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New
visa terms in UAE, no renewal for loan defaulters
Our UAE Correspondent
UAEs emigration authorities have decided to set new
terms for renewal of residence visas even as the economic
crisis takes toll of more jobs and rendering many foreigners
loan defaulters.
The cases of non-repayment of bank loans and credit card outstanding
by expatriate workers are on the rise following job losses
or salary freeze and UAE banks are facing the grave situation
of sky rocketing non-performing assets. This has forced the
banks to approach the enforcement authorities to help them
recover the dues.
Residency departments will not renew the residence visas of
expatriates if they are wanted by police for financial obligations,
Interior Ministry officials said, according to a report in
Gulf News. Residency visas of expatriates, their relatives
and their employees will be renewed only after the settlement
of the financial disputes. Applications to renew visas were
rejected as banks had lodged complaints with police, who had
issued arrest warrants. Police have instructed residency departments
to arrest these expatriates or send them to the authorities.
Lawyers point that the police have no right to ask residency
departments to arrest people who have defaulted on bank loans
or other financial issues. They said that residency departments
are administrative units and have no right to arrest or punish
people by not renewing their residence visas for such matters.
If banks file a case with police against a person for financial
issues, such as delayed payments of loans or bounced cheques
and an arrest warrant is out, no transaction is carried out
for that person, according to Major-General, Nasser Al Awadi
Al Menhali, Assistant Undersecretary in the Ministry of Interior
for Naturalisation, Residency and Borders. However, the department
said it would take a humanitarian view in select cases.
We look at the case on humanitarian grounds. We renew
the residency visa if the person has a family, wife and children,
the official said. The ministry does not want to increase
the number of illegal residents. The residency department
does not arrest people if they are involved in bank loans
but we ask them to sort out the matter.
Legal experts said that not renewing the persons residency
visa is a kind of punishment or pressure that is illegal and
unjustified. It is illegal if the residency department
does not renew someones residence visa if they do not
pay their bank loans. There is no article in the law which
says residency will not be renewed for not paying banks, for
example, he said.
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