Midnight airport scare for newborn with no visa

Sharjah: An Egyptian woman who returned to the UAE with her newborn was refused entry by immigration officers at Sharjah airport because the baby had no visa.

Hibba Mohammad Khalil was told by officials at the airport on Thursday night that she has to wait inside the airport with her children along with her 20-day-old baby until Sunday when the department opens and her husband can get the baby's visa.

Her other option was to get a letter from the Ajman residency department saying that it will issue the baby a visa. "But it was impossible as it was midnight," said her husband, who had come to receive his family.

Hibba had added the baby's name on her passport and thought her residency status in Ajman would be enough to bring the baby in.

A Residency and Naturalisation Department official said there are many such cases every month.

"We usually keep the husband's passport or ask an Emirati to sponsor her and her baby and we let them enter the country on the guarantee of the sponsor that the visa will be obtained," he said.

Hibba had added her five-year-old daughter's name in her passport, but the girl had a valid residency visa stamped. She spent six hours at the airport pleading with the officials when they finally decided to hold the husband's passport on condition that he gets the visa for the baby on Sunday.

Mrs. Hibba husband should have called the DNRD hotline to get the right answers.
Ala
Ajman,UAE
Posted: February 09, 2008, 08:57

Officials should have done something instead of keeping a 20-day-old baby in that cold airport.
Will
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: February 09, 2008, 08:02

Discretion on the part of officials as exhibited now looks fair but a human touch always paves the way in such situations. At the same time, the immigrants should also know the local laws in advance.
Yespeeor
Chennai,India
Posted: February 09, 2008, 06:00

The father should have had the new baby's visa in hand so they didn't have to face this problem.
Abu
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 09, 2008, 02:29