing laws and regulations.
Domestic help have been excluded ‘temporarily’ from the new decision and their case will undergo further scrutiny by the authorities.
But, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs will not issue a new work permit to workers whose visas have been cancelled unless at least six months elapse after the cancellation date of the worker’s labour card. The decision came in Article No. 11 of a Ministerial Order Decision No. 826 issued on 11.9.2005 by the UAE Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.
The six-month waiting period does not apply to government departments or free zones

Lifting Labour Ban In Dubai - is it possible

The Ministry of Labour has amended the labourers' Visa Transfer Law, which, I believe, are in favour of both - the labourers and the labour market. The ministry has ceased the previous condition that obligates the labourer to complete one year continuous service for his/her employer before being permitted to transfer his/her visa to another employer.

According to the new rule, the Ministry of Labour no longer requires such a condition. So, any labourer who has not completed a year's service for his/her employer may transfer to another employer after obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the employer to transfer the visa to another employer, provided that the newly imposed fees should be settled. Such fees are called "the one year non-completion fees" which is calculated at the rate of Dh500 per month. For instance, if the employee continues a period of two months service only then he/she would be obliged to pay a fee of Dh5,000 for 10 months.

Now any labourer, who completes a period of three years service and who could not obtain an NOC, can resign and can approach the Ministry of Labour and the ministry - as per his demand - will cancel the visa and apply a six-month ban. With the new rules and upon completion of three years' service, this ban can be lifted and the employee can transfer to another employer without the need to obtain such NOC from the previous employer, provided that the newly imposed fees should be settled in addition to the visa transfer fees. Such new fees are called 'ban lifting fees'. Worth saying is that this new law is not applicable in Abu Dhabi but might be in the future. Therefore, the reader as per the new law will not have any problem as long as the company has promised to grant him a n NOC to transfer his visa.

Employee Banned In UAE

If an employee has been deemed an absconder, is the lifetime ban in effect to the whole of UAE or all the GCC countries?

The lifetime ban which may be imposed on the employee, is applied only in UAE, and is not applied in all GCC countries.