Dubai: The cost of new labour cards will be announced soon, said an official of the Ministry of Labour on Wednesday.
A Cabinet decision has reduced the validity of the labour card and residency visa from three years to two for all expatriates working in the private sector. The official added that employers will have to pay the costs.
"The new rules are applicable to employees and families who are on their sponsorship.
"If anyone is sponsoring his wife and children, the visas of the wife and children will also be reduced to two years, But the new rule will be implemented only when their existing residency visas expire," the official said.
Officials of the Ministry of Labour said on Wednesday that the new rules reducing the validity of labour cards and residency visas from three to two aim to regulate the labour market and to govern the relationship between the employer and the employees' market and to show flexibility in this relationship.
"The rules will be implemented from January 2011," the official said.
The official said all new labour cards or residency visas to be issued from January 2011 will be valid for only two years and people must undergo medical checks and complete the visa process every two years.
The official said that new rules and regulations will also be announced permitting employees to move from one job to another easily.
"People will be allowed to change their jobs; however, there will be regulations in this regard," said the official.
"We will announce these new rules very soon," he said.
"Our aim is step up the labour law and to protect the workers' rights and also the sponsors' rights and we want to reduce the number of labour cases," said the official.
