Person named on loan is liable and not his family

My family lived in the UAE for almost 10 years. My father lost his job in December 2015 and because of the market conditions he has not been able to secure a job as yet, but he still had credit card and loan payments every month. Our family has moved back to India for now but my sister is still living there and I would like to go visit her. But will I be able to enter Dubai without any legal issues? My visa has recently been renewed so is valid until 2018. My mother and I don’t have any debts in our name. I have my return ticket booked for March 8 and I would love to go as long as I know it’s safe for us to re-enter the country. KC, India

As I understand it, the debts that are outstanding are in the name of KC’s father only and thus he is the only person legally responsible for these debts. Only the person who has borrowed the money, or people if it is a joint loan or credit card, have liability for the repayments. If there has been a guarantor for a loan, not something we see often these days, the guarantor is also fully responsible. Any liability does not extend to other family members. There is no indication that any payments are overdue either, so assuming they are up to date the banks would not have raised a police case against KC’s father anyway. If, however, the payments are in arrears there may be police cases against him personally and he would need to check this if he intends to visit the UAE at any time.

I hold an Indian passport and worked in a Sharjah free zone for 10 years. I went on holiday and my visa expired, but when my company applied for a new one it was rejected. My PRO went to the immigration office but was not told why, just that it was due to a “security reason”. I don’t have a criminal record or any bank debts. VA, Sharjah The decision of the Government is not open to discussion and they are not obliged to tell people the reason for the rejection of an application.

The National newspaper is not able to obtain this information, nor can it intervene in such cases. Only the relevant Government department can assist and I can only suggest that the PRO approaches them again, explaining that VA has been in the UAE for 10 years already without an issue and ask them to double-check in case there has been an inadvertent mix-up of names, which can easily be done. The Government does not accept appeals, but applicants can reapply in six months’ time if they are certain there was not a valid reason for the rejection, although this is again without guarantee and the application must be made via an employer with a valid offer of employment. I would like some information regarding end of service gratuity. What is the maximum number of days an employee should have to wait for their end of service gratuity to be deposited after turning in all the exit paperwork and the cancellation of the residency? Who should the employee contact if the employer has passed this amount of time and still not given the employee their end of service payment? If the employee is provided with accommodation by the company, how long must this be available for after the final payments are made? AM, Abu Dhabi UAE Labour Law does not specify when the end of service gratuity and other final benefits should be paid, but the expectation is that this would be at the time of the final salary payment and when the residency visa is cancelled. Employees are usually asked to sign paperwork declaring they have received all that is due to them ahead of visa cancellation and this refers to the gratuity payment and any days of annual leave accrued and not taken, so it is a clear indicator that it should be paid upon finishing work.

If a payment is outstanding then the employee can go to their local Tasheel (labour) office or register a complaint at the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (formerly known as the Ministry of Labour). If an employee is living in accommodation provided by the employer, Article 131 of UAE Labour states: “In the event where the employer provides the worker with accommodation, the worker shall vacate the accommodation within 30 days from the date of termination of the employment thereof.”