The UAE has sought to address concerns over residency status over the years, with visa amnesties held in 2007, 2013 and 2018 as hundreds of thousands come forward in an effort to confirm their residence in the Emirates
Pravasisamwad.COM
Rogue recruitment agents and unscrupulous employers have been luring people to the UAE with false promises of jobs and big salaries, only to leave them with mounting debt and no documentation to stay in the country, experts have said, reported thenationalnews.com/uae.
The UAE has sought to address concerns over residency status over the years, with visa amnesties held in 2007, 2013 and 2018 as hundreds of thousands come forward in an effort to confirm their residence in the Emirates.
The issue was back in the spotlight last month when a visa information event held by the Dubai government had to be closed early due to an unexpectedly large turnout. The awareness scheme, titled “A Home For All”, was scheduled to run for three days at City Centre Deira but closed by 1pm on its opening day after the venue reached capacity.
A senior official from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai said authorities were keen to help people find solutions to resolve overstay cases.
Bindu Suresh Chettur, a lawyer who has been offering free legal services to Indians over the last two decades, said people overstay their visas for various reasons. “Debt is one major factor”, said Chettur, who works with Pravasi Baharatiya Sahay Kendra, a welfare initiative by the government of India to address the problems of Indian citizens abroad, which is led by the Indian Consulate.
“Another scenario that I often deal with is unscrupulous employees recruiting people on visit visa, which is against the rule of the country, and later refusing to give them residency status,” she pointed out. Many jobseekers, often from countries in Asia and Africa, travel to the UAE on tourist visas in search of employment.”
“I know people whose fortunes took a turn for the worse after they invested in a new business venture that failed. They are forced to live on loans and credit cards and the debt spirals out of control in no time,” Chettur was quoted saying. Chettur said she knows families who are struggling financially as they try to renew their visas. “They end up living in the country on expired documents and accumulate huge fines over time. As the fines shoot up daily, they lose all hope of ever coming out clean.”
There is a fine of Dh50 per day for tourists who overstay their visit. The same penalty applies to residency permit holders who live in the country beyond their visa period. Chettur said the majority of illegal residents are jobseekers, who come to the country through recruiting agents, hoping for a better life for themselves and their families. “There are many people who are stuck in the country after they got cheated by bogus recruiting agents. They are lured with promises of jobs and big salaries and pay exorbitant amounts of money. But seldom do they realise that the agents have brought them into the country on visit visas and not job visas. Once they land in the country, the agents disappear, switch off their phones and leave these hapless young men and women stranded,” she said.
“Another scenario that I often deal with is unscrupulous employees recruiting people on visit visa, which is against the rule of the country, and later refusing to give them residency status,” she pointed out. Many jobseekers, often from countries in Asia and Africa, travel to the UAE on tourist visas in search of employment.
Travel agents recently told The National about the rising number of overstay cases, where their clients have refused to leave the country after their visa period expires.
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