59A7D41EB44EABC4F2C2B68D88211BF4 UAE Visa Rules & Procedures - UAE Law Updates for 2025

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan approved New Cabinet

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has approved the formation of the new Cabinet, presented by the Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The President wished the new ministers good luck and success, expressing his thanks and appreciation to the ministers for the efforts they exerted in serving their homeland.

The following is the new list of ministers, headed by the Vice President and Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

•His Highness Lt.-General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior

•His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs

•His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Minister of Finance

•His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

•Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development

•Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research

•Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Development and International Cooperation

•Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs

•Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy

•Mariam Mohammed Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of Social Affairs

•Humaid Mohammed Obeid Al Qattami, Minister of Education

•Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Health

•Saqr Ghobash Saeed Ghobash, Minister of Labour

•Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs ( Minister of Federal National Council of Affairs )

•Dr. Hadef Jowan Al Dhahiri, Minister of Justice

•Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water

•Suhail bin Mohamed Faraj Fares Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy

•Abdullah bin Mohamed Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Public Works

•Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs

•Dr. Maytha Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State

•Reem Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State

•Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State

•Abdullah bin Mohammed Ghobash, Minister of State

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Re-Entry Permit for Residence Visa holder of Dubai Staying 180 days outside UAE

A RESIDENT VISA HOLDER STAYING OUTSIDE U.A.E. FOR MORE THAN 180 DAYS has to obtain a Re Entry Residence Permit in Dubai.

As per the new immigration law a resident visa holder staying outside the U.A.E. for more than 180 days has to complete some procedures before re-entering into Dubai.

He/she can staying outside U.A.E. for more than 180 days is considered on some conditions and the procedure has to be completed by the sponsor for re-entering of sponsored person into Dubai.

In case the holder of Dubai resident visa stayed outside UAE for more than 180 days his visa will be blocked. Some persons are exempted from visa block. The details of exemption are given in the re-entry exempted list.

For example, If the exit from U.A.E. was on 03-Jul-2011 and intend to come back on 28-Feb-2012 (6 months + extra 2 months) sponsor has to complete the below mentioned procedures for unblocking the residence visa.

The sponsor has to obtain the following documents and attend at GDRFA to apply for a re-entry permit since he is the sponsor & the sponsored person exceeded 180 days outside UAE:

 Application form from typing center.
 A certificate for the case reason attested from UAE Embassy + Ministry of Foreign Affairs "within the same country" + Ministry of Foreign Affairs inside UAE approves the reason of staying that whole period outside UAE.
    The person passport copy along with the sponsor passport copy.
    AED 130 fees for that service.
    AED 100 for each month exceeding the 180 days.

Note:

    The sponsored UAE Residence Visa should be valid.
    The matter is subject to approval from GDRFA.

You may contact General Directorate of Residency & Foreigners Affairs-Dubai for more information.

Toll-free    : 8005111
Tel (Int.)    :+971 4 313 9999
Fax          :+971 4 501 1111
Email       : Amer@dnrd.ae
Website   :www.amer.ae

Dubai Visa Status and Information about DNRD Applications

The website of General Directorate of Residency – Dubai has the facility to check the Dubai visa status and information about DNRD applications. The GDRFA site provides a Query DNRD App page to check about the visa status and other immigration applications. The status of following immigration forms applied in DNRD can be checked through the Dubai immigration portal by entering the basic application information like smart form number or application number.

    Entry permit validity
    UAE Residence validity
    eDNRD Application
    eFORM Application

    Residence Application Status – This will show the status of passport that has been submitted to DNRD for visa stamping as whether it is processed or not.

Dubai immigration also started a smart mobile application from their website for checking the status and validity of visit visas and other immigration transactions. The new mobile service from General Department of Residency and Foreign Affairs in Dubai will enable the public to check about the status of Dubai visas and other immigration transactions.

DNRD eServices is a fully integrated online system designed for minimizing the time required on managing your application and other transactions with DNRD. Residents don't need to register to use the online visa status enquiry services.
Click here to view the Visa Status

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Employers to bear the cost of Emirates ID card: Eida Chief

Although there is no legal directive that compels companies to bear the cost of Emirates ID, Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) chief says companies should take up the responsibility of paying the cost of ID cards for their employees.

“There is no legal directive on who should pay the fees for the ID cards. Since now the visa issuance is linked to the Emirates ID process, we expect companies to bear the cost. We are taking up the matter with higher authorities and are reviewing the matter,” Dr Ali Al KhouriDirector General, EidaHe added that a few public sector entities and private companies had already begun bearing the cost of the issuing Emirates ID for their employees.

“There are companies in both public and private sector that are now paying for the ID for their employees. We believe companies have to bear the cost of the ID as the card issuance is linked to visa.”

Employees in the public sector pay Dh300 (Dh100 per year for three year visa) for the card, while private sector employees pay Dh200 (Dh100 per year for two year visa) . The other charges (typing and admin) total to Dh70.

Friday, February 15, 2013

National IDs required to cancel visas in UAE

Residents applying for the cancellation of their UAE residence visa must surrender their Emirates ID card to immigration authorities, an official said.

The highly-placed official at Dubai’s General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) told Gulf News that visas will not be cancelled unless the ID card is handed over.

The official, who did not want to be named, said: “No residency visa will be cancelled without the ID cards. Cancelling the visa, for the purpose of leaving the country forever or for the purpose of changing jobs, requires [handing over] the ID cards.”

Residents typically apply to have their visa cancelled when leaving the UAE for good or when changing jobs. As a rule, a job change involves a visa change as well.

Rules apply to children

The GDRFA will hand over the returned ID card to the Emirates Identity Authority, which issues the card in the first place, the official added. He said this procedure is required by the issuing authority and applicants who have lost their card must produce a letter from the authority confirming the situation

“Everyone must have his or her ID card with them. Even cancelling the residency visa for a child requires submitting the ID card of that child,” the official said. He added that the rule is in place across the UAE.

Renewals

However, in the case of visa renewals, applicants can retain their card, the official said. “We are not asking for [surrendering of] the ID card in case one is renewing the residency visa.” A valid card must be shown at the time of renewals, though.

The Emirates ID card is required for all UAE nationals and legal residents aged 15 and above. The smart card carries a picture and basic information of the holder, including a computer chip and biometric data.

The Emirates Identity Authority says the card prevents identity theft and allows access to certain government and non-government services. It has repeatedly said that those who fail to register for the card will be fined and possibly barred from a number of government services.