Inside Dubai's Centre for Harbouring: How GDRFA is redefining humanitarian care for residency violators

Dubai: Beyond the security gates of the General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) Dubai's Centre for Harbouring lies a facility that challenges common perceptions of what happens to people who overstay their visas or violate residency rules. 

Instead of prison cells, there are dormitories, medical clinics, recreational spaces, and even a children's play area. Residents receive healthcare, daily meals, personal care, social support, and assistance in obtaining travel documents before returning to their home countries.

The message from GDRFA Dubai is clear, enforcing immigration laws does not have to come at the expense of human dignity.

That has been the central theme of a media meeting hosted by GDRFA Dubai on July 29 at the Violators and Foreigners Follow-Up Sector, where Lieutenant general Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, director general of GDRFA Dubai, outlined the authority's humanitarian approach before journalists were taken on a guided tour of the facility.

Addressing the media, Al Marri has stressed that the centre is designed to care for people while they complete the legal procedures required before leaving the UAE.

“We are in the UAE and we are taking care of the human. We are not a jail, we are a place where the people can rethink again what to do with their future,” remarked Al Marri.

He has noted that many of the people arriving at the centre are victims of false promises made before they travelled to the UAE.

“They got cheated back home. This is the major problem that we have. It’s not their fault but in the end they were unlucky because they met the wrong people in their country.” 

He has also mentioned that the authority remains committed to continuously improving its services.

“We welcome any idea to improve our services.”

The Centre for Harbouring is one of the strategic centres operating under the Violators and Foreigners Follow-Up Sector. Its role extends beyond providing temporary accommodation for residency violators.

According to GDRFA Dubai, the centre operates through an integrated institutional framework that balances law enforcement with the preservation of human dignity while contributing to community safety and quality of life.

Residents are provided with accommodation and housing services, social and humanitarian care, travel procedures and ticket booking, personal care and hygiene services, awareness and recreational programmes, coordination with embassies for travel documents, safekeeping of valuables and personal belongings, catering and meal services, and medical screening and healthcare services.

The scale of the operation has been reflected in the latest figures released by GDRFA Dubai. During the first half of 2026, the centre has accommodated 11,696 residents. Over the same period, medical teams conducted 11,696 initial medical examinations and facilitated 1,906 specialised medical visits.

Moreover, the centre has served 322,232 meals, processed 4,568 travel documents through consulates, and issued 11,696 travel tickets in Dubai to help residents complete their journey home after finalising the required procedures.

Following the briefing, members of the media have been given access to Al Tadawi Medical Centre, which provides healthcare services within the facility.

The centre has included a children's play area, paediatric room, nursing station, dental clinic, consultation room, vital signs room, obstetrics and gynaecology consultation room, X-ray room, physiotherapy room, treatment room, and pharmacy.

Additionally, journalists have toured several facilities, including the reception area for newly admitted residents, a hairdressing salon, safe deposit facilities, and locker rooms for storing personal belongings, among others.

Responding to questions from the media, Al Marri has bared that every person staying at the centre is treated equally, regardless of nationality or background.

“Whatever he faces regarding residency, without any doubt, we will treat him as a guest. We don't have any problem with anyone. In the end, all of us are humans. We treat all nationalities the same, everybody is the same,” said Al Marri.

For GDRFA Dubai, the Centre for Harbouring has represented more than a place where residency procedures are completed. It has been intended to be a space where people receive care, access essential services, and return home with dignity while the UAE's immigration laws are carried out with a humanitarian approach at their core.