UAE | Visa
Visitors 'can't return for at least a month after exiting'
No visitor to the UAE will be allowed to return for at least one month after they exit the country, a senior official has confirmed.
- By Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:56 September 28, 2008
- Image Credit:
Abu Dhabi: No visitor to the UAE will be allowed to return for at least one month after they exit the country, a senior official has confirmed.
Speaking to Gulf News, following media reports about hundreds of people stranded in neighbouring countries after attempting visa runs, Brigadier Nasser Al Awadi Al Minhali, Acting Director-General of the Federal Naturalisation and Residency Department, said: "Those who enter the country on a visit visa cannot get new visas unless the person exits the country and stays out for at least a month."
"However, this does not mean that a new visit visa is guaranteed to those who exit the country. Each application is studied on a case-by-case basis and then the decision to issue a visa or reject the application will be made," he said.
"The rule is very clear," he said, adding that it is applicable to anyone entering the UAE on any of the 16 types of visit visas. This rule applies to all visitors irrespective of the duration of the visit visa, he said.
Meanwhile, the fate of those stranded is still uncertain.
False promises
Gulf News reported on Saturday that hundreds of people, mostly Filipinos, are stranded after they failed to get new visas issued.
New regulations on visit visas came into effect in late July following the revamp of the structure and charges of entry documents in line with a recent Cabinet decision.
A health insurance policy and a Dh1,000 deposit were also made mandatory before issuance of any visit visa.
"If any tourist company sent out people on visa runs despite the rules then it was merely cheating the people out of their money by giving false promises," said an official at the Interior Ministry, who requested not to be named.
"Visit visas are now issued for specific purposes such as tourism, students, medical treatment. So there is no need for repeated renewals. Special cases are still being considered by officials," he said.
It was common practice to use a visit visa to reside and work by repeatedly renewing the visa by going to nearby places like Kish in Iran or Buraimi in Oman. This is despite the fact that it is illegal for a person to work while on visit. With strict implementation of new regulations, authorities now hope that visa runs will come to an end.
Are you aware of the new visa rules? Do you know anyone who has had trouble with a visa run, recently? What happened? Do you think the concerned authorities should brief people, in detail, to avoid confusion?
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