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Ministries start charging fees for visa cancellation of out of country expats

ABU DHABI — The ministries of Interior and Labour have started charging new fees for cancellation of residence visa, if the employee works in private sector and is out of the country. An official source told Khaleej Times yesterday that applicants for cancellation of residence visa, who work in private sector and are out of the country, are now asked to pay Dh100 to the Naturalisation and Residency Department and Dh200 to the Ministry of Labour. The service was previously offered free of charge.

The new rules issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is designed to force the employer to cancel the visa of workers sponsored by him before they leave the country, the source said.

"The sponsor who wants to cancel the sponsorship of his employee, who is outside the UAE, will pay the fees to the Naturalisation and Residency Department and the Ministry of Labour office in his respective emirate," the source said, adding that this will be applicable to those whose residence visa is on private company or establishment governed by the labour law. Government employees and those sponsored by them will not be charged by the Ministry of Labour, and will only pay Dh100 to the Naturalisation and Residency Department, the source said.

The new procedures are part of the Ministry of Labour's endeavours to introduce new rules that force the sponsor to cancel the residence visa of his sponsored employee before he or she leaves the country, the source added.