UAE Visa Amnesty: Proposed Procedures for Scheme’s Implementation

At a meeting on Friday, representatives from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA) – Dubai talked about the schedule and protocols for the start of the two-month UAE visa amnesty program on September 1.

Specialized working groups, such as the Services Development Team, Proactive Media Communication, and Customer Happiness and Digital Services, were established during the meeting, according to GDRFA, “to ensure a smooth and effective experience for all individuals wishing to benefit from this opportunity.”

The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Port Security (ICP) Acting Director General, Major General Suhail Juma Al Khaili, confirmed in a similar meeting held in Abu Dhabi that day that the authority will use artificial intelligence and smart systems to implement the decision and streamline procedures following the UAE’s zero government bureaucracy program.

Further Details

Residency visa infringers will have a two-month grace period during which their fines will be waived, according to a Thursday announcement from the Federal Authority for ICP.

ICP stated that it will take all required steps to carry out this program, including dismissing penalties and legal repercussions, enabling offenders to easily change their immigration status or depart the nation. ICP stated that specific details regarding the amnesty will be revealed shortly. The UAE government will be implementing its fourth amnesty program since 2007.

That was six years ago, the last one. The federal government extended the amnesty scheme for two additional months, until December 31, 2018, to give more residents who have violated their residency status the opportunity to correct their status or leave the country without facing consequences. Originally scheduled to last for only ninety days, from August 1, 2018, to October 31, 2018.

Past amnesties

A two-month amnesty was used by around 342,000 UAE citizens in 2007, while over 60,000 migrants applied for the program nationally in 2012–2013.

According to the GDRFA, 105,809 people who had violated their residency visas applied for amnesty in Dubai in 2018. Among these figures, 6,288 people obtained new resident permits, 18,530 people extended their visas, and 30,387 people acquired out-passes following the amnesty due to fines being waived.

13,843 people converted from illegal to legal residents, while another 35,549 licenses were given to job searchers. A total of 1,212 individuals from nations devastated by conflict benefited from one-year visas. During the five-month visa amnesty program, which ended on December 31, 2018, millions of dirhams’ worth of fines were waived.

Before the 2018 amnesty program, Dubai Police detained 10,310 people for breaking residency laws in the first half of 2018. In the year prior, 2017 (40,056), people were found to be staying unlawfully, and in 2016 (55,447), people were found to be breaking residency laws.