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UAE visa amnesty: Procedures discussed for scheme's implementation

ICP will undertake all necessary measures, including waiving overstay fines and legal consequences

Published: Fri 2 Aug 2024, 6:00 PM

Updated: Sun 4 Aug 2024, 5:38 PM

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KT file photo used for illustrative purposes

KT file photo used for illustrative purposes

Plans and procedures for the two-month UAE visa amnesty programme were discussed in a recent government meeting in preparation for the scheme's implementation on September 1, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) – Dubai said on Friday.

The GDRFA said specialised working teams were formed “to ensure a smooth and effective experience for all individuals wishing to benefit from this opportunity". This include Customer Happiness and Digital Services, Proactive Media Communication, and the Services Development Team.

In a similar meeting in Abu Dhabi, officials talked about how smart systems and artificial intelligence would be used to simplify the procedures in line with UAE’s zero government bureaucracy programme, said Maj-Gen Suhail Juma Al Khaili, acting director-general of the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP).

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The ICP announced on Thursday that residence visa violators will be given a two-month grace period to get their fines waived.

The authority said it would undertake all necessary measures to implement this initiative, including waiving fines and legal consequences, allowing violators to either adjust their status or leave the country with ease. Specific procedures for the amnesty will be announced soon, ICP added.

This will be the fourth amnesty programme by the UAE government since 2007.

The last one was six years ago. It started on August 1, 2018, and was supposed to run for only 90 days until October 31, 2018, but the federal government extended the amnesty scheme for two more months until December 31 that year to allow more residency violators to rectify their status or leave the country with no penalties.

Past amnesties

In 2007, about 342,000 residents across the UAE made use of a two-month amnesty, and in 2012/2013, more than 60,000 migrants sought out the service nationwide.

In 2018, GDRFA said a total of 105,809 residence visa violators applied for amnesty in Dubai. Out of these numbers, 30,387 people got out-passes after fines were waived during the amnesty, while 6,288 people received new residency visas and 18,530 people renewed their visas. Another 35,549 permits were issued to job seekers and 13,843 individuals changed their status from illegal to legal residents. Some 1,212 people from war-ravaged countries benefitted from one-year visas.

Millions of dirhams in fines were cancelled during the five-month visa amnesty scheme that ended on December 31, 2018.

Prior to the 2018 amnesty programme, Dubai Police arrested 10,310 residency violators in the first six months of 2018, and a year before that (in 2017) 40,056 people were caught staying illegally while 55,447 residency law violators were apprehended in 2016.

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