Swedish woman deported from Dubai offered botox treatments without licence

Ellie Holman was held after a row with an immigration official at Dubai International Airport

Dr Ellie Holman, who was deported from the UAE after trying to enter on an expired passport and taking photographs of an immigration officer.

A Swedish dentist deported from the UAE for taking pictures of an immigration officer during a row had offered cosmetic procedures without a licence from Dubai authorities, it has emerged.

Ellie Holman, 44, who runs a private clinic in the UK, made headlines when she claimed she was arrested after drinking a glass of wine on an Emirates flight from London to Dubai.

The mother-of-three told British media that she was mistreated and fell foul of the authorities through no fault of her own.

It later emerged she had tried to use her expired Swedish passport to enter the country, then used an Iranian passport without a visa.

Dubai's attorney general said she argued with an immigration official about the length of stay and visa costs. Swearing and taking pictures of the officer in a secure area, she was detained by police.

It has now emerged that Ms Holman advertised Botox injections along with other procedures while on visits to Dubai, according to her social media posts.

Dubai Health Authority regulations state that only medical consultants and specialist physicians are permitted to carry out "fillers & botulinum toxin injections [botox]" in the emirates.

Authorities also require all medical practitioners to be registered with the DHA and that “non-surgical cosmetic services will be provided in DHA-licensed facilities”. Ms Holman is not listed in the DHA’s online directory.

Ms Holman, who holds dual Swedish and Iranian citizenship, runs Dr Ellie Holman Aesthetics in Sevenoaks, Kent.

The clinic advertises “botox and filler treatments” for patients and states Ms Holman is a “qualified dental surgeon” with “over 13 years experience in aesthetic medicine”.

Ms Holman also operates a Facebook page for her practice under the same name.

The site makes numerous references to procedures carried out in Dubai, including a series of posts with the hashtag “dubaiclinicstories”.

One post on May 26, 2017, reads: “Dubai we are coming for you,” and includes the hashtags dubaiclinic, clinic, doctor and drellieholmandubai.

A flood of number of social media comments that followed her deportation this week claimed Ms Holman's procedures were well advertised and widely known about.

In a Facebook group for British expats, one user claimed she had been "operating ... in Dubai for years”.

Ironically, Ms Holman's Facebook page includes a post thanking the British press for an article from February 2018 that highlighted the need for tighter government guidelines outlining who should be permitted to administer dermal fillers and botox in the UK.

“If you are considering aesthetic treatment, please be aware that whoever is injecting you, must also be qualified to resolve any #sideeffects or #complications that may possibly occur,” Ms Holman wrote.

“These include #infections, vascular occlusions, nodules, #allergicreaction and anaphylaxis.”

Given Ms Holman appears not to be registered as a medical professional in the UAE, it is unclear whether she would have had access to the medications or prescriptions needed to treat patients in this country.

On Tuesday, when contacted by The National by phone, Ms Holman declined to comment.

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Read more:

Editorial: Breaching airport security is unacceptable everywhere

Swedish woman deported from Dubai for taking pictures of immigration officer during 'angry row' 

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Ms Holman arrived in the UAE on an Emirates flight from Gatwick on July 13.

Officials said she attempted to enter the country using an out-of-date Swedish passport.

She then produced a valid Iranian passport, which only permitted her to remain in the country for 96 hours, at which point she argued with immigration officials, used profane language and photographed an officer at a secure border checkpoint.

According to a statement from Dubai’s attorney general, Ms Holman “refused angrily to the additional payment fees that the process would require and proceeded to verbally insult the immigration officer and take photos of the officer via her phone".

She was then charged with profanity and photographing a government official at a border crossing, which is a restricted area, but had the charges dropped and was deported.