Dubai: Passports of expatriates barred by the Ministry of Labour from working in the UAE will no longer get a ban stamp, a circular issued by the ministry said.
According to the circular issued on July 17, expatriates sanctioned with a one- year work ban will only be registered in the ministry's database.
An official at the Labour Relations Department said that having the ban stamped on one's passport was deemed "uncivilised."
The circular also stipulates that original passports and labour cards will no longer be required from sponsors wishing to report their absconding employees, adding that photocopies of either will be sufficient to complete the banning procedure.
Assistant Undersecretary of Labour Humaid Bin Deemas said the circular was issued for practicality.
"We had a lot of passports that were unnecessarily piling up," he said, adding that the ministry has been processing complaints without taking passports, and that the circular only formalised the procedure.
Bin Deemas said that only 10 per cent of the complaints received by the ministry have original passports and labour cards attached to them.
"The only difference is that, unlike before, the ministry will no longer be accepting passports," he said.
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