UAE visa amnesty guidance for expats to avail the scheme

In a relief for expats whose visas have expired and who are illegally staying back in the UAE, a three-month general visa amnesty by the government from August 1 will help them sort out their status and put their lives together.

Under the scheme called 'Protect Yourself via Rectifying Your Status,' foreigners violating the residency law will be granted a three-month grace period to either leave the country voluntarily without prosecution or rectify their legal status by paying the required fees.

The visa relaxation will lift the fears of over-staying foreigners, reduce the burden on those facing hefty fines, while encouraging illegal expats to make their status legal or voluntarily depart, without incurring a ban. The scheme will end on October 31.

Here is a guide for those seeking to avail the scheme:

Rectifying violators status:

• Exemption from all applicable financial penalties (Penalties of Residency-Emirates ID-Labour card)
• Closing absconding case without recourse to the sponsor
• Fees for rectifying the status (Dh521)
• Adherence to the residency conditions in case of renewal of visa or new sponsor

Exit of Violators (Al Aweer):

1. Shall be exempted from penalties and closing the absconding case, if any.
2. Fees for individual applying for closing the absconding case 121, for private institutions 521, for government institutions 71
3. Exit permit fees Dh 221
4. In case of an exit, a passport is required.
5. In case there is no passport, travel document shall be issued from the consulate after submitting certificate 'To Whom It May Concern' about the loss of passport
6. Violators must provide the ticket and the travel date must be booked after 10 days of visiting the amnesty headquarters
7. Violator's exit will be without a ban.

 Notes:

1: Countries of wars and disasters (Syria-Yemen-Libya)

2: Temporary residency for 6 months shall be issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization.

3: Beneficiaries of violators amnesty for visa and entry permits of Dubai only.

4: In case the violator wishes to rectify his status inside the country, the visa is issued from another emirates and he has an absconding notification, he should contact the same emirate to close the absconding case.

Details of amnesty 2018 by UAE government

Duration: The duration of the amnesty will be from August 1, 2018 to October 31, 2018 (3 months), subject to extension for a further period of two months depending upon the circumstances.

Beneficiaries: All individuals who are overstaying in the country can utilize the amnesty either to regularize their visa status legally or to exit the country without paying any overstay fines without entry ban.

How to utilise

• The individuals who are staying illegally can regularize their visas by getting a new sponsor. They can submit their application through Amer centers for new visa by paying an Immigration fee of Dh500.
• Those who wish to exit the country can approach Awir Immigration directly and get exit permit without ban. The Immigration will issue exit permit and they can exit the country within 10 days after issuance of permit. A fee of Dh220 is to be paid for the exit permit. The Immigration will take the fingerprints and eye scan as normal procedure and will issue exit permit accordingly.
• Those who entered the country illegally without any documents will get exit clearance with two years ban. They can re-enter the UAE after two years.
• If there is an absconding report against a person, the Immigration will remove absconding report against him with payment of Dh500 and will issue exit permit without ban.

The exit permits will be issued from the concerned Immigration authorities from where the visa is issued. Therefore, the individuals have to approach the immigration authorities of their respective emirates.

The applicants can approach the Immigration either with original Passport or EC issued from the consulate. In case of the passport already submitted in any Immigration office the same will be located immediately and handed over to the applicant directly. If passport is not available, the Consulate can issue EC and exit permit will be issued without police report. They will consider requests of the Consulates for repatriation of individuals in special cases.

Dubai car registration cards to be valid for the lifetime

With the complete migration of vehicle registration and renewal to digital platforms coming into effect on Sunday, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)  announced that it will start issuing virtual registration cards valid for a lifetime from August 1.

The permanent registration cards will be without an expiry date and will replace the existing plastic cards that are issued annually after the renewal of vehicle registration.This is the third and final phase of adoption of the lifetime registration system with commercial vehicles, taxis and rental cars covered in the first two phases earlier this year.

“The new system will ensure that no plastic cards are issued every year, while the virtual cards will also come without an expiry date. This means a person will register his vehicle once when he buys it and later it is renewed annually after the purchase of insurance and passing of the technical test,” said Sultan Al Marzouqi, director of Vehicles Licensing at RTA’s Licensing Agency.

Once the vehicle inspection or the technical test is done, which is mandatory for all vehicles more than three years old, the renewal of registration can be done either through the RTA’s Dubai Drive mobile application, through its website www.rta.ae or through its call centre (8009090).

“As soon as the renewal is done, the motorist will get an email copy of the e-registration card and it will also reflect on the personal dashboard of the RTA’s app,” added Al Marzouqi.

Though the e-registration card will be accepted at all borders and other foreign countries, Al Marzouqi urged the motorists driving out of the country to print the registration card, just to be on the safer side.

RTA e-wallet

If one wants to avoid the hassle of going through the annual renewal process, motorists can join the RTA’s e-wallet and opt for the auto-renewal option.

“I think the auto-renewal will come as a handy option for many. All you have to do is join the e-wallet through the RTA’s website and transfer sufficient amount of money into the e-wallet account and opt for auto-renewal. This will ensure that once you complete the annual vehicle inspection and renew your insurance policy, the renewal of registration will be done automatically. The e-wallet can also be used to pay fines,” said Al Marzouqi.

The e-wallet could be topped up either using the Nol card or any credit card.

Last week, the RTA announced that the renewal of vehicle registration, ownership certificate and re-insurance certificate will be among eight services to be available only through its digital platforms, completely stopping these services at its customer care centres.

The migration, which will cut down the rush at Tasjeel, Al Shamil and other RTA-affiliated registration centres, will come into effect on Sunday.

The move comes as part of the RTA’s efforts to migrate most of its services to smart platforms.

The latest migration will see eight of its services available online only, including the renewal of registration for all privately owned vehicles that require annual technical testing.

The renewal of registration for commercial fleets as well as new private vehicles that don’t require testing were moved online in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

The fees for online renewal and registration of the vehicles will remain the same with the new registration costing Dh400, while the annual renewal did for Dh350.

UAE exempts accompanying tourist dependents from visa fees

The UAE Cabinet has affirmed that the UAE's competitiveness as a leading destination in family tourism supports the national economy and enhances domestic and foreign investments in the tourism sector. This came during the Cabinet’s approval of a decision to exempt the accompanying dependents of foreign tourists under the age of 18 from visa fees, from 15th July to 15th September of each year.

The Cabinet’s decision reflects the UAE's position in the global tourism sector as a prime destination attracting visitors and families from all over the world. The number of passengers travelling through the country's airports reached 32.8 million passengers during the first quarter of this year. Visitors come to the UAE to enjoy the historical sites, hotel and tourism services, and a number of festivals and activities throughout the year.

The decision of the Cabinet goes in line with the growth of the tourism sector in the country following the exemption of transit tourists from visa fees for the first 48 hours. Tourists can now also obtain a fee-free visa for children under the age of 18 years during the summer period from 15th July to 15th September of each year.

Visa in 24 hours for Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone Workers

Visas for the thousands of employees working at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) will now be processed within 24 hours.

Jafza on Monday signed a deal with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDFRA) that seeks to fast track and improve visa processing for people working in the emirate’s major business hub.

“The time is taken to process visas and related transactions are being cut to 24 hours,”  Jafza said in a statement.

The move is expected to benefit more than 150,000 workers employed in at least 7,500 companies. The agreement between GDFRA and Jafza is also seen to boost productivity within the businesses operating in the free zone.

The free zone attracts more than 20 per cent of the UAE’s foreign direct investment. It is home to thousands of companies, many of which are catering to major markets in the region and the rest of the world.

According to the latest figures, trade between Jafza and India alone reached over $3.4 billion in 2017.

Those dealing in automotive and spare parts also recorded business worth Dh39.5 billion in the same year.

“Simplifying business process results in increased efficiency and more productive companies and employees,” said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive officer of DP World.

“The agreement represents a new phase of cooperation with the GDFRA and integrates business practices as directed by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai.”

Dubai launches new freelance work permit

Residents can now obtain a new freelance package for an annual fee of Dh7,500 in media and education sectors with Dubai Media City (DMC) and Dubai Knowledge Park (DKP), officials announced. The package, called Gofreelance, was launched by TECOM Group, a member of Dubai Holding, in partnership with Dubai Creative Clusters Authority.

The annual fee includes the Freelancer Permit and access to the Business Centre. If the candidates require a visa, such as if they are non-residents who want to freelance here, relevant “assistance” will be provided. However, the visa will cost separately as per the normally associated fees.

Gofreelance was announced during a media briefing at Dubai Press Club on Tuesday. Speaking at the event, officials from Dubai Media City outlined the benefits of the new package, which offers a freelance permit at a significantly lower fee (around half) than previous freelance packages in Dubai.

Freelancing advantage

Residents who hold jobs can obtain the Freelance Permit provided they have a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from their employer or sponsor, supplementing their salary. Companies, meanwhile, will be able to commission freelancers for needs such as a one-off project, contract-based work, outsourcing or assistance with the extra workload. The permit is also open to candidates who are on their parent’s or husband’s visa.

At the moment, the permit is restricted to certain “activities” in each of the two sectors of Education and Media. For example, in Education, there are five activities, including Education Advisor, Researcher, and eLearning Advisor.

Activities

The Media category, on the other hand, has almost 50 activities, including Actor, Animator, Cameraman, Journalist, and others.

Majed Al Suwaidi, managing director of Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City and Dubai Production City, told on the sidelines of the event that the new package comes in line with expectations of a changing professional market.

“We see there are a lot of changes in the industry. The media industry today is not like the media industry 10 years ago. How individuals interact with the media and how the media interacts with individuals has drastically changed,” Al Suwaidi said.

Work freedom

Al Suwaidi also said there are a lot of people “‘freelancing’ without the right [legal] structure. What we’re saying is that the right structure is better for you – and it doesn’t cost you that much”.

‘Strong interest’

Mohammad Abdullah, managing director of Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) and DKP, told Gulf News there has been “strong interest” from the community for the new permit package and officials have started receiving applications.

“Freelance permits have been there before, but today’s event is to announce the new package. We’re making the process easier, faster and have reduced the cost, by around 70 per cent compared to many cases earlier,” Abdullah said.

Simplified process

The process for obtaining the permit has also been simplified, with almost all of the needed steps done online at www.gofreelance.ae, the website of the permit.

Candidates have to upload the application forms and required documents, such as their CV, passport and visa copy, a bank reference letter, and sponsor’s NOC (if applicable).

Once the application is approved, candidates will receive an email notification and then visit one of the business centres in DMC or DKP to personally sign the documents and pay the fee. During the visit, the candidates may be asked relevant questions regarding their application for clarification or verification purposes. Shortly afterwards, they will receive their freelance permit via email.