No family visa cancellation required for job change in UAE

Expatriates changing their jobs in UAE will no longer be required to cancel visas of the family members under their sponsorship.However, they have to deposit a bank guarantee of 5,000 dirhams ($136) for each family member with the Department of Naturalisation and Residency (NRD), a 'Khaleej Times' report said quoting official sources. 

The applicant can get the bank guarantee refunded once he obtains the new residency permit and the residence visas of his family members and sponsored ones will be automatically transferred to him without paying any new fees. 

"The employee or resident must apply to the NRD (before the cancellation procedure) for not cancelling the visas of members of his family or those under his sponsorship. 

He should attach the 5,000 dirhams bank guarantee, the new employment permit issued by the Ministry of Labour to the new sponsor, and the job offer letter from the new employer," Major-General Nasser Al Menhali, Acting Interior Ministry Undersecretary for Naturalisation, Residency and Exit Affairs, told the newspaper. 

He said the latest arrangement is being made with a view to streamlining procedures for expatriate residents without adding to their financial burdens. 

According to the report, the Ministry found that many residents cancelled residence visas of their families and sent them home when they cancelled their own visas even though they have applied for new job visas.

Employer has filed an absconding case

A reader from Dubai asks: My husband was working in a trading company for the past three years and after completing his third year, he renewed his visa. But during the global economic recession, the manager of the company asked my husband to look for a new job. My husband managed to get a job offer from another company, but when requested the company to cancel his visa, he learnt that the local sponsor of his old company had filed an absconding case against my husband and some others working in the company. They claimed that my husband had completed only one year with the company, however, my husband’s residency visa shows the date of joining the company. We tried to contact the manager regarding this issue, but we could not get hold of him as the company was closed permanently. We finally contacted the company’s local sponsor, who told my husband that he should go home and stay there for six months and then he will cancel his visa, so my husband left the UAE and stayed in India for seven months. However, when I contacted the sponsor following the elapse of this period, he asked me to bring my husband’s labour card to cancel the visa, which I did. He then asked me to call him after one week, but when I did, he told me that he will cancel the visa but does not know when it will happen, adding that it may even take a year. I’m in a very difficult situation because I am living here with my son while my husband is out of the country and we need him with us. What can I do now?

I would like to clarify to the questioner that if she failed to reach an amicable solution with the employer concerning her husband, she shall file a complaint before the Ministry of Labour to request the cancellation of her husband’s visa. The Ministry of Labour will call the sponsor in this regard and settle the matter. Also, she should make sure whether the employer has filed an absconder complaint against her husband while abroad, as the Labour Law does not entitle the employer to file an absconder complaint against the worker while he is outside the country.

Questions answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahar Advocates and Legal Consultants.

How is severance payment calculated? in U.A.E

I have worked in a company for almost five years under a limited period contract which expires next month. Upon expiry, I will quit my job as I am planning to work with a new company. Last year, I had asked the company to give me four months leave without pay to take care of my son. The company approved my request and I proceeded on unpaid leave and resumed work after the leave. My first question is related to my service period. The company says that, as per the law, the unpaid leave period will not be included in the calculation of the total service period. The total service period will be calculated less than five years at the end of the current employment contract. The second question is, do I need a No Objection Certificate to transfer my sponsorship? The company has no intention in giving me such certificate

Article no. 132 of the Federal Labour Law No. 8 of 1980 states the following: A worker who has completed a period of one or more years of continuous service shall be entitled to severance pay on the termination of his employment. The days of absence from work without pay shall not be included in calculating the period of service. The severance pay is calculated as follows:

1. Twenty-one days’ remuneration for each year of the first five years of service.
2. Thirty days remuneration for each additional year of service provided that the aggregate amounts of service pay shall not exceed two year’s remuneration.
As for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to transfer the sponsorship, the questioner does not require such certificate as per the Labour Law since he has completed more than three years in service.
Questions answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahar Advocates and Legal Consultants for Gulf news
Related Articles U.A.E. LABOUR LAW- FEDERAL LAW NO. (8) OF 1980
SECTION (2) END OF SERVICE REMUNERATION

ARTICLE (132)*

The employee who has completed one year or more in the continuous service, is entitled to the end of service remuneration at the end of his service. Days of absence from work without pay are not included in computing the period of service, and the remuneration is to be calculated as follows :-

1. Twenty one day's pay for each year of the first five years of service.

2. Thirty days pay for each additional year.

Provided that the entire total remuneration shall not exceed two year's pay.

ARTICLE (133)

The employee shall be entitled to end of service remuneration in respect of fractions of the year payable pro rata to the time actually worked provided that he has completed one year of continuous service.

ARTICLE (134)

"Without prejudice to the provisions of some laws regarding the granting of pensions and gratuities to employees of some establishments, the end of service gratuity shall be computed on the basis of last wage which the employee was entitled to, in respect of those drawing their salary per month, week or day, and on the basis of average daily wage stipulated in Article (57) in respect of those drawing their wages on piece work basis. The wage which is considered as basis for computation of the end of service gratuity shall not include anything given to the labourer in kind, housing allowance, transport allowance, travel allowance, overtime allowance, representation allowance, cashier's allowance, children education allowance, recreation and social services allowance or any other allowances".

ARTICLE (135)
The employer may deduct any amounts due to him from the employee's end of service remuneration.
ARTICLE (136)

In fulfillment of the provisions of Article (132), cases of employment preceding the effective date of this Law shall not be considered as cases entitling the employee to end of service gratuity. Without prejudice to rights acquired by the employee under any repealed labour law or contracts of employment, agreements, by-laws or regulations of the establishment. In the event of his death, the employee's gratuity shall be paid to his legal heirs.

ARTICLE (137)

If an employee under a contract with unlimited period has left his work at his own option after a continuous service of not less than one year and not more than three years, he shall be entitled to one third of the end of service gratuity provided for in the previous Article.

If the period of his continued service is more than 3 years and less than 5 years he becomes entitled to 2/3 of the said gratuity, but if his continued service exceeds 5 years, he becomes entitled to the entire gratuity.
ARTICLE (138)
If an employee under a contract with limited period leaves his work at his own option before the end of the contract period he shall not be entitled to end of service gratuity unless the period of his continuous service exceeds five years.
ARTICLE (139)

The employee shall be fully deprived of the end of service gratuity in any of the following cases:

a. if he is dismissed from service for any reason in accordance with Article (120) of this Law or if he leaves his work to avoid dismissal in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

b. If he leaves his work willingly and without notice in cases other than those enumerated in Article (121) under this law with respect to unlimited period contracts or before he completes five years of continuous service with respect to limited period contracts.

ARTICLE (140)

In any establishment where a saving fund is raised for employees and if the regulations of such fund provide that payments made by the employer to the fund for the account of employee is a legal commitment against the end of service gratuity, the amount of savings or benefits due hereunder shall be paid whichever is greater. If the fund regulations have no provisions that amounts paid by employers is a legal commitment for the end of service gratuity, the employee shall collect amount due to him from the saving fund in addition to the legal gratuity.

ARTICLE (141)

In any establishment where a pension or security schemes or similar schemes are maintained, the employee who is entitled to retirement pension may select either this latter or the prescribed gratuity or whichever from both thus is more favourable to him.

UAE will introduce a new initiative on bounced cheques -Ali Ibrahim, deputy director of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development

Bouncing cheques in the Emirates is a serious business. Many expatriates in the UAE will have had the embarrassing experience (especially in the age when bills were paid by cheques rather than by credit cards, phone and Internet banking) of writing a cheque and then finding that you (or was it your bank?) did not have the funds in your account when the cheque was cashed. Banks usually have a standard fee that they charge for such a misdemeanour.

The UAE will introduce a new initiative in relation to bounced cheques in the next few weeks, the deputy director of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development said on Monday.“You will hear very soon a new initiative regarding that in the next two to three weeks,” Ali Ibrahim, deputy director of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development and managing director of emcredit, Dubai’s official credit information company, said at a media roundtable in Dubai.

“The bounced cheque is an issue with the federal and the emirates, it is not only Dubai. We are working on that issue and we have had discussion,” he added.In March, it was reported that Dubai was planning to introduce an online system allowing banks to file cases of bounced cheques.

Major General Khamis Mattar al Mazeina, deputy chief of Dubai Police, said that the system could eventually be brought in across the UAE.The online system will cut police paperwork and speed up the collection of information, the paper reports. But, it will not replace investigation work which will continue to be carried out by police officers.

According to the report the number of bounced cheque cases rose between January and May last year to about one in 18 of the 9.75 million issued.

The Dubai has waived the degree requirement for Kenyans

The United Arab Emirates has waived the degree requirement for Kenyans seeking entry into Dubai.

Foreign minister Moses Wetangula said Wednesday the Arab country, which attracts many Kenyan businesspeople, had lifted the demand on Kenyans applying for a visa after holding talks with a delegation from the government led by Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula and his Labour counterpart John Munyes.

It emerged that at the heart of the diplomatic rift between the two countries was the sudden influx of non-Kenyans travelling to Dubai from Mogadishu using forged Kenyan passports.

Forged passports

Addressing the press Wednesday, Mr Wetangula disclosed that UAE authorities had expressed concern at the number of non-Kenyans arriving in the oil-rich emirate from Mogadishu using forged Kenyan passports.

“Besides the issue of the deportation of their nationals, UAE raised concern about many people who arrive in Dubai, having flown in directly from Mogadishu and other countries other than Kenya but holding Kenyan passports that are obviously forged,” said the minister, who was flanked by the head of political affairs at the ministry, Mr P Wamoto.

Mr Wetangula flew to Dubai last month after the UAE imposed new and stringent requirements for Kenyans seeking to travel to the oil-rich emirate.

“Besides the issue of the deportation of their nationals, UAE raised concern about many people who arrive in Dubai, having flown in directly from Mogadishu and other countries other than Kenya but holding Kenyan passports that are obviously forged,” said the minister, who was flanked by the head of political affairs at the ministry, Mr P Wamoto.

Mr Wetangula flew to Dubai last month after the UAE imposed new and stringent requirements for Kenyans seeking to travel to the oil-rich emirate.

The row stemmed from the overzealous actions of officers from the anti-terrorism police unit based in Mombasa over the Easter weekend.

The security officers are said to have arrested four people they claimed were terror suspects and locked them up at the Moi International Airport, Mombasa.

Grilled for hours

The four, who had already spent a week in the country had flown to the coastal city that fateful weekend when they were arrested by the detectives, grilled for hours before being flown back to Nairobi.

A decision was then made to deport them to Dubai on grounds that they posed a serious threat to the country’s security.There are over 37,000 Kenyans living and working in Dubai, mainly in the hospitality and construction industries whose jobs were at stake following the imposition of the new requirements.

The Kenyan delegation, which also included Kisauni MP Ali Hassan Joho, held talks with representatives of the Kenyan labour force in Dubai with a view to seeking ways of protecting their jobs in the wake of the new requirements.