UAE visa on arrival for 13 EU countries

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced today that citizens of 13 European Union member states, who hold ordinary passports, will be exempted from the need to acquire pre-entry visas to the UAE with effect from March 22, 2014, in implementation of the decision taken by the UAE Cabinet in this regard.

The countries are: Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia, Malta, Cyprus, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.

As a result of the above decision, citizens of all 28 countries in the EU will be allowed to enter the UAE without having to previously apply for a visa.

The Ministry statement added that all necessary measures have been taken by the Ministry of the Interior to implement the decision at all UAE points of entry.

The statement went on to say that these exemptions will enhance political relations between the UAE and European Union, will help to further develop economic ties and bilateral trade and will also help to encourage mutual investment, while promoting tourism both to and from these countries.

Standard contract to regulate relations between domestic workers and employers will be introduced shortly in UAE

“The new unified contract will be made by a joint committee made up of representatives from the ministries of Interior, Labour, Health, and economic departments across the UAE,” Dr Hashim Al Nuaimi, Director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Economy.

Dr Al Nuaimi said the contract will be taken up by the Higher Committee for Consumer Protection, chaired by Sultan Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy. He gave no time-frame as to when this contract will see the light. “The standard contract will take time because many authorities are contributing to it,” Al Nuaimi said, ruling out the issue being taken up by the next meeting of the Higher Consumer Protection Committee, scheduled for March 26.

According to a draft law on domestic workers, passed by the Federal National Council in 2012, the standard contract will be signed by the employer and the employment agency, setting out job description and qualifications of the worker as well as obligations of the employer, specifically the nature of the work and the remuneration.
Standard contract for maids in the UAE: Law states contract will set out job description and qualifications, as well as salary
    According to the Ministry of Interior’s statistics at the end of 2007, there were around 750,000 domestic workers in the UAE. Picture for illustrative purposes only.

“The contract will also provide for financial obligations towards the workers travelling to the UAE, fees of the agent and the period required to bring in the employee. If the agent fails to honour these obligations as set out in the contract, the employer shall have the right to refuse offering the job to the worker, and the agent will bear the costs of returning the worker home, without prejudice to the employer’s right to claim compensation for any injuries caused by the agent’s failure to meet the contract’s terms,” states the legislation which requires to be signed into law by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Ali Eisa Al Nuaimi, a member of the FNC, will put a question to the Minister of Economy on Tuesday about the growing fees imposed by placement companies of domestic workers.

Al Nuaimi told  he would suggest that agreements be signed between the UAE and countries exporting domestic workers, to curb exploitation of recruiting agencies, which charge up to Dh12,000 in fees for employment of a domestic helper..

The contract, which can extend to no more than two years and is renewable for similar periods, shall more particularly specify the date of its conclusion, the date on which work is to begin, type of the work and workplace, duration of the contract, the remuneration and how it is paid as well as any other terms required by the nature of the work.

A domestic worker, the law states, may be engaged on probation for six months, during which his or her service may be terminated by the employer with the placement agency bearing the cost of sending the worker home if necessary. The agent has to repay all fees if the contract is revoked of the worker’s own will, because of the worker or because agreed terms of the employment contract are not honoured.

To address abusive practices in respect of payment of wages, the law lays down a number of principles with regard to the protection of remuneration. Remuneration, which has to be communicated to the worker and agreed by him or her before travelling to the UAE, has to be paid no later than the 10th of the following month and a receipt is signed upon every payment. No amount of money may be deducted from a worker’s salary or end of service gratuity except for a debt payable in execution of a court ruling or repair of any damage caused by the worker, provided that the deduction shall not exceed a quarter of the worker’s salary. If a dispute occurs, it has to be settled by the special tribunals at the Ministry of Interior or be referred to the court.

Once the law is issued, a domestic worker will enjoy a weekly day off with full pay, paid annual leave of 14 days and sick leave of up to 30 days a year.

Questions and Answers about Litigation Proceedings in UAE

1-How long does it takes for a decision in a labor case to be executed?

- one week after the date on which the decision is made.

2. How can a woman execute a POA to appoint her husband as her agent?

- She has to go to the division of personal status services, with her legal guardian to transact the POA. She shall have her passport (or ID for nationals), or a marriage agency endorsed by her legal guardian if he is outside the UAE.

3. How can an Egyptian woman obtain a certifi­cate for verification of absence?

She shall print the relevant application and bring a personal status claim at the division of registration, under the name of “verification of absence”.

4. Is a true copy of the passport required for those living outside the UAE?

This is irrelevant to the jurisdiction of the court. A person shall endorse the copy from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

5. In case a POA is cancelled, shall the agent be noti­fied?

For a POA to be cancelled, the following documents are re­quired:

A copy of the POA, if any.

ID for nationals

Notary public of the Department of Economic Development: the principal shall sign an acknowledgement to notify the agent.

Notary Public of Tawar office: The agent shall be notified through a minute.

6. Are there any payable fees if the notary pub­lic moves to the place of residence to complete the transaction? Do they apply also to VIPs?

Only AED 100 shall be paid in case the notary public has to visit patients in hospitals and disabled people in their houses, after the medical report is provided and the woman serving her waiting pe­riod. In other cases, the same fee applies to sheikhs in Dubai,

ministers, directors of governmental departments in Dubai, and the renowned public figures. The jurisdiction is limited to the Emir­ate of Dubai.

7. Shall people with no ID obtain a non-work cer­tificate from the Notary Public?

Yes, a non-work acknowledgement may be endorsed for those who have no ID, provided that the authority requiring such an ac­knowledgement be specified.

8. May the Tunisian consulate in the UAE approve a POA from a Tunisian national to open a case and review the same issue in courts? May the courts accept that?

Yes, courts accept that the consulate acts as an agent in a case.

9. Shall a father obtain an NOC for his son to hold the UAE nationality at the Notary Public’s office?

An NOC is issued by the department of personal status. However, if the mother is non-national, the NOC shall be issued by the Notary Public.

10. What are the services provided by the Notary Public at the head office and the different offices (Barsha, Tawar, and the Department of Economic Development)?

The head office endorses judicial warnings for attorneys, endors­es POAs in cases for attorneys if the case is scheduled to be re­viewed on the same day, endorses assignments of cases and ac­tions reviewed by the public prosecution, courts or police centers, and transports officials to Rashid hospital and nearby areas. Other branches, however, provide all the abovementioned services and make all other endorsements approved by the Notary Public.

11. May a statement of indebtedness be executed to document the debts payable by persons? May a judicial warning be issued if the other party fails to make the relevant payment?

Yes

12. May a penal claim be instituted in case there is a statement of indebtedness?

No, but a civil claim may be made instead.

13. What are the costs and fees of civil and com­mercial claims ?

If the value of claim is less than AED 100 (one hundred dirhams), or does not include an application of no estimated value, then it is a summary claim.

If the value of claim exceeds AED 100, or includes an application of no estimated value, then it is a total-bench claim. A fee of 7.5 of the value of claim shall be paid. For claims with no estimated value, AED 750 shall be paid (e.g. the appointment of expert, restoration of passport, cancellation of a trade mark). Summary claims require AED 500. Minimum fees are AED 10 and maximum fees are AED 30,000.

14. When shall hearings be scheduled?

Hearings are scheduled according to the address of the de­fendant; if it resides within the Emirate, then a hearing shall be scheduled within 10- 20 days. However, if the defendant is domiciled outside the Emirate, and there is a notification for a public authority in Dubai, then the hearing shall be scheduled within 15- 30 days.

If the defendant lives in another, Arab or neighboring, country, the hearing shall be scheduled after 3 months. For relatively distant countries, a period of 6 months shall be allowed.

15. What are the fees of summary claims ?

AED 500

16. What are the requirements for the endorse­ment of contracts ?

The contracts shall be typed in Arabic.

The relevant parties, or their agents, shall attend.

The original ID, and a copy thereof, shall be provided.

An initial approval shall be obtained from the relevant authority.

17. What are the requirements of sale contracts and the appendices thereof ?

The contracts shall be typed in Arabic.

The relevant parties, or their agents, shall attend.

An original ID, and a copy thereof, shall be provided.

An initial approval of sale shall be obtained for some businesses.

An original driving license and a list of shareholders, plus a copy  of both, shall be provided.

The articles of association, and its original appendices if any, shall be provided, plus a copy thereof.

18. What are the requirements of a POA?

The instrument shall be typed in Arabic.

The relevant parties, or their agents, shall attend.

An original ID, and a copy thereof, shall be provided.

Instruments establishing the capacity, and a copy thereof, shall be submitted.

19. What are the procedures to be followed in com­mercial agencies?

The original license and a list of partners, and a copy thereof, shall be provided.

The articles of association, and its original appendices if any, shall be provided, plus a copy thereof.

20. What are the procedures to be followed for executing POAs for inheritors?

The original statement of heirs, and a copy thereof, shall be sub­mitted.

If there are minors, their passports shall be attached and the ap­proval of the competent authority shall be obtained.

If a minor reaches the age of maturity, the relevant statement of adultness and cancellation of custodianship shall be submitted.

21. What are the requirements of an acknowl­edgement ?

An acknowledgement shall be written in Arabic.

The relevant party, or the agent thereof, shall attend personally.

The original ID, and a copy thereof, shall be submitted.

Statements showing the party’s capacity, and a copy thereof, shall be submitted.

22. How shall minutes of meetings be endorsed ?

A minute shall be typed in Arabic.

The relevant parties, or the agents thereof, shall be present.

The original ID, and a copy thereof, shall be submitted.

The party shall provide its license, the articles of association of the company, a list of shareholders, and a copy of each.

 23. What are the established procedures of cath­olic marriage contracts in Dubai?

Two original certificates of marriage shall be submitted.

The photos of the husband and wife shall be provided.

The certificate shall be translated into Arabic and shall be legally endorsed.

24. How shall the date be documented?

- An Arabic application for date documentation shall be provided.

- The original instrument, and one or more copies, shall be at­tached.

- The original ID, and a copy thereof, shall be submitted.

25. How shall a translation be certified ?

- The translator shall be present.

- The license issued by the Ministry of Justice, and a copy thereof, shall be shown.

- The Arabic translation, and the original foreign instrument en­dorsed by the UAE Foreign Ministry, shall be provided.

Passengers flying to India must self-declare jewellery, bullion and currency exceeding Rs10,000

New Delhi: The Times of India reported that new customs rules to be implemented from next month will require all passengers flying into India to self-declare currency exceeding Rs10,000, gold jewellery and gold bullion in their possession and also be required to declare number of baggage, including hand-carried baggage, while entering into India. 

The Customs Baggage Declaration (Amendment) Regulations of 2014 require an Indian citizen to fill up the immigration form only when he or she goes out of the country. Indian citizens returning from abroad are not required to fill up the form, it added.The rules will kick in on March 1, according to a finance ministry notice dated February 10.

Gold mules, duty fraud

The new form will ask for details different from the immigration card (detachable perforated strip) currently in use, with new fields added to declare dutiable and prohibited goods.

The move is aimed to help airport authorities check customs duty fraud. More importantly, it will keep tabs of gold jewellery and bullion being brought into the country, say officials.he Indian government has raised the ante on passengers who work as gold mules. India, the world’s second-biggest gold importer after China, imposed further controls on domestic gold consumption, raising import duty on bullion from 8 per cent to 10 last year.

The gold import curbs and increased taxes dried up demand after Indians went on a gold buying spree following a slump in world gold prices in April last year – which blew a bigger hole in the country’s current-account deficit and led to rupee’s slide. A lion’s share of India's gold demand comes from imports, denominated in dollars.

Earlier, it was announced that all passengers arriving at the country’s 19 international airports must fill out a new detailed customs form starting January 1, 2014. It was not immediately clear if the January 1 target had been moved to March 1.

Now, the form will ask in-bound passengers to specifically declare prohibited goods and dutiable items, including gold jewellery, gold bullion and Indian currency exceeding the permitted limit.

Indian Customs allow male passengers to carry gold worth up to Rs50,000 (Dh3,400) and female passengers twice as much. The currency limit for Indian citizens is set at Rs7,500 (Dh510). Non-resident Indians can take foreign exchange, but they have to declare amounts exceeding $5,000 or equivalent or when the aggregate value of foreign exchange (banknotes, travellers cheques) exceeds $10,000.

“For the first time, travellers would be asked to specifically declare any prohibited articles, gold jewellery (over free allowance), gold bullion and Indian currency exceeding Rs10,000 in the new form,” the report said, quoting an unnamed official.

Other details

Moreover, the passport number must be mentioned on the new form -- a detail not required earlier -- as well as countries visited by a passenger in the past six days, the report said.

“Old fields like declaration of satellite phone, foreign currency exceeding $5,000 or equivalent, aggregate value of foreign exchange including currency exceeding $10,000 or equivalent, meat, meat products, dairy products, fish or poultry products and seeds, plants, fruits, flowers and other planting material have been retained in the new format,” it said.

Dubai Police radar limit on major roads

As traffic conditions continue to plague daily commuters across Dubai, the statistics paint a grim picture with excessive speeding resulting in 42 traffic accidents, resulting in the deaths of five people and injuring another 35 in 2013 alone.To avoid further confusion, Dubai Police released an updated list of speed limits on major roads across the emirate, along with the radar setting speed that will have you facing a heavy fine if crossed.

Major highways, including Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, Emirates Road, Dubai-Al Ain Road, Hatta Road, the Lahbab Road and the Aweer-Lahbab Road, all have a maximum speed limit of 120kmph.

The radar setting for these roads have been set at 141kmph, the speed following which your car will be captured on camera.


For a complete list of road speed limits, see the table below.