Dubai: A 42-year-old businessman who was travelling with his family on a vacation was detained at Sharjah airport because his former company had declared him an absconder although it had issued him a release letter.
Gulf News learnt that Anil Sekharan, an Indian, was blacklisted a month ago by the company where he worked as a sales manager four years ago. The company had issued him a 'release' and a 'no-objection' letter in 2003.
Carelessness
A Sharjah immigration official at the airport told Gulf News that detainees are given the opportunity to tell their side of the story and rectify the situation.
Sekharan, who is currently running a furniture manufacturing business, said he got in touch with his previous company and had his name removed from the list. He said: "I still have the 'release' and the 'no-objection' letter with me and that bailed me out. It was utter carelessness on the part of the company to have blacklisted me." The incident took place on July 15. No one from his former company was available for comment.
Sekharan said his wife and 9-year-old child had to proceed on their vacation without him. "My wife was in tears when she found out that I was being detained by the immigration. Even I was confused. I kept enquiring why I was being detained. All that I was told was that I should get in touch with the company that had got me into that situation," he said.
"I want people to know that they should keep all their paperwork so that if they face a similar situation, things can be sorted out."
This is the second such case in a week. Gulf News had earlier reported that Ansel Thomas, an Indian, was also barred from travelling at Dubai airport recently for allegedly failing to repay a bank loan which he had settled in January.
Do you know anybody who suffered in a similar manner? What recourse did he or she seek?
Your comments
Employers are abusing the system and causing undue hardship to workers.
Murphy
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2007, 13:48
I was met with the same situation while traveling through Abu Dhabi Airport. My first sponsor gave me a release and no objection certificate in 2001 and then I was blacklisted in 2006. Immigration detained me for four days in Al Wathba jail and then sent me to Sharjah jail. It took seven days for me to come out on bail and then another two weeks to clear the papers to leave the country. It was the most horrible experience in my life.
From A Reader
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2007, 13:24
Carelessnes.
Khan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2007, 12:45
How do we get help from the authorities themselves in such cases? When a man shows the legitimate papers, instead of calling the sponsor themselves, the immigration police asked the man in question to communicate. I think the Immigration authorities should step forward to help those in need.
Mathew
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2007, 12:42
Firm action should be taken against the company who made the conflicting move.
Mohamed
Melbourne,Australia
Posted: July 22, 2007, 08:26
I was met with a similar scenario at the Dubai Airport. The airport authorities would not let my mother enter the country since it showed in their system that my father had cancelled her visa. It was impossible because my father was with us. My father spent hours trying to convince the immigration officials about the real deal. Finally, his local sponsor had to solve the problem for him.
Sanz
New York,USA
Posted: July 22, 2007, 07:32
It should be made mandatory that if a company issues an NOC to someone then they should submit this document to all agencies that require it so that the person who was given the NOC will not face problems later.
From a reader
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2007, 00:35
