Mandatory seat belt for backseat passengers proposed in UAE

The Federal Traffic Council (FTC) proposed in its latest meeting that passengers in a vehicle’s back seat must fasten their seat belts and those who don’t will be considered offenders and will be issued fines.

Maj Gen Mohammad Said Al Zafein, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Operations’ Affairs and Chairman of the Federal Traffic Council, said violators will be fined Dh400 and given four black points.

He explained that the council took the age and height of the passenger into consideration, as well as the view of the policeman, when drafting the proposal which has yet to become law.

Injuries are more severe in accidents where seat belts were not used, Maj Gen Al Zafein said, which is why the Ministry of Interior puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of seat belts.
Maj Gen Al Zafein said international scientific studies have confirmed the role of the seat belt in saving many lives, as they prevent the person from hitting the steering wheel or the dashboard or flying through the windshield due to inertia when the car stops suddenly.

He said studies also showed that the risk of death of a passenger in the front seat with their seat belt on increases if a passenger in the backseat is not wearing their seat belt and vice versa.

“When an accident happens, the car stops but the passengers’ bodies continue to move forward at the same speed that the vehicle was moving. If the vehicle was at 100 km/h before the accident, the passenger will be hurled with a force between 1,000kg-1,500kg if not wearing a seat belt, which can cause death or injury to himself as well as other passengers in the vehicle.”

Last month the FTC announced that they had proposed a new law to fine drivers or their passengers if they put any part of their body out of the vehicle when the vehicle is in motion, as well as a law to punish drivers preoccupied with matters other than driving.

No hike in minimum salary for family visa in Dubai

The news in some English language newspapers claiming an increase in the minimum salary requirement for sponsoring family members, has been denied by Major General Mohammed Ahmad Al Marri, the Director of General of the Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai.

He assured in a press statement that there are not any new restrictions and the directorates and all its branches are still receiving and processing applications smoothly.

Any amendments of the rules should have been issued officially in a statement by the Ministry of Interior prior to implementation in Dubai and the rest of the emirates at the same time, he clarified.

He stressed the importance of getting news from official and credible sources to foster professionalism that local newspapers enjoy.

“Our departments are characterized with high level of transparency in every matter that concerns clients. And, this is our methodology and approach in the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai,” he added.

Conditons for sponsorship

Article No. 31 regarding sponsorship of the wife by an expatriate husband sets the following conditions:

1.    The sponsor should have a valid work/ residence visa.

2.    He should submit a marriage contract attested as per the rules in his home country and the consulate that represents his country overseas or by the embassy of the country that had issued the marriage contract in the country in addition to  attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

3.    The monthly income of the sponsor should not be less than Dh3,000 plus accommodation offered by the employer and Dh4,000 without accommodation.

4.    The sponsor should submit a salary certificate attested by the authorities concerned.

5.   The same rules are applicable for expatriate women ‘specialist’ employees seeking to sponsor their family members.

6.   The following categories are exempted from the salary provision and they can sponsor only their family members:

Teachers

Mosque imams

Drivers of school, college and university buses.

Heads of families can sponsor unmarried daughters and sons below 18 years or those studying in colleges and universities in the UAE..    

Universities and colleges can sponsor their students provided:

1.    The student should register for regular study and not affiliation.

2.   The sponsoring educational institution should undertake responsibility about the student’s sponsorship and his exit from the UAE after finishing his studies. The institution should also inform the authorities when the student finishes studies or leaves the country.

3. Government departments and authorities should directly apply to obtain sponsorship for foreigners who are offered training provided.

a)    The department should be a public entity.

b)    The trainee should have deputed by an official entity in his home country.     

c)    The department that offers the training should comply with its responsibility of the departure of the sponsored person after finishing training and cancellation of his residency visa.

The increase in the minimum salary limit from Dh4,000 to Dh10,000 per month to sponsor immediate family members only applies to Dubai

The increase in the minimum salary limit from Dh4,000 to Dh10,000 per month to sponsor immediate family members only applies to Dubai, an immigration official told Gulf News on Saturday.

The salary requirement to sponsor wives and children in Abu Dhabi and other emirates has not changed and remains at Dh4,000 per month or Dh3,000 with accommodation, a senior official at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), said on condition of anonymity.

The official confirmed that the Dh6,000 increase in the minimum salary requirement was implemented in Dubai more than a week ago. The move aims to ensure that Dubai residents can provide a good quality of life to their families considering the increasing cost of living in the city.

However, the official website of GDRFA did not show any change in the rule. When contacted, the customer service agent at the GDFRA toll-free Amer service said he was not aware of any change in the minimum salary limit. According to him, the salary limit for an expatriate to sponsor family remained at Dh4,000 or Dh3,000 with accommodation.

Hiring illegal maids Violators in UAE could face jail sentence and fines up to Dh100,000

In a bid to crackdown on offenders who hire house help illegally, Ministry of Interior officials may conduct random checks within residential communities in Dubai to tackle the problem.
In a circular distributed to residents in its communities, master developer Emaar Properties has warned residents to be wary of hiring maids, gardeners and drivers through illegal ways.
“Don’t break the law by hiring illegal household staff,” reads a circular issued by the community management arm of the developer.
The company has advised its residents that the UAE’s Ministry of Interior will be “conducting random checks within the community and should they find persons working illegally in your home (e.g. housemaids, gardeners, drivers etc.), you could face a jail sentence and substantial fines ranging between Dh50,000 and Dh100,000.”
Residents have been advised to only keep staff members who are under their sponsorship or hired through a professional household service company.
As the city grows and expats and new professionals arrive each day, the housekeeping market is flourishing in Dubai. Hiring illegally can be a cheaper option but one that is very risky and can put your family in danger. Dubai Police have repeatedly cautioned residents against hiring cheap but dangerous labour, saying this can make them vulnerable to crime, especially if they have small children to be taken care of.
Despite repeated warnings by the authorities, some households are still found using the services of maids and drivers who are not hired as per the law. To step up security and to make it difficult for such ‘freelance workers’ to get access into the communities, the property developer has asked residents to register their staff with the community security after which they will be issued an ID card.

Drinking water without EQM mark not to be allowed in UAE from October 1 20014

The UAE’s mandatory technical regulation for drinking water will take effect on October 1, Dr Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, and Chairman of Emirates Standardization Metrology Authority (Esma), announced on Sunday.

The minister made it clear that any drinking water products which don't comply with the UAE Scheme for Drinking Water, approved by the UAE cabinet, and don't carry the Emirates Quality Mark (conformity mark recognised by Esma) will not be allowed into the market.

The new mechanism, he emphasized, is part of Esma's strategy to regulate and monitor products which have direct impact on health, safety of the consumer and the environment and to promote knowledge-based, competitive economy, sustainable environment and integrated infrastructure.

The minister explained that Esma board  had decided to grant an additional six months till October instead of April 1  for the enforcement of the system in response to requests by water producers and suppliers to allow them distribute their stock of drinking water and other imported products which don't carry the Emirates Quality Mark (EQM) in local market.

The new comprehensive control system aims to improve water standards in terms of quality by unifying control mechanisms on drinking water which include production, processing, packaging and distribution.

Bin Fahad told a forum, organised by Esma for 150 producers, suppliers and bottlers of drinking water and associated products, the grace period was granted to avoid any shortage of bottled water supply in the local market and spare these companies any financial loss.

''The UAE Scheme for Drinking Water, prepared by Esma in partnership with other public and private stakeholders on par with international best practices, defines the technical standard requirements for drinking water, and effective control and monitoring mechanisms regarding production, import and distribution processes,'' the minister said.

The minister noted that 154 companies had registered with the system (98 in 2013 and 56 since the beginning of 2014) of which 93 were local companies accounting for 60.4 per cent of the total companies.

He added that eight out of 14 companies applied for the Emirates Quality Mark had been awarded the registration certificates. The remaining 6 were on the final processes of auditing and conformity assessment.