UAE: Official two-month grace period for settling violators’ status begins next Sunday

August 30, 2024

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I mentioned Emirates News Agency – WAM The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security announced the start of implementation of Settlement deadline The status of violators will be officially changed starting next Sunday, September 1, 2024, for a period of two months until the end of October 30, 2024.

The initiative provides an opportunity to correct the status of violators during the grace period through flexible and facilitated procedures, while exempting them from financial fines related to visas, residency, ID cards, and establishment cards. The grace period also gives violators the opportunity to obtain all their rights and enjoy the luxury of living and work opportunities in the UAE, thus making them and their families happy and enhancing their experience in the country within the framework of respecting the law.

The beneficiaries of the decision to grant a grace period to violators to settle their status are 4 main categories:

Visa violators and residence violators
Included in administrative reports
Unemployed
A foreigner born in the country whose guardian has not established his residence

The deadline provides 5 types of benefits for violators

Exemption from administrative fines related to residence and visas resulting from staying in the country illegally
Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation fines.
Establishment card fines and ID card fines
Exemption from residence and visa cancellation fees, work interruption report fees, and departure fees
Residence and visa details fees, exit permit fees,
The opportunity to allow the violator to leave the country after settling his status without having to stamp the ban on entering the country.

3 categories are not entitled to benefit from the benefits provided by the grace period
Residence and visa violator after September 1, 2024,
And the list (work stoppage notice) after the date of September 1, 2024,
Restricted deportation cases for individuals deported from the State or the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Six services will be provided to the beneficiary categories of violators to enable them to settle their situations as quickly as possible and with easy and facilitated procedures, by submitting the application through the Authority’s electronic and smart channels and approved printing offices without the need to visit the service centers except upon notification only to complete the biometric fingerprint, and that during the grace period (two months).

Services include issuing an exit permit, renewing residency, issuing a residency for a foreigner newly born in the country, issuing a new visa (work or residency), amending the status of a valid visa, and issuing a residency for visa violators (work – residency).

The violator’s status will be modified (by leaving or modifying the status, as appropriate), and the grace period will be used from the date of submitting the application and receiving it by the employee or directing him to fulfill the requirements, as the beneficiary violator can submit the service request through the submission channels without visiting the service centers, and the working hours in the service centers where the biometric fingerprint is registered will be extended to 8 pm during working days throughout the grace period to facilitate the beneficiaries and enable them to obtain services at any time during that period, in a step that reflects the Authority’s keenness to settle the status of violators during the grace period.

Procedures for fingerprinting violators wishing to do so at approved fingerprinting centers
If the violator wishes to leave the country and has a biometric fingerprint previously, he submits an application for an exit permit, and then the permit is issued directly. However, if the biometric fingerprint is not available, the beneficiary is directed to visit the specified fingerprint centers, and the permit is issued after the fingerprint procedures are completed.

The validity of the exit permit will be 14 days after issuance. If the permit expires within the grace period for violators, which extends until October 30, the beneficiary will be allowed to leave the country. If the permit expires after the grace period and the beneficiary does not leave, the permit will be automatically cancelled and the previous fines included before taking advantage of the grace period will be reinstated and the circular will be re-issued if it was previously in place. He stressed that fingerprinting upon departure is mandatory for visa holders aged 15 years and above, with the exception of those holding an Emirati ID from the residency category, those who previously held an Emirati ID, children under the age of 15, and cases in which it is not possible to take a ten-fingerprint.

For visas issued by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Abu Dhabi, the beneficiary is directed after submitting the exit permit application to visit the service centers that have the ten-fingerprint capture devices in each of Al Dhafra, Suwaihan, Al Maqam, and Al Shahama. As for visas issued by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai, the service is provided in the Violators and Foreigners Follow-up Sector in Al Aweer. While the fingerprinting service for visas issued by the General Directorates of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in the rest of the Emirates is provided through the service centers that have the ten-fingerprint capture devices in each emirate.

Major General Obaid Muhair bin Surour, Deputy Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai, reviewed the mechanism for settling the status of many cases, explaining that if a foreigner who was recently born in the country in violation wishes to leave, an exit permit is issued with an exemption from fines based on a request submitted through the smart system in the presence of a passport or travel document. In the event of amending the status, the fines are exempted based on a request submitted through the smart system to confirm the residence with the guarantee of the head of the family or the employer.