People while visiting UAE either they come on tourist or visit visa and some of these individual the purpose of their visit is to look for a job and a number of them when their visa comes to expiry the decide to stay in the state with the hope to find a job and overstaying in UAE is subject to penalties and implications and the visitors should be aware off;
“The official website of the Government of United Arab Emirates specified six (6) different types of Visa permits, these are: Tourist Visa, Patient and his/her companion entry permits, e-Visa for GCC residents, Retirement Visa for UAE residents, Transit Visa and Student Visa (government.ae). In addition, overstay for Tourists and visit visa holders will be given a grace period of 10 days. Beyond the grace period, AED 200 will be fined for the first day of the overstay. This will be followed by AED 100 in succeeding day.
On the other hand, Residence and or employment visa holders will be granted 30 days grace period after the cancellation of visa. Note that during the grace period, fines do not apply. You will be subject to fine in the event of over-stay, although it will not become a criminal case. Your kids staying with you; however, will each be subject to AED 125 fine for the first day and then AED 25 for each day.
Overstayed individual within the jurisdiction of the United Arab Emirates can face the following ramifications:
- Your name is to be blacklisted
- You can be punished with an immigration ban
- You can also go to prison for up to 3 months
- You may be ordered to be deported
Aside from being fined, an Individual who overstay will also deal with critical matters as indicated under the UAE Labour Law.
UAE Visa Amnesty Programme 2018
UAE Amnesty Programme is for those illegal and violators residents in the country. Overstaying individuals had the choice of leaving the nation without paying penalties or facing jail or obtaining a ban or rectifying their status by acquiring a valid newly sponsored visa.
Applicants for Amnesty can be as follows:
- Violators residing illegally in the UAE
- Overstaying work seekers
- Those who have entered the country illegally
- People with accounts that are absconding
- Nationals from nations experiencing wars and disasters
- Widows or women who have divorced
Blacklisted and those with legal instances against them are not qualified for amnesty. During the five-month visa amnesty system that ended on December 31,2018 millions of dirhams in penalties were waived off. The government had earlier advised that individuals caught staying illegally in the nation after the end of the amnesty period would face severe penalties, including penalties, jail sentences and deportation”.
We hope that all visitors to the UAE , keep them self aware of the above restriction and the penalties imposed on overstaying in the UAE.