Dubai visit visa for a family member

Last updated: March 2010
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.
Validity of Visa:
Short term visa: 30 days
Long term visa: 90 days
No extensions are permitted beyond this period.
Fees
• Short term visa: AED 620 application fee + typing fees
• Long term visa: AED 1120 application fee+ typing fees
A deposit of AED 1000 to be paid, which can be reimbursed after your relative has left the country.
Documents Required:
• Typed Application form
• A copy of the sponsor’s passport & family member's passport
• 1 photo of the family member (may be required)
• 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 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.
• Traveller Insurance.
Procedure:
1. Go to any authorized typing office & get application form typed.
2. Go to DNRD & submit along with your documents to Visa Section.
3. Send either original or copy to your relative. If only copy was sent, then deposit original at the airport or the DNATA counter at DNRD. It is advisable to deposit visa giving sufficient time for flight to land.
For more information, visit DNRD website or call their friendly Amer Toll free service on 800-5111

Can I get the ban lifted by paying money?

A reader from Dubai asks: I have worked in a company for more than two years for a salary of Dh6,000. The first period of my employment in the company of six months is not mentioned in the ratified employment contract between me and the Ministry of Labour. I have submitted my resignation, but there is a disagreement between me and the company on the matter of the current salary, the end-of-service gratuity and the said first period of employment. My question here is; how shall I prove before the Ministry of Labour my current salary, which is larger than the amount mentioned in the employment contract? And how shall I prove my joining date in such company? Is the employer entitled to request the ministry to impose a six-month ban on me and can I be exempted from such a ban. Can I get the ban lifted by paying money? Please advise me. Many thanks.

I would like to clarify to the questioner that he may prove his current salary through the bank receipts, which state the deposit of the questioner’s salary in the bank or any letter from the company stating that the company has increased the questioner’s salary. As for the first period of employment for the questioner in the company, the questioner may prove the same through the appointment letter as well as the date of the first salary he received from the company. In connection with the ban, a six-month ban will be imposed on the questioner by the Ministry of Labour since the questioner has not completed three consecutive years with the existing employer. Therefore, a no-objection certificate is required by the questioner to transfer the sponsorship from the existing sponsor so that he can lift the ban.

Questions answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahar Advocates and Legal Consultants

Dewa to offer residency, visa services

Public to submit applications to new section set within authority's offices

Dubai: Public can now make their residency and visa applications at Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) offices following the opening of a new section — the Dubai General Department for Residency and Foreigners Affairs — at Dewa headquarters, east of Zabeel.

In its efforts to strengthen cooperation with strategic partners, Dewa opened an office for the residency department following the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Monday.

The office will offer all related residency services to the public.

Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, Managing Director of Dewa, said the authority will provide the necessary support and facilities for the residency office.

Major-General Mohammad Al Merri, director-general of the residency department said the office will provide services to public services from 7.30am to 8pm.

He said that the department's offices numbered 23 in total.

Transfer sponsorship without NOC

A reader in Dubai asks: I have been working in a company for two years; currently, I am not stable with the company, as my salary is often delayed. My question here is; I would like to know the requirements to transfer sponsorship without the need to get a letter from my sponsor as per the labour law.

The Ministry of Labour allows the worker to transfer sponsorship to a new sponsor without the need to get a no objection certificate (NOC) from the existing sponsor according to the following cases: The worker’s salary has been delayed for two months or more. In the event of arbitrary dismissal, provided a judgment passed by the competent court confirms such an arbitrary dismissal.

Questions answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahar Advocates and Legal Consultants.

A new property law in the capital maintains the existing five per cent rent cap

A new property law in the capital maintains the existing five per cent rent cap and restrictions on the eviction of tenants, according to new legislation signed by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in his capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi.

Changes were made only to certain articles of the law, No 20 of 2006, but article 23 that specifically spells out reasons for eviction was left unchanged.

Under the law, landlords cannot ask tenants to vacate except in specific cases, like approved demolition, for personal use, if tenants fail to pay rent, if tenants sublet the property without the approval of the landlord or violate public norms.

Complaints

In the case of demolition of the building, tenants must be given a grace period of not less than six months to vacate. If the landlord fails to live in the property, he had asked to be vacated for personal use, for three months or re-lets it to another party, the tenant can complain to the Rent Disputes Resolution Committee.

The new legislation, which took effect from February 10, gives landlords and tenants the right to end the tenancy contract or change its terms, after giving two months' notice for residential property and three months for commercial and industrial property as well as professional offices.

"The new law removes a five year moratorium on the eviction of tenants, but it does not give a free hand to landlords to evict tenants," said lawyer Osama Abdul Aziz of the law firm Tarik Al Serkal.

The new law also creates a cassation committee and brings the existing Abu Dhabi Rental Disputes Resolution Committee, its appeal arm and the cassation panel under the authority of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department.

The chairmen of the rent, appeal and cassation panels, who used to be officers appointed by the Executive Council, will now be judges, according to the law.

Rulings by the rent committee on leases of up to Dh100,000 are final. Rulings on leases above Dh100,000 can be appealed within 15 days from the date of the ruling and cases related to leases worth more than Dh500,000 may be looked into by the cassation committee. Tenants have 30 days from the date of the ruling of the appeals committee to file with the cassation committee.

Tenants who are about to reach the end of their contracts still enjoy protection until November 9.

A landlord may ask to evict a tenant before the November 9 deadline provided the Rental Disputes Resolution Committee agrees on the grounds that "the occupancy causes serious harm to the landlord and provided the tenant had already been living there for not less than two years," according to the law. A grace period of not less than six months from the date of the committee's decision is granted.