Banned ex-residents can apply for new visa

ABSCONDERS AND THOSE WITH ENTRY BAN CAN AUTHORISE SOMEONE IN UAE TO SUBMIT APPLICATION AT AMNESTY CENTRES, OFFICIAL SAYS

Former UAE residents who left the country with an entry ban can now apply to get the ban removed before applying for a new visa under the ongoing amnesty, a senior UAE Government official told Gulf News yesterday.

The former residents who had absconded from their employers can also come back but they have to first apply to get the absconding case against them removed from the system, said the official who did not want to be named as he is not an official spokesman.

As Gulf News exclusively reported on July 31, the former residents who got an entry ban while leaving the country can apply for any kind of visa [tourist/visit/resident/investor] through normal channels during the amnesty period that started on August 1 and will end on October 31.

However, they can utilise this opportunity only if there is no pending cases against them in any court of law. Those who were convicted and served imprisonment in the UAE for serious crimes [such as drug-related crimes, human trafficking and violence] will not be considered for this reprieve.

People who got an entry ban in the past for residency law violations such as overstaying and absconding can obtain the amnesty.

Still, the official clarified that each case will be scrutinised individually and a decision will be taken accordingly.

The official said yesterday that the former residents who had overstayed and left the country with an entry ban have to first submit an application to lift the entry ban in the emirate that had issued their previous visa.

They can authorise someone in the UAE to submit this application at amnesty centres across the UAE. In Dubai, these applications have to be submitted at Amer centres.

If they were absconders, they have to first apply to get the absconding case removed from the system the same way.

A guideline issued by the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi had also said that a person, who was banned from entering the UAE in the past could take advantage of the amnesty.

They can visit the UAE or seek employment in the UAE through normal existing procedures, the embassy had said.