Good News! UAE visa Fines have been waived for expats who have expired visas BEFORE March 1, 2020. This was announced by Brigadier Khamis Al Kaabi , the spokesperson for the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA), as per the directives of the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
This announcement means that there will be NO visa fines for those who are overstaying for visa-holders who have expired visas before March 1, 2020. People who have expired visas BEFORE March 1 will also have a 3-months grace period starting May 18, 2020, to leave the country.
Additionally, people who have overstaying fines that were waived and have left the country, will be allowed to re-enter, there is no travel ban for them.
UAE Announces New Policy for Visa-Holders that Have Expired Before March 1, 2020 – No Visa Fines, No Travel Ban
It was initially reported that those visas that have expired AFTER March 1, 2020 will automatically be extended until end of the year.
However, expats having visas that expired BEFORE March 1 were left wondering what will be their status. Given this new announcement, this is a good opportunity for everyone to have more time to decide especially when flights inbound and outbound are starting to operate.
Note: This update is based on the recent announcement by the UAE authorities. There is no news if this announcement supersedes the previous rule of visa amnesty. For clarifications, it is best to contact the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) for assistance.
Below is a report of this announcement as posted by WAM news agency:
For his part, Brigadier Khamis Al Kaabi reviewed recent developments in the identity and nationality sector.
Al Kaabi said that based on the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Cabinet issued a decree to exempt violators of the law on entry and residency for foreigners from all incurred fines if their violations occurred before March 1, 2020, whether they hold entry permits and visas or were residents when they took the initiative to leave the country during the specific period granted and extended to May 18th for three months.
Al Kaabi added that the decision includes exemption from all fines related to ID cards and expired work permits incurred by beneficiaries.
Al Kaabi also stated that the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa included in the UAE Cabinet’s decision would not prevent beneficiaries from returning to the country in the future, provided they meet the requirements and take advantage of the departure period.
Al Kaabi further said that the Authority would announce details of all application procedures and urges all groups covered by the decision to take advantage of the opportunity before the deadline in order to avoid legal recourse and be prevented from entering the country in the future.
Separately, Al Kaabi expressed his appreciation for the feedback of users of the Authority’s services, noting that since the Authority began encouraging the public to use its smart services, 1.5 million transactions have been completed.
He also urged the community to continue using the Authority’s smart services platform as their main channel to complete transactions.
Source: WAM
Brigadier General Al Kaabi: We urge the public to use the smart platform of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship to get the services they need. #UAEGov
— UAEGov (@uaegov) May 13, 2020