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Latest: Thousands of UAE jobs available for visa offenders
A major humanitarian initiative has begun in the UAE, where thousands of people with visa-related fines will be given a clean slate and either allowed to resume work, or leave the country.
The two-month overstay visa amnesty began on Sunday and will run until the end of October.
The amnesty allows people with expired documentation to change their status or leave the country without being fined. They will also not face a ban on re-entering the Emirates.
Those who can apply for the amnesty include residents who stay illegally in the country after the expiry of their residency visa, visitors to the UAE who stayed in the country after their visit visa had run out and children who were born in the UAE but whose parents did not apply for residency for them.
The amnesty is also applicable to those who fled from their sponsors. Anyone who has entered the country illegally is not eligible to apply for amnesty.
People who violate visa rules or fled from sponsors after September 1 will not be eligible for the amnesty. Nor will those who have been deported from the UAE of other GCC countries.
The two-month grace period, which came into effect on September 1, is being overseen by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, which announced details of the scheme on Wednesday morning.
“It is a chance for all violators to change their status in the country,” said Maj Gen Suhail Saeed Al Khaili, head of the ICP.
“The initiative will enhance the country's position in the human rights sector.
“We want to support the people who are staying in the country by changing their status to enable them to get their rights and have a safe exit from the country or work and live decently in the UAE.”
Where to apply for the amnesty
There are locations throughout the emirates where an application for amnesty can be processed.
In Abu Dhabi, people can apply at ICP centres in Al Dhafra, Sweihan, Al Maqam and Al Shahamah and private typing centres that are recognised by the ICP.
Typing centres typically perform administrative services, including application submissions.
In Dubai, amnesty services will be provided at its Amer service centres, and the centre for immigration violators in Al Awir.
Amnesty applications can be made at ICP centres throughout the rest of the Emirates.
Service centres will be operational daily throughout the amnesty from 8am until 8pm.
Where to apply for visa amnesty in Abu Dhabi if you arrived in the country on a tourist visa and are now seeking an exit permit
How much does it cost?
There will be no cost involved to change your visa status or obtain an exit permit.
Any fines previously incurred for staying in the country illegally will also be waived.
The exit permit is valid for 14 days, after that all previous fines will be reinstated if you have not left the country.
“People should benefit from this unique opportunity,” said Maj Gen Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, deputy director general of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.
“All kind of fines will be waived, even if it’s a huge bulk.”
Is the procedure different if applying for an exit permit?
If you are applying for an exit permit after previously holding a residency visa you can go to any of the centres listed above.
However, if you arrived in the country on a visitor visa you must either go to the ICP centres in Al Dhafra, Suwaihan, Al Maqam and Al Shahama in Abu Dhabi or the Al Awir centre in Dubai.
The reason for this is people arriving on visitor visas do not get their fingerprints scanned.
People who get the exit pass and leave the country won’t be on a banned list and they are free to return to the UAE.
The ICP has been in contact with the UAE's airlines to provide discounted tickets for people who want to waive their fines and leave the country.
What about children who are living in the UAE but not registered?
For a child to leave the country, the parents should get a passport or travel document for the child and either go to an amnesty centre or apply online to get an exit pass for the child.
Parents who had been staying illegally but change their status and stay in the country, can also amend the status of their children without paying fines.
When does the amnesty end?
The amnesty is scheduled to end on October 31. However, an earlier nationwide initiative that was to run for three months was extended by several weeks.
The ICP said that during the amnesty “violators can regularise their status or leave the country without incurring fines”.
The initiative in 2018 led to long queues at immigration centres as people looked to resolve their residency status.
More than 105,000 people benefitted then from the UAE’s five-month visa amnesty programme.
There were 30,387 people who received exit permits after fines were waived, while 6,288 people received new residency visas and 18,530 people renewed their visas.
Another 35,549 permits were also issued for job seekers while 13,843 people changed their status from illegal to legal.
Why is there a need for a visa amnesty?
Such amnesties provide a reprieve for those without valid documentation who could be reluctant to come forward due to concerns about potential fines or jail sentences.
This allows the government to ensure people are living in the Emirates legally, an important consideration against the backdrop of a population boom.
It is also a chance for many to grasp the chance of a fresh start – whether in the UAE or back in their home country.
Most residents living or working in the UAE would usually have a two or three-year visa in their passport. That has since been replaced with the Emirates ID.
In April 2022, visa changes were brought in by the UAE Cabinet and several more categories were added. This included an expansion of golden visas and the introduction of green visas, with several of the new categories aimed at self-employed people and business owners.
The new rules came into effect in September of that year.
What are the visa overstay rules?
The financial penalty has been standardised at Dh50 ($13.6) a day for tourists or residents who overstay their visas, following updates by the ICP in October 2022.
Residency visa holders are given six months to leave the country or change their status by finding a job once their visa expires or is cancelled.
The amnesty will support those who remain in the country illegally beyond this existing six-month grace period.
What kind of demand is there for the amnesty?
Ambassadors from countries with some of the largest expatriate populations in the UAE said their offices were filled with hundreds of people seeking more details about the amnesty after it was announced on August 1.
Some missions have opened on Saturdays. Others have sent officials to cities across the country, to inform people that they can return home or legitimately search for a job without being fined for expired visas.
