Short-term visit visa Fee to Oman reduced

Visa fee for short-term visitors to Oman has been reduced while the free visa period has been extended from 24 to 48 hours for cruise passengers and crew. In a decision expected to boost tourism, Oman has slashed the fees for short-term visit visas from 20 Omani riyals (Dh190.10) to 5 riyals (Dh47.50).

Visas for a stay of more than 48 hours and less than 10 days are classified as short-term visas.

The Royal Oman Police (ROP) has also extended the free visa period for cruise passengers and crew from 24 to 48 hours.

However, for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) residents, the short-term visa costing five riyals will be valid for four weeks and can be extended by a week. The visit visa for GCC residents will be issued by all ports, including airports and border posts, and Omani embassies.

Shaikh Abdul Malek Bin Abdullah Al Khalili, Minister of Tourism, said in a statement that the amendments to the visa rules coincide with the celebrations of Muscat — Capital of Arab Tourism 2012.

House maid Visa in UAE

HOW TO SPONSOR A HOUSE MAID IN UAE

Unlike normal residence permits, residence permits for maids or domestic help are for periods of one year if the sponsor is an expatriate, but if the sponsor is local citizen then the period is two years. It should be noted that only individual’s resident and not businesses may employ maids or domestic help. Such individuals will assume the role of the domestic helper’s sponsor for immigration purposes, provided they satisfy the conditions stipulated under Article 23 of the Decree, namely:

• Have a monthly salary of at least AED 6,000.

• The sponsor has not sponsored a domestic helper or a housemaid for one year ending on the date the application is submitted.

• The helper is not related to the sponsor.

• The sponsor resides in the country with his family.

There are additional requirements regarding women who practise certain professions such as in the fields of medicine and engineering.

It is illegal to employ a domestic help who is on someone else’s sponsorship. It is not permitted to transfer the sponsorship of a domestic helper to a new employer, unless a period of at least one year has lapsed from the date the helper last left the country. This is pursuant to Article 63 of the Decree which states that when an employment is terminated, the residence permit for employment is considered void and that, no entry permit or new visa can be issued unless after the lapse of six months from the last date of departure from the country, and for one year for house servants.Ó6

6.Article 63 Federal Law 1973

The deposit amount of a housemaid visa for Dubai was recently reduced from AED 5,000 to AED 2,000, immigration officers confirmed. (as per Gulf news report)

Contrary to past rules, however, this deposit of AED 2,000 will only be refunded upon the housemaid’s return to her home country. In the past, the deposit of Dh5,000 was refunded upon completion of the medical fitness test and stamping of the employment visa on the housemaid’s passport.

Documents required for Maid Visa

• ·         Your own salary certificate and labour contract.
• ·         Your tenancy agreement.
• ·         Your passport (and a copy).
• ·         Copy of the maid's passport (and original passport with entry permit after arrival in the UAE).
• ·         Passport photos of the maid (4 should be enough but bring a few extra).
• ·         If you (the sponsor) and the maid are the same nationality, then you will need an affidavit from your embassy or consulate to certify you are not related to the maid.
• ·         AED 5000 deposit for entry visa. Changed to AED 2000 for expat sponsors. Deposit of AED 2000 required from Emirati sponsors remains unchanged.
• ·         AED 5100 for residence visa (annual cost).
• ·         AED 300-400 for health card (annual cost).
• ·         AED 500 for other fees (approximately). Add AED 100 here and there for urgent processing.

Procedures:

1. Go to authorized typist & get form filled up. Pay AED 110 + separate typing fee (which varies from typist to typist). If urgent, pay additional AED 100. 

2. Go to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs - Dubai  & submit all documents after attaching courier sticker for non-urgent visa. For urgent, wait for a few minutes and receive the employment entry permit.  You will have to pay a refundable deposit of AED 2,000 along with the application.  (The deposit was reduced from AED 5000 to AED 2,000. See news update)

3. Send either original visa or copy to your maid. If only copy was sent, then deposit original at DNATA Visa Desk at Dubai airport or at DNRD counter.

Applying residence visa for your maid

1. Apply for residence permit and medical fitness report within 30 days of the arrival of your maid's entry into the country. Visit an authorized typist & pay for either urgent or non-urgent form & submit to DNRD counter.

2. After stamping, take your maid for a medical fitness test  .All new maids will be screened for HIV, pregnancy, Hepatitis B, Syphilis, TB & Leprosy. The Hepatitis B vaccination which costs an additional AED 50 is given in 3 doses - immediately, booster after 1 month and booster after 6 months. If you keep the yellow certificate as proof of all three doses, then when renewing your maid's visa, you do not need to re-do this, as the vaccination and certificate is valid for 10 years.

Costs of Medical Fitness

• Normal fitness test costs AED  325 (AED 260 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination + AED 15 for courier and takes 5-7 working days to get the results.

• 48 hour service costs AED 420 (AED 370 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination). You can collect results in 2 working days.

• Urgent service costs AED 520 (AED 470 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination). You can collect results after 24 hours.

• There is also a 4 hour VIP service costing AED 740 (AED 690 + AED 50) but this is only for Al Safa & Knowledge Village employees and dependents. 

Visa and Emirates ID to be link in Dubai from April 1

Plans to link the national identity card to visas will be enforced in Dubai on schedule on April 1 after it was implemented in all other emirates.

The Emirates National Identity Authority (EIDA), which is carrying out a nation-wide ID project, said applicants would not receive their cards before their residence visas are renewed or issued.

It said those applying for an ID and residence at the same time must first fill an application at an EIDA registration office before they are allowed to have blood test, which is a pre-requisite for have a visa issued or renewed.

“The link-up between the ID and residence visas is now almost complete after it was enforced in all emirates except in Dubai,” EIDA said in a statement carried by the Dubai-based Arabic language daily Emirat Alyoum.

“This link will be implemented in Dubai on April one in coordination with the residence and immigration department in the emirate.”

EIDA said the link-up, once completed, would allow its registration offices at preventive medicine departments to handle at least 22,000 applications a day.

Dubai maids’ salaries double even as family incomes stagnate

Despite the financial woes of many residents in Dubai since the economic slowdown began in 2009, salaries of maids in the city have doubled.

Residents of the city complain that there have been no hikes in the past few years but the situation is very different in their homes.

The asking rates of maids these days are much higher than what is set by their respective consulates.

Recommended salaries for Indian maids is Dh1,100 as advised by the Indian Embassy, while new regulations from the Philippines say the minimum salary should be Dh1,400.

As per the Sri Lankan embassy, the minimum salary for Sri Lankan maids is Dh825.

However, the reality is different say residents.

Maids in New Dubai are far more expensive than this and nearly all of them ask for a hike every year, complain residents.

“I have more than doubled my maid’s salary in the last four years. While recession has seen us cut back costs on a lot of things, this is one cost that has escalated year-on-year,” Charlene Saldanha, an Indian resident living in the popular The Springs area told .

“The average cost of a maid in my household per annum is around Dh30,000. This includes the salary, the visa fee, medical costs, food, toiletries and airfare to home country,” she added.

Besides this, getting a maid from an agency adds to the overall burden. “The costs involved in hiring a new maid are exorbitant. The agency fee or the cost of finding a new maid, the cost of bringing her here, and to top it all, the fee we have to pay to the government, make it a huge burden.

“In the case of an existing maid, the government fee, medical and the increase in salary to retain the maid per annum are equally huge. So, all this takes a toll on the family income that has not seen any increase since [2009] recession,” she said.

“I got a maid from Sri Lanka in 2009 for Dh700. Since then I’ve never got a pay hike and lost my job once. I was lucky enough that I found another one in three months’ time. I’ve changed my child’s school so that I save on the fee but my maid’s salary has gone up to Dh1,400, exactly a 100 per cent jump,” said another resident.

Popular forums are full of residents complaining that they don’t know how much of a hike would be termed fair enough.

Many believe that the problem is more acute where both the spouses work and have a child at home. Residents also claim that an increase in salary does not result into better work.

“High salary does not always equate to better performance. I have learned the hard way with this one. I believe it's better to pay a housemaid at a fair/reasonable monthly salary ranging between Dh 1,500-1,800 a month based on experience.

“Obviously, one has to pay more if they have worked for you longer, have many children, larger houses, if the maids drive, etc. If they work hard, put in extra hours and babysit, then pay them a little bonus each month.

“I do this with my maid and she is so thrilled. I reward her hard work when I can. In other words, compensate extra work and initiative in that month. This prevents them from getting too comfortable in a base salary and gives them a reason to work hard,” writes a resident on the forum.

Another point of contention is that Western expats in the city pay their maids a lot more than other expats, which sets the market trend.

“Please bear in mind that Dh2,000 or even Dh1,500 is not the market rate. [It is much less]. These are salaries paid mostly by Western expats and the majority of the UAE population is not Western expats,” companied a pink-bunny on the forum.

“I pay significantly more than Dh2,000. However, at the time of renewing the contract she started telling me about her friends who earn Dh4,000. I made it very clear that I was not interested in what her friends earned.

“I did not think it was anyone else's business what she earned and that was between her and me. I don’t think she should be going round discussing it. She knew and I knew that she was earning well over market rate. If she wasn't satisfied and wanted to look for other work I would be disappointed but would support her. The issue has never been raised again,” wrote another resident on the site.

Gratuity should be calculated on basic salary

End-of-service gratuity should be calculated on the basis of the basic salary as per the employment contract signed between the employer and employee, the Ministry of Labour said.

According to the ministry, if the basic salary is not clearly stated in the employment contract, gratuity should be calculated on the basis of the last salary paid to the employee, as quoted by Dubai-based Arabic daily newspaper Emarat Al Youm.

Humaid bin Dimas, Executive Director for Labour Affairs, said “the basic wage in the employment contract should be written with the consent of the employee.”

Bin Dimas said end of service gratuity should be calculated on the basis of gross salary if the employment contract is not clear about basic salary.

The ministry expressed its view in response to demands of employees in private firms to calculate end of service gratuity on the basis of the total, rather than basic, salary.

Bin Dimas said: “When an employee signs an employment contract, he implicitly accepts the amount fixed in the contract as the basis for calculating end-of-service gratuity.”

Employees of private companies requested the Ministry of Labour to pass a law calling for calculating end of service gratuity on the basis of total salary because employers often keep basic salary low to take unfair advantage of the law while paying gratuity.

Some said it would be fair if the basic wage is calculated at 60 per cent of total salary.

Rami, who works in an insurance company with a total monthly salary of Dh7,000 said his basic wage in the employment contract is Dh700.

He said he was forced to sign the contract because there was no other alternative.”

Rami urged the MoL to specify 60 per cent of the total salary as the minimum basic salary, especially as the law requires the employee to work for five years in the same company to get gratuity of one month’s basic salary for each year worked.

Mohammed Wanoos, who works in a contracting company, said the UAE regulations allows the worker to stay an extra month after the end of the employment contract, but asked how he could live for a month when the gratuity is enough for only a few days.

Wanoos urged the Ministry of Labour to calculate the end of service benefits on the basis of total salary or determine the ratio of basic wage to full salary.

He said he got Dh1,500 as end-of-service gratuity after he worked for three years in the same company despite a total salary of about Dh7,000 a month.

Bin Dimas said “the UAE’s Federal Labour Law mentions both basic salary and allowance but does not indicate their proportion to each other.

He added that the MoL asks employers to update employee contracts.

He added that the employment contract is signed with the mutual consent of the employer and employee.

The employee knows before signing the contract details of his salary and end-of-service benefits.