UAE grants visa on arrival to Indian nationals with US visa, green card

The UAE Cabinet has approved a decision to grant Indian passport holders with either a valid US visa or a green card a visa on arrival.

The decision comes within the framework of the long-term strategic partnership between the UAE and India, the promotion of political, economic and trade interests between the two countries. This decision strengthens the UAE's external relations by facilitating the visa issuance process in order to confirm its global status as a tourist and economic hub.

Under the new move, ordinary passport holders from India who have a US visa or green card with a minimum six-month validity can enter the country from any point of entry for a period of 14 days, with an option for a one-time extension of the same period.

India is the UAE's second largest partner, and trade between the two countries reach $60 billion a year, with UAE exports to India amounting to $27 billion a year, while India exports to the UAE is valued at $33 billion.

India invests around $70 billion in the UAE via its 45,000 Indian companies, while the UAE invests around $10 billion in the energy, metallurgical, service, technology and construction sectors in India. There are also a number of joint ventures and investments by UAE companies in India such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, Emaar, and DP World, which currently operates in six major ports in India.

There are around 143 daily flights between cities in both countries, one flight every ten minutes, or 1000 flights per week. The number of Indian tourists coming to the UAE in 2016 reached about 1.6 million Indian tourists, and there were about 50,000 UAE tourists who visited India in the same year.

Dishonored Cheques and related laws in the UAE

Dishonored cheques are a reoccurring problem in U.A.E and there has been a sharp increase in criminal cases and complaints filed with the UAE courts and the courts’ case load has substantially increasing every year

Criminal court: From a criminal court’s perspective, the word ‘security’ on a cheque does not alter its nature as long as it satisfies the formal requirements set out in the law. Article 596 of Law No. 18 of 1993 (Commercial Transactions Law) sets out the mandatory particulars that must be stated on a cheque i.e. an unconditional order to pay a specific sum of money. A security cheque, on the other hand, normally makes payment subject to the fulfillment of a condition. There is a clear difference, then, in the meaning, the criminal court attaches to cheques compared to the civil court.

The criminal court and civil court function separately. When the reciever of a cheque which bounced files a complaint in the police station against the issuer, the case is forwarded to the public prosecution and then to the criminal court. The criminal court may convict the issuer based on evidence provided by the complainant and give him two options - pay the money or go to jail.

It is important to note that the UAE legislator has revised Article 401 of the UAE Penal Code dealing with the issuance of Cheques in bad faith under Law No. 34 of 2005, by adding a clause that stipulates:

“The criminal case shall terminate if payment is made or assignment is established after commission of the offence and before a final ruling is made in respect thereof. If this occurs after the ruling became final, its enforcement will be seized.”

Civil court

However, in case of failure to get cheque amount despite imprisonment, the complainant should present his case to the civil court to claim the money along with documents and evidence to prove it. The civil court could then either demand the issuer to pay or face jail term.

Completed jail term

If a certain person was convicted for a bounced cheque case and has served jail term, he or she stands released after the period. However, if the original complainant files the case again in the civil court, he or she will have to pay the unpaid amount or go back to jail. In case there is no pending or second case once the jail term is completed, the person is free to leave the country after collecting his impounded passport.

Who signed the cheque

In companies or partnership firms, not all partners or stakeholders can be held liable in the event of a cheque being issued without sufficient funds to pay it off. The criminal liability shall be borne by the individual who signed the cheque - whether it be a manager or another partner. Other people's private funds have no bearing on the value of the cheque. Its value shall be realised only through the assets of the company.

However, if the losses or lack of funds, which resulted in the cheque bouncing of the company, are proven to be a result of any kind of fraud by the owners or partners, the case may take a different direction.

Owners or managers abscond

If it is proved that the company, which the complainant has dealt with, does not have enough funds to settle the cheque’s value, he or she can file a criminal case against the manager who signed the cheque, even if he or she has left the country. After a judgement is issued, the questioner may request the concerned authority to include the manager’s name in Interpol’s wanted list.

Passenger seat belts - New traffic law will come into effect from July in U.AE

Drivers will be fined Dh400 for each passenger who is found without a seatbelt inside the vehicle, a senior official told Gulf News on Saturday.

General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, head of the UAE Federal Traffic Council, said that even if the if the driver is wearing his seatbelt, he can be fined if other passengers on the back seats are not wearing seatbelts.

“The fine is Dh400 for each passenger not wearing a seatbelt, so if the driver is wearing a seatbelt and other three passengers are not wearing it, then he needs to pay Dh1,200 in total for the three passengers, with four traffic points. Drivers are responsible for ensuring that passengers are using the seatbelt,” General Al Zafein said.

The new regulations, covering a comprehensive range of traffic discipline issues and violations, will be implemented on the first of July, according to General Al Zafein.

Officially signed by Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the new regulations cover multiple violations, the penalties for which include heavy fines, black points, and impounding of vehicles.

Gen Al Zafein said that the new rules will restrict short people and children below 10 years of age from sitting in the front passenger seat given that the seatbelt can choke the person.

“Children under 10 and every person who his less than 145 cm in height will be banned from sitting on the passenger front seat. Officers can fine the driver Dh400. If the person is taller than 145 cm, then he needs to show any document showing his height or he can complain against the fine with the traffic department,” he said.

He added that appropriate child car seats must be used for all children under the age of four. Lack of child safety seats for children up to four years of age will invite a Dh400 fine and four black points.

Official statistics show that 725 people died in traffic accidents in the UAE last year and the new traffic law will help to reduce the number of death on the roads, Gen. Al Zafein said. “We want to reach a figure of 3 deaths for every 100,000 people in the UAE. This law will help us in reaching our target for safer and better roads,” he added.