Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

Hi,

I’m pretty certain my query is answered somewhere in the thousands of archived messages, but I couldn’t find it through the search engine. Anyhow, I have a maid that I have sponsored through 2006. The family has decided not to renew her sponsorship. Her visa expires at the end of this month and I was simply going to cancel.

However, my maid has indicated she can find another sponsor and has asked me not to cancel, but to transfer.

My question is a relatively straightforward one: what do I need to do this?

I have looked through many web sites, but they all refer to sponsoring rather than transferring. So what I need help with is a simple step by step guide on what I need to do; paperwork, forms, cost, where, etc., and if possible what am I liable for should I miss a date or a form. I have been told that there is a ‘grace period’ of 21 days from the expiry of the maid’s visa (hers ends on 31 December) for her to be either transferred or complete cancellation.

I’m sure I’m not the only one that has had this experience, but would appreciate any advice or guidance.

I'm currently going through the same process. So far, all I have had to do is send a copy of my passport/visa and a letter saying that I am releasing her from my employment to the new sponsor.

Sauron,

Thanks for your response, I do hope it is as simple as this, but how do you know that you are getting released from your legal obligations. However, my fear is that after writing the release letter and after handing over the maid’s passport I find that the necessary paperwork has not been completed with the Ministry of Immigrations and I end up with a daily 100 dirhams fine and a missing maid.

Do you know if there are more legal papers and forms that have to be completed?

I will check and get back to you soon.

sauron wrote:I'm currently going through the same process. So far, all I have had to do is send a copy of my passport/visa and a letter saying that I am releasing her from my employment to the new sponsor.

Did this work, as I was told that a person on a "Maid Visa" could not be transferred and would automatically get a one year ban. Again this is what I was told which doesn't necessarily make it so.

Note; Moved to Expat Help Forum

Hiya. Apparently there is no such thing as a transfer - she can cancel and be sponsored by another family, as long as you write a letter of no ojbection. There used to be a year's ban but not in Dubai or Sharjah. The cost of the cancellation papers is AED 150.
Just re-reading your first post and am a bit confused - are you continuing to employ her but she'll be sponsored by someone else?

I wouldn’t have thought this is the case as when we took our maid on she was with another sponsor, but for some reason or other, can’t remember now, her visa was cancelled and we had to apply as a new request. I believe that her previous sponsor wouldn’t provide the necessary bits of paper. In fact OI believe he was a local offering a sponsoring service, which was not all together legal.

This topic thread just illustrates the relative complexities for finding, what really should be, a simple set of procedures. Wouldn’t it be great if there were in a nice URL somewhere or knowledge based database for such things? I’ve also tried the Dubai Explorer, which is normally great for all of this kind of stuff, but again it only refers to a first time sponsorship.

Am thinking that this shouldn’t be much different from changing jobs over here. Although the rules and regulations for servants and maids may have a section of their own.

Sauron,

Thanks again for the info. For clarity, I am not proposing to renew the maid’s visa personally, so it is a case of her finding another sponsor/family or she heads for the airport back home.

The thread was just a case of making sure that if she finds a sponsor within the next 3 weeks, all of the paperwork is squared away so that there is no comeback on me from immigrations.

Effectively, she finds a new sponsor, I give the guy a letter of 'no objection', the new sponsor raises all of the paperwork, applies to the immigrations, he pays all of the fees, the paperwork is processed, I get visibility of the cancellation, she gets her passport and everyone is happy.

Thanks again.

Hi there. Yes, ideally that's what will happen. But if it is a local sponsoring, they tend to get you ( or her! ) to pay for all the paperwork, medicals etc. and charge a few thousand for the visa. Locals get 2 year maid's visas instead of the one for expatriates.
Yes, website would be great but this forum is probably better......the rules and requirements for employing a maid seem to change every year. Anyway, let us know how you get on. Good luck and Merry Xmas.