UAE allows multiple entry visit visas to foreigners

In a move set to redraw and further strengthen the tourism and trade sector in the UAE, which is already doing very well, UAE has just announced and confirmed that Multiple Entry Visit Visas may be issued for three categories of visitors. This will give tremendous boost for the UAE economy especially in the tourism, airline, hotel and restaurant sectors aside from strengthening various trade related sectors.

Note: Visit visas only allow persons to visit and will not allow tourists to open bank accounts or buy a car or obtain a driving licence etc, for all of which, a UAE residence visa is mandatory. However, the owner of real estate in UAE with a value in excess of AED 1m / USD 273k becomes eligible to obtain a UAE residency visa and enjoy a tax free and crime free lifestyle and can thereafter open a bank account or buy a car etc.

The UAE has allowed multiple entry visas in keeping with the requirements of some foreigners who need to visit the country from time to time.

A ministerial decree No. 418 of 2012 allowing for multiple entry visas was issued by Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. It amended some provisions of the law of entry and residence of foreigners, Al Bayan newspaper said.

Multiple entry visas can be issued by both the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs and UAE’s Consular offices abroad.

Those eligible for the multiple entry visas include businessmen, property investors and tourists.

Businessmen and professionals abroad who have dealing with a public or private institution or a company in the UAE, and who require frequent visits, are eligible for multiple entry.

Also, those foreigners who own property in the UAE – and their spouse and children - can avail that the multiple entry visa.

Tourists on board cruise ships will be eligible for multiple entry as their schedule includes entering the country more than once.

Conditions

• However, in order for the multiple entry visas to be granted, certain conditions have to be fulfilled.
• For the business visitor, the multiple entry visa allows him to enter the country several times during the six months from the date of issuance of the visa. The stay during each visit should not exceed 30 days.
• If the foreign visitor to UAE owns a property, the visa allows him to enter the country several times during the six months from the date of issuance of the visa and allow him to stay as long as the visa is valid.
• If the purpose for visiting the country is tourism and the visitor is coming on board one of the cruise ships, the permission allows him or her to enter the country several times during the three months from the date of issuance of the visa and stay a maximum of 14 days each time from date of entry.

UAE Missions Abroad

The UAE’s ambassadorial and consular mission abroad can issue a ‘courtesy visa’ to certain categories of visitors.

They have been allowed to issue visit visas exempt from the requirement of a sponsor.

Holders of diplomatic and United Nations passports can be given multiple entry visas for three months by UAE mission abroad.

These visas allow entry to the UAE for multiple times during three months from the date of the issuance. It also allows the holder to stay during each visit for nor more than 30 days from the date of entry as long as the visa is valid.

Affidavit must for residency or visit visa in Ajman

Expatriates intending to sponsor their parents for a visit or residency to Ajman, are being asked to offer a sworn affidavit from Ajman Court.

According to Ajman Naturalization and Residency Department, those intending to sponsor one or both of their parents must produce a letter from his or her consulate to the court.

The letter should be produced to the Ajman Naturalization and Residency Department, and then the sponsor will have to attest the letter from Ajman Court to obtain a sworn affidavit.

A typed form, costing Dh.350 is required for the purpose. Expatriates can show up at Ajman Court with two Muslim witnesses (this is a must, irrespective of the religion of the sponsor or sponsored) to prove that the sponsored is their mother or father.

Although, a letter from sponsor’s consulate proving the identity of sponsor’s father or mother is a must for the residency departments of all emirates, the attestation in the letter and obtaining a sworn affidavit is required only in Ajman.

As per the new visa rule introduced early this year, expats can sponsor only their blood relatives for visit visa, and not their friends.

Fee for Indian passport renewal in UAE increases to Dh285

Dubai: Indian missions in the UAE have increased the fee for renewal of passport with effect from October 1.

According to a statement from Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, Indian expatriates will have to pay Dh285 to renew their passport, an increase of Dh135. The earlier charge for renewal was Dh150.

The embassy said the Indian government has also increased the fee for Tatkal or urgent passport from Dh700 to Dh855.

Also, those applying for a 60-page Jumbo booklet will have to pay Dh95. The earlier fee for this category of passport was Dh40.

The fees for damaged or lost passport has been increased from Dh505 to Dh570.

The revised fee comes into effect from October 1.

Six month labour ban in UAE applies to working women sponsored by family members

Dubai: A six-month ban imposed by the Ministry of Labour on people who fail to complete the period of employment stipulated under labour rules also applies to working women sponsored by their family members. An official from the ministry said women seeking to change their jobs or leave work before completing the contractual obligation of two years with their employer would automatically attract the ban.

The official who did not wish to be named said the ban will take effect the moment a woman under the sponsorship of her husband or father cancels her labour card.

The official was commenting on the case of an Algerian woman identified as Hasnaa Talbi who was slapped with a six-month ban after resigning from work despite being on the sponsorship of her Tunisian husband Radawan.

Hasnaa, who worked for around two months at a jewellery store in Dubai, was shocked that she had been handed down a six-month labour ban by the ministry despite the fact that she had been working for just two months. “This ban is an issue for me because I was looking to move to a new employer. Most employers will not wait for six months while the ban period elapses,” she said.

The aggrieved woman said she had lodged a complaint at the Ministry of Labour but it took the ministry almost six months to respond forcing her to eventually drop the complaint.

Officials had previously stated that women who take up employment while remaining under the sponsorship of a male relative are not affected by a work ban. The ministry has now come round to the view that in cases where a wife or daughter decides to change jobs or to leave work without completing two years of employment, she will be automatically banned by the Ministry of Labour for six months.

“Bans are imposed on all expatriate employees working in private sector when they want to move from one employer to another if they left employer without having completed a minimum of two years’ service,” the official said.

He said the mandatory six-month labour ban applies to both men and women even if individuals are sponsored by family members and is calculated from the date an employee’s labour card is cancelled at the ministry of Labour. “This is an administrative ban, meaning that a block is inserted into the ministry’s computer system preventing an application for labour approval being processed against banned person’s name and passport number,” he said.

The ban cannot be lifted by paying a fine either. “The ban is mandatory under law, this means it is implemented automatically unless the Ministry of Labour is instructed otherwise,” the official said.

Pakistani passport validity extended from five to 10 years

 Dubai: Pakistani expatriates in the UAE are rejoiced over their government’s decision to extend the validity period of their passports from five to 10 years.

According to new rule, the passports issued after September 15 will be valid for 10 years. Applications will also have the choice to get a bigger 100-page passport.

“It will be a great relief as we don’t have to run to our diplomatic missions to renew passports every now and then and stand in queues for hours,” said Haji Naveed Younus, a Pakistani businessman living in the UAE for the last 35 years. He said the government should also improve facilities at the missions which are unable to cope with heavy rush of people applying for passports and ID cards.“

Mohammad Shahid Bhatti, a businessman in Dubai, also appreciated the new move and urged the government that passport issuance time should also be reduced as currently it takes more than three to four weeks to get a passport. “Passports should be delivered within a week,” he said.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced extension in the validity of passports from five to 10 years.

However, Pakistani mission in the UAE has not so far received any intimation in this regard. “We are waiting for the instructions from the government regarding the new passport policy,” Tariq Iqbal Somoro, Pakistani Consul General in Dubai, told Gulf News. He said the consulate would inform the community about the procedure and revised fee structure if any accordingly.

Malik has also launched an Integrated Border Management System (IBMS) at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore. The IBMS replaced the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) and is meant to enhance security procedure at the airports in Pakistan.

The IBMS software allows features missing in PISCES such as the integration of biometric data and giving access to visa-issuing authorities. IBMS, initially launched in 2001, is currently operational at Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad, Jinnah International Airport Karachi, Bacha Khan International Airport Peshawar and Torkham Land Route.

Malik said that the system had been developed with the cooperation of Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) through which the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) would have an access to NADRA records.

Malik said that IBMS had been designed according to country’s immigration laws and it would help prevent illegal entry, use of counterfeit documents, human smuggling and other frauds.

The minister added that IBMS had been equipped with technologies such as advance fingerprint matching, specialised handling of different categories of travellers and scalability for integration with other national databases.