Children under 15 now need ID card -Eida

Abu Dubai authorities have cancelled a decision to exempt children under 15 from having a national ID card and told their families to register them before the end of a new deadline on October 1.

The announcement by the Emirates National Identity Authority (Eida) follows a decision by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) that all children must produce a national ID card when registering for the new school year.

“Emirati and expatriate families of all children under 15 must apply to register their children with the national identity,” Eida said in a statement carried by the Sharjah-based Arabic language daily 'Al Khaleej'.

“This is a compulsory measure…they should do so before the end of the deadline on October 1 or they will have to pay delay fees.”

The statement said children who do not have separate passports would not be given an ID card, adding that applicants under that age need not come to Eida registration centres as applications can be submitted by their parents.

'Al Khaleej' said Adec’s decision applies only to public schools and the report did not mention whether such measure would be extended to other emirates.

NRIs, hold your remittances: Indian rupee set to fall again

With the Indian rupee appreciating almost 9 per cent in the past nine or so weeks, Indian expats in the UAE and elsewhere have been on the receiving end of the foreign exchange fight, with the dollar (and therefore the UAE dirham) getting clobbered by the now mighty rupee.

Today, one UAE dirham is fetching about Rs13.2 compared with Rs14.62 that it fetched on December 15, 2011, a decline of 8.9 per cent in a little over two months. While last year, the Indian rupee was among the worst performing currencies in the world – declining by 18.7 per cent in 12 months – the Asian currency has gained a lot of traction since the beginning of 2012.

In a nutshell, Gulf expats remitting money have been receiving lesser mileage from their dirhams, dinars and riyals, with most having to remit more of their hard-earned cash to meet fixed exposures in their home country.

However, despite the fact that the rupee has had a decent run in the past 67 days, analysts believe that the rally will, sooner than later, lose steam and that the dollar (and therefore the dirham) may once again trump the Asian currency in coming weeks.

According to Abhijit Chakraborty, Senior Vice-President of Institutional Equity at India-based Fortune Equity Brokers, the rupee could once again fall to below 51-52 levels against the US dollar – i.e., one UAE dirham might soon fetch more than Rs14.15 again.

“I think the rupee carry trade, which was essentially driven by liquidity factors, had taken the market up… I think that is going to take some pause, dollar index could revert back to about 80-81 and rupee could once again go to 51-52 levels,” Chakraborty said in a televised interview with CNBC-TV18, an Indian business news channel.

“The local unit [rupee] should soon witness some weakness towards 50 [against the US dollar], as the continuous increase in the crude prices will severely affect our current account deficit which is already expected to be at 3.5 per cent of GDP by March 2012, the worst in the last eight years,” adds Abhishek Goenka, CEO of India Forex Advisors, in a column in an Indian business daily.

With the oil price hovering close to $120/barrel, his comments may be bang on track in predicting an impending weakness in the Indian currency. Indeed, the rupee might be flattering to deceive as a reasonable share its recent strength is due to unsustainable factors.

The rupee’s appreciation is being credited to a huge sway of investments made by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) as well as non-resident Indians (NRIs) who seem to be taking advantage of the recent changes in regulations resulting in Indian banks offering them some of the highest interest rates in over a decade.

Besides the increase in NRI deposit rates that has reportedly resulted in a sharp increase in inflows, FIIs have pumped in more than $7 billion in the Indian markets since the beginning of the year. Both these factors are likely to slow down.

“Flows of this magnitude in the local markets do not seem sustainable on a month on month basis,” agrees Goenka. And if that is correct, expect more than Rs14 for your dirham sooner than later.

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.