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difficult one this

Try sending a "pm" to dxbsoul if no one on here has the answer.

safou1976 wrote:Hi,

I have a friend who came to DXB as a Tourist 2 years ago and had a minor car accident while driving after he had some drinks. He was arrested and charged for drunk driving even that his alcohol level was low by international standards (0.04-0.05). Anyway, they sentenced him for 3 weeks jail time. Afterward, he stayed another week in Dubai to finish his vaccation and then left back to the US. He called me couple of weeks ago as he received an intresting job offer from a company in Dubai and asked me to check if his previous DUI in Dubai will cause him any problems when entering the country and would it affect his chances of getting the residence Visa in the UAE.

Thanks for any help

More than likely your friend was deported, not just "finished his vacation". In which case he was, again more than likely permanently banned from reentering.

My suggestion:
1. I imagine he had a lawyer representing him at the time he should consult with this person again. The lawyer might have worked out a deal (unlikely but) which would not have resulted in a permanent ban (maybe a number of years etc.).

2. Call immigration in UAE and explain the situation.

3. or last resort apply and the worse that can happen is they say no (which would answer your question). If the prospective employer really wants you they might find the answer for you. 0.04 might be low enought that the employer will 'understand" what happened (many places, outside the UAE have different standards and permissible levels) and be willing to help him out.

Without the specific facts of the case the general answer would be: "Permanent Ban" for the conviction (DWI - Zero Tolerance) but...

The conviction did not result in a deportation (100% sure) as I remeber it was me who dropped him at the airport (No Ban that is for sure). Would his employer know about his previous conviction when applying for the residency???

safou1976 wrote:The conviction did not result in a deportation (100% sure) as I remeber it was me who dropped him at the airport (No Ban that is for sure). Would his employer know about his previous conviction when applying for the residency???

If you are sure about that (and good to know) then I don't know of any "criminl/conviction" search that is mandatory. However, depending on the the Employer it may ask "have you ever been convicted..." in which case your friend must answer or he will be lying and fired. Again he could explain it away...

I know people that have been fired for lying about their academic credentials (claiminn a Master's degree when they only posssesed a Bachelor's etc.). The ironic thing is that in the cases I know they did not have to lie to get the job but they did and so they were fired (as they should have...)

safou1976 wrote:The conviction did not result in a deportation (100% sure) as I remeber it was me who dropped him at the airport (No Ban that is for sure). Would his employer know about his previous conviction when applying for the residency???

AFAIK, in some other countries you may obtain a clearance letter from police dept that you have not been convicted. And employers may request this.
But in UAE, I don't think the employer will ask when processing the residence visa. Or maybe in very rare case. But who knows, maybe the immigration dept will ask first the police dept before issuing the visa stamp?
I suggest to ask the immigration directly.

Concords advice is probably near to the mark like he said without all the details it is difficult to fully advise.

However, i find it strange that a 3 week conviction did not terminate with deportation like Concs assumed it had

Definitely depends on the employer. I work for a government owned entity, and there would be no chance of getting past the background checks.

safou1976 wrote:Hi,

I have a friend who came to DXB as a Tourist 2 years ago and had a minor car accident while driving after he had some drinks. He was arrested and charged for drunk driving even that his alcohol level was low by international standards (0.04-0.05). Anyway, they sentenced him for 3 weeks jail time. Afterward, he stayed another week in Dubai to finish his vaccation and then left back to the US. He called me couple of weeks ago as he received an intresting job offer from a company in Dubai and asked me to check if his previous DUI in Dubai will cause him any problems when entering the country and would it affect his chances of getting the residence Visa in the UAE.

Thanks for any help

The fact that your friend was released after doing his 3 weeks inside and then allowed to stay to complete his vacation indicates that according to the authorities he has served his time.
In the case of possible new employment he should simply inform his prospective Employer of the previous incident up front. If they decide to give it a go well and good.
If he tries to hide it and it gets discovered later it could prove costly for him.

Did your friend get an eye scan at the airport? also would he be travelling with the same passport number as he had then? Not sure of the US but many countries when your passport fills up or expires and a new one is issued it has a new number. If not the same passport number and no eyescan then I don't imagine they would be able to find out.

I know someone who was banned from the UAE but had 2 weeks to leave; the fact that you dropped them off at the airport doesn't necessarily mean that he wasn't banned.

Edit--> Probably good to clarify my friend recieved a ban for quitting in less than a year and her employer put a ban on, nothing to do with alchohol.

Drunk driving only carries jail time and is not followed by deportation, he should be fine.

Is that a deffo Maad?

I know of stories of people caught DD and have returned to work, so it is defo.

However, employers can of course choose to terminate on these grounds as well.

fayz wrote: many countries when your passport fills up or expires and a new one is issued it has a new number.

Man, that's just sheer stupidity.


p.s. I didn't mean you Fayz (please don't reveal all the personal bad things I said above every single member of this forum they are all **** to start...)

arniegang wrote:Is that a deffo Maad?

yes 100% ... you can go ahead and buy that car beer fridge you wanted

Well normally when applying for a visa, they do a mandatory police check to look for prior convictions, certainly that was the case with both my companies.

I know of three people who have been done for drunk driving and all are still in the UAE. Two had jail time, the other didn't.