Polio vaccination mandatory for Pakistanis flying abroad from June 1

Pakistan’s health ministry has made it mandatory to have polio vaccination certificate from June 1, 2014, for those Pakistanis flying out to the UAE and other countries around the world.

The authority has sent out a circular whereby all the airports across the country will be equipped with special counters for polio vaccination for people of all ages and fields.

The World Health Organisation earlier this month issued an alert for nationals of Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon to have polio vaccination certificates prior to flying abroad in order to control the disease from spreading to other countries.

WHO said residents and long-term visitors going departing from Pakistan and Syria to receive a dose of OPV or IPV 4 weeks to 12 months prior to international travel; while those undertaking urgent travel (within 4 weeks) should be encouraged to receive a dose at least by the time of departure.

The global body said these measure are temporary but will remain in place 6 months after no new polio cases has been detected; but the travel restriction could extend to 12 months if no documentation of eradication measures have been taken.

In Pakistan, the government will set up special counters for polio vaccination at the federal and provincial hospitals across the country for people flying overseas. The federal government will supply polio vaccination certificates to the provincial governments and they’ll distribute in the hospitals.

Vaccination is mandatory for people of all ages even for the pregnant women, according to the statement issued by the country’s health authorities. It said there shouldn’t be any concern about taking oral polio vaccination for pregnant women as it’s not harmful during pregnancy.

All members of the National Assembly have been asked to monitor and ensure proper administration of the polio vaccination in their constituencies.

Pakistan’s Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarrar affirmed that the government will ensure elimination of polio from the country and urged all parties and community members to come forward and help in this national cause.

Some of the ministers have demanded penalties for those parents who don’t follow the instruction to administer polio vaccination.

The extension of ban for employment visas to expatriates came into effect from May 4, 2014 in Oman

MUSCAT — The Royal Oman Police (ROP), in coordination with other authorities concerned, has decided not to issue employment visas for expatriates, who have previously worked in the Sultanate and not completed two years from the date of last departure after leaving a company.
Announcing this, the ROP said this is in accordance with the requirements of the expatriates Residency Law and will be implemented from July 1, 2014.
Last month, the Ministry of Manpower extended by another six months a ban on employing expatriate construction workers and housekeeping staff in the private sector.
The extension of the ban came into effect from May 4, 2014, continuing a six-month ban which was due to expire on May 1.
The ban has been extended after reviewing the needs of the expat labour market and the decision is based on recommendations from the Committee of Sectoral and Contractors Association, which appealed to the ministries concerned to regulate the labour market.
The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are exempted from the ban. This has been done in agreement between the ministry and the Public Authority for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises.
It is worth mentioning that recently Oman has decided to limit the proportion of expatriates working in the private sector from 39 per cent to 33 per cent and has outlined steps to increase the percentage of national manpower in the private sector and to rationalise the recruitment of expatriates apart from affirming its commitment to limit the level of expatriates working in the private sector.
The labour market regularisation comes in response to the demographic changes witnessed by the Sultanate’s job market.
The recent NCSI data reveals that the expatriate population rose 0.28 per cent to touch 1.7659 million by the end of February 2014, as against 1.7614 million during the previous month.
This constitutes 44.2 per cent of the country’s total population of 3.9919 million, of which 2.2260 million people or 55.8 per cent are nationals, according to the data.
Of the total 1.7659 million expatriates, 1.5345 million are employees working in various sectors and the remaining 232,000 people are their family members.
The growth of foreign workers is mainly driven by the construction sector, especially infrastructure projects.
For the expatriate population, the number of males is higher than females, with 1,448,816 males versus 318,580 females. The Governorate of Muscat recorded the highest percentage of expatriates which stood at 62 per cent of the total population of the governorate by the end of March 2014, while Omanis comprised 38 per cent of the residents. In Al Dakhiliyah the ratio of Omanis is 77 per cent compared to 23 per cent expatriates.

Mandatory seat belt for backseat passengers proposed in UAE

The Federal Traffic Council (FTC) proposed in its latest meeting that passengers in a vehicle’s back seat must fasten their seat belts and those who don’t will be considered offenders and will be issued fines.

Maj Gen Mohammad Said Al Zafein, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Operations’ Affairs and Chairman of the Federal Traffic Council, said violators will be fined Dh400 and given four black points.

He explained that the council took the age and height of the passenger into consideration, as well as the view of the policeman, when drafting the proposal which has yet to become law.

Injuries are more severe in accidents where seat belts were not used, Maj Gen Al Zafein said, which is why the Ministry of Interior puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of seat belts.
Maj Gen Al Zafein said international scientific studies have confirmed the role of the seat belt in saving many lives, as they prevent the person from hitting the steering wheel or the dashboard or flying through the windshield due to inertia when the car stops suddenly.

He said studies also showed that the risk of death of a passenger in the front seat with their seat belt on increases if a passenger in the backseat is not wearing their seat belt and vice versa.

“When an accident happens, the car stops but the passengers’ bodies continue to move forward at the same speed that the vehicle was moving. If the vehicle was at 100 km/h before the accident, the passenger will be hurled with a force between 1,000kg-1,500kg if not wearing a seat belt, which can cause death or injury to himself as well as other passengers in the vehicle.”

Last month the FTC announced that they had proposed a new law to fine drivers or their passengers if they put any part of their body out of the vehicle when the vehicle is in motion, as well as a law to punish drivers preoccupied with matters other than driving.

No hike in minimum salary for family visa in Dubai

The news in some English language newspapers claiming an increase in the minimum salary requirement for sponsoring family members, has been denied by Major General Mohammed Ahmad Al Marri, the Director of General of the Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai.

He assured in a press statement that there are not any new restrictions and the directorates and all its branches are still receiving and processing applications smoothly.

Any amendments of the rules should have been issued officially in a statement by the Ministry of Interior prior to implementation in Dubai and the rest of the emirates at the same time, he clarified.

He stressed the importance of getting news from official and credible sources to foster professionalism that local newspapers enjoy.

“Our departments are characterized with high level of transparency in every matter that concerns clients. And, this is our methodology and approach in the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai,” he added.

Conditons for sponsorship

Article No. 31 regarding sponsorship of the wife by an expatriate husband sets the following conditions:

1.    The sponsor should have a valid work/ residence visa.

2.    He should submit a marriage contract attested as per the rules in his home country and the consulate that represents his country overseas or by the embassy of the country that had issued the marriage contract in the country in addition to  attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

3.    The monthly income of the sponsor should not be less than Dh3,000 plus accommodation offered by the employer and Dh4,000 without accommodation.

4.    The sponsor should submit a salary certificate attested by the authorities concerned.

5.   The same rules are applicable for expatriate women ‘specialist’ employees seeking to sponsor their family members.

6.   The following categories are exempted from the salary provision and they can sponsor only their family members:

Teachers

Mosque imams

Drivers of school, college and university buses.

Heads of families can sponsor unmarried daughters and sons below 18 years or those studying in colleges and universities in the UAE..    

Universities and colleges can sponsor their students provided:

1.    The student should register for regular study and not affiliation.

2.   The sponsoring educational institution should undertake responsibility about the student’s sponsorship and his exit from the UAE after finishing his studies. The institution should also inform the authorities when the student finishes studies or leaves the country.

3. Government departments and authorities should directly apply to obtain sponsorship for foreigners who are offered training provided.

a)    The department should be a public entity.

b)    The trainee should have deputed by an official entity in his home country.     

c)    The department that offers the training should comply with its responsibility of the departure of the sponsored person after finishing training and cancellation of his residency visa.

The increase in the minimum salary limit from Dh4,000 to Dh10,000 per month to sponsor immediate family members only applies to Dubai

The increase in the minimum salary limit from Dh4,000 to Dh10,000 per month to sponsor immediate family members only applies to Dubai, an immigration official told Gulf News on Saturday.

The salary requirement to sponsor wives and children in Abu Dhabi and other emirates has not changed and remains at Dh4,000 per month or Dh3,000 with accommodation, a senior official at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), said on condition of anonymity.

The official confirmed that the Dh6,000 increase in the minimum salary requirement was implemented in Dubai more than a week ago. The move aims to ensure that Dubai residents can provide a good quality of life to their families considering the increasing cost of living in the city.

However, the official website of GDRFA did not show any change in the rule. When contacted, the customer service agent at the GDFRA toll-free Amer service said he was not aware of any change in the minimum salary limit. According to him, the salary limit for an expatriate to sponsor family remained at Dh4,000 or Dh3,000 with accommodation.