Cancel work permits and Labour cards UAE establishments directly approach Tas'heel centres

Establishments wishing to cancel work permits and labour cards need to directly approach Tas'heel centres

Abu Dhabi: Establishments wishing to cancel work permits and labour cards need to directly approach Tas'heel centres directly, as the Ministry of Labour will no longer provide this service starting on Sunday.Tas'heel is an online government system designed to simplify all labour-related processes.

According to Humaid Bin Deemas, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Labour, this step comes to save the time and effort of customers by providing the services, from typing application to cancelling of cards, at one stop, without having to visit the Labour Ministry offices.Bin Deemas called on establishments to present their requests directly to the 25 ‘Tas'heel' service centres in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Al Ain City.

In Abu Dhabi, establishments can apply through typing centres linked with the Tas'heel system.He pointed out that the ministry's offices will stop receiving requests for cancellation beginning on Sunday.

Bin Deemas said owners of establishments, who have the e-signature, may avail of this service starting on Sunday. However, those who do not have their e-signature have until September to get it, as manual applications will only be accepted until the end of September.

He said after the establishment owners cancel labour cards at the Tas'heel centres, the data will be sent electronically to the Labour Ministry. The Labour Ministry will then send the data to the Residency and Foreigners Affairs Departments.Bin Deemas said this service will benefit more than 280,000 establishments registered with the ministry and which carry out more than one million different cancellation transactions.

He also noted that the e-link project includes linking about 20 key services between the ministries of Labour and the Interior. the new procedure allows the owners of the joint system to facilitate the completion of the procedures for cancellation round the clock, seven days a week.

The Ministries of Labour and Interior will jointly implement the electronic cancellation service for labour cards, with effect from Sunday.The move comes in line with the first phase of the electronic link between the two ministries to boost the strategic partnership and achieve qualitative shift in exchange of data and information.

In accordance with this service, applicant firms seeking cancellation of work permits and labour cards will apply to the Tas'heel service centres set up for this purpose.

UAE extends visa for property investors to 3 years

Decision taken at Federal Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.The UAE federal government has extended visa for real estate investors from six months to three years.

This decision was taken by the Federal Cabinet on Tuesday.“The government took a raft of measures as part of its efforts to underpin economic growth within its strategic plan 2011-2013, including extension of visa for real estate investors to three years instead of six months,” Wam said.

The government also gave instructions for drafting a federal law regarding competition and another bill for reviewing provisions of federal law 6 of 2007 regarding the establishment of the Federal Insurance Authority and its mandate

Analysts said the decision will boost the property sector in the country as will impact on the growth of the overall economy.

End of service benefit should be calculated basis of total salary -Dubai Court

A worker’s end of service benefit should be calculated with respect to his total salary and not just the basic payment, according to a new ruling by the Dubai Court of Cassation.The decision comes in a case where an employee sought dues of up to Dh159,000 from his employer, which was rejected by the Court of First Instance and later overturned another court.

However, there was no indication from the court whether this was a precedent or only a ruling for this particular case.
Accusing the company of his arbitrary suspension, the employee in his lawsuit demands three months’ salary as compensation for sacking him without notice, Dh11,000 as salary of the last month he worked, Dh22,000 as leave allowance and ticket to his home country and Dh82,000 as his end of service gratuity.
The plaintiff also claimed in the lawsuit that he worked in the company as a Director of Advertising and Editor of a magazine owned by the company.
However, Court of First Instance in its judgment rejected his lawsuit and ordered the employer to pay a total amount of Dh54,000 to the employee.
The employee appealed against the verdict to the Court of Appeal which ordered the employer to pay the value of a return ticket to the complainant’s home country in addition to the amount ordered by the earlier court.
The prosecution also appealed against the ruling on the basis that the end of service benefit of the employee was calculated only on according to the basic salary of worker, which it said was against the labour law.
The Court of Cassation accepted the appeal and directed the case to the Court of Appeal asking for a new panel judges to look into the case.
The Court of Cassation observed: "The pay in accordance with the provisions of Article I of the Labor Law includes all that a worker receives as emolument, whether in cash or in kind, hence the gratuity should be calculated according to the entire amount received by a worker, including his monthly commission.”

The most annoying bank fee in the UAE and how to avoid it

One of the less obvious side-effects of the economic slowdown is the increase in the number of bank services that were earlier offered for free but are now being charged for by the country’s banks.

Readers who’ve been around for more than a few years will remember when banks would actually honour their “free-for-life” credit card pledge and not charge customers an annual fee for such cards.

Nowadays, however, a free-for-life card comes preloaded with monthly maintenance fees, contradicting the very essence of the term “free” although we’re sure legally and technically, the banks are always right.

Also, there was a time when it used to be a customer’s privilege to have a documented proof of your bank transactions and account balance delivered to your doorstep every month – without an additional charge. Now, more often than not, you’ll have to shell out loose change every month to receive a copy, or settle for an emailed statement if you’re not inclined to dole out extra dirhams every month.

For bankers that want to give us the “green” logic: please stop bundling additional brochures and unwanted marketing material along with our bank statements and that will go a long way in going green.

A recent poll run by Emirates 24|7 shows that a majority of respondents believe that UAE banks are finding ingenious ways of relieving us of our extra dirhams, any which way they can get them off us.

The poll shows that the most annoying fees that customers in the UAE have had to pay include monthly statement charges and to get a ‘no dues’ letter after the end of a loan with the bank. Close to a third (29 per cent) of respondents branded their monthly statement charges as the most annoying bank fee they’ve had to pay while an equal number of people said paying money to get a ‘no dues’ letter after having repaid the loan with all the interest and charges was the most annoying fee for them.

“I was a good customer of my bank and prepaid my personal loan – for which my bank charged me an early settlement fee, by the way – and then asked them to give me a no liability letter. They charged me Dh200 for it. I found it ridiculous, but I’s rather pay to have the letter and be safe than not have it and be sorry,” said a respondent.

“The banks are now masters in the science of nickel-and-diming consumers with fees that start from the second you open an account to the moment you close it. I’ve moved from one bank to another and found out that it’s the same fees under different names,” said another upset respondent.

Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of respondents found paying money to close a bank account as the most annoying bank fee ever levied on them while 10 per cent said paying to talk to a human teller was the most annoying for them. “Suddenly, the once toll-free numbers have all become paid now,” a customer quipped. Another 7 per cent said that money being charged for issuing a replacement credit card was the most annoying.

lists below some tips that you can follow to avoid having to pay some of the most annoying fees charged by banks:

1. Minimum Balance Fees. While this fee is not new, some banks have now started levying this fee on even salary accounts, which were earlier exempt from it. If you find it hard to maintain a certain balance in your account and you happen to mind this fee, then your best bet is to go with banks that don’t yet have a “minimum balance required” clause, although there’s no guarantee that they wouldn’t commence this practice in the future.

2. Ubiquitous ATM Fees. These ATM fees are everywhere. You use a UAE Switch ATM machine and before you know it, you’re out Dh2 per transaction. If you use these ATMs abroad, be prepared to pay Dh15 or even more per transaction. To cut down on these costs, use debit/credit cards where possible and regularly stock up on cash at you own bank’s ATM for bills you can’t pay by cards – petrol, for instance.

3. Paper Statement Fees. Emailed statements are indeed the ‘green’ way of doing things – and more efficient too, considering the number of times I’ve lost my paper statements in the past. Online banking is much more convenient and hassle-free. But remember, once you switch to emailed statements, some UAE banks charge you a one-time fee of up to Dh100 to switch back to paper statements. So if you think that you might need to switch back to paper statements – for whatever reason – in the near future, you may be better off paying a nominal monthly fee for paper statements instead of a hefty switch-back charge.

Investor Visa in UAE

 For investor visa ,expats in a commercial license in UAE will be required to pay AED 10,000 as security deposit if his shareholding is equal to Dh 70,000 or more. If his shareholding is less than Dh70,000 he will be required to pay Dh 20,000 as security deposit.

A partner in a professional license will be required to pay Dh20,000 as security deposit, from which a partner holding a bachelor degree in the same field of his license business will be exempted.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED :

• Passport copy
• One Photograph (white background) for Visa application
• Copy of Memorandum of Association
• Trade Licence Copy
• Partners List
• Immigration computer card copy
• Last three month's Bank Statement (if the company is old)
• Two Photographs for Medical
• Two Photographs for visa stamping
• 10,000 Deposit receipt original + copy
• Original Medical Certificate

INVESTOR/PARTNER VISA EXPENSE

DESCRIPTION AMOUNT in AED NOTE INVESTOR VISA APPLICATION 220 DEPOSIT (L.L.C. Partner) 10020 20020 for professional licence partner/investor GET VISA INSIDE THE COUNTRY 530 If the applicant is inside UAE VISA POSITION AMENDMENT 530 If the applicant is inside UAE MEDICAL 300 charge varies according to hospital VISA STAMPING 370 100 extra for Urgent submission TOTAL 11980 Typing charge extra

Renewal of a partner's/Investor's residence Visa

Required Documents:

• Prepaid e-form application

• Applicant's original passport

• 2 photographs of the sponsored partner

• Original medical certificate

• Copy of valid commercial license

• Copy of the partnership contract attested by Notary Public

• Copy of receipt proving payment of the partner's security deposit:

Fees & Collection

Dh 370 for 3 years  (Typing charge extra).

Dh100 extra for urgent delivery.

Dh 15 for ordinary delivery by Empost.

Special Notes:

All fees for Residence permits shall be paid at the typing offices, while all securities shall be paid in cash to the bank at the Section hall. Fines for overstaying 17 days or less shall be paid in cash to the Fines Collection staff at the Section hall, while fines for overstaying longer than seventeen (17) days shall be paid cash to the bank at the Section hall.