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Can anyone give me more information about the working visa Ban thing?

Waf

can you be more specific please, do you mean reference to the NOC?

What if a comapny was sponsering me and then I got a better offer from another company and both of them are in Dubai. What r the risks of getting banned

ok

Unless your company issue a No Objection Certificate mate you got no chance of getting another job for 12 months in dubai

if you left you company, they have the right to ban you from working in UAE for 6 months, But i think the companies do that if you are really a**hole and left them in a bad way (i.e. doing bad job to leave, or gave them the notice and take the 30 days vacation) or they are really nasty.

So it is doable if they issue this letter

Waf, if they ban you, thats it mate

End of

But as you have only been in dubai a short while you could not have passed your period of probation. I believe this is a case where a company cannot ban you, if you have not passed your probation period.

Check your contract Waf

I'm still in Cairo Arnie and i didn't sign anything yet but they are doing my initial work permit/visa.

Guys, It's actually all changed. It's not the company that bans you, it's Immigration, they automatically give a 6 month ban if you don't have a No Objection Certificate.

A company will only refuse to issue an NOC if you're going to another company involved in the same industry.

You can get your visa transfered from one company to another, it's easier than doing the whole cancellation then reapplying thing and only take a few days to do once you have all the paper work and medical documentation.

Plus it's also much much easier if you have a degree like an MBA as you're seen as a professional and bans are very very rare for people with these.

It's getting easier to change job in the UAE as they're slowly beginnnig to realise it's more advantagious to allow people to move about than to constantly bring new people into the country.

My other half changed jobs and I was really surprised at easy it was to do it. The HR person from his old company went with HR from the new one to immigration with his passport and they cancelled the old visa and stamped the new one in all at the same time - dead easy.

Is the new job in the same sector?

Wafaey wrote:I'm still in Cairo Arnie and i didn't sign anything yet but they are doing my initial work permit/visa.

soz Waf,

I assumed you had just arrived

Cairo ahhhhhhhh great place buddy, been there and Giza, great holiday but the traffic, the horns and the driving arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh noooooooooo

well Choco my problem is that i think the comany that is doing my papers blind sided me and r ripping me off with far less than what i should be paid but I had enough of Cairo and I want to move and give it Dubai a try.

PS Arnie Cairo is great to visit to live in it sucks big time

Waf

If you want to share the details of the industry you work in and the salary, there is a wide range of people in here who can give you good advice.

1. there used to be two seperate bans, one from the immigration department and the other from labour. the immigration ban has now dropped away leaving only the MANDATORY labour ban in place.

2. a labour ban can only be circumvented if the following criteria are met a). your current sponsor provides you with an NOC and you have completed a minimum of 1 year of your contract b). the company you are working for is liquidated/ closed - this does not apply to companies where they are taken over or bought out by a new owner

3. the current (as of today, as it may change tomorrow) status of the ban issue is that you cannot cancel your labour card (even with the NOC) without incuring the ban; the only way to effect a change to another company is by transfering from one sponsor to another - transfering of visa's costs approximatly 5,200 AED to your new employer - who will, in most instances carry the cost across to the employee. under the old system, cancelling your labour card and applying under a new sponsor would have cost about 2,000 AED.

4. the ban (labour) is mandatory irrisepective of what labour catagory you are; under the old system of implementation certain catagories were excluded from the ban - this is no longer in effect..... so if you are postman or a corporate CEO you can still be banned.

5. some people - such as those on private visa's (drivers, domestic etc) and anyone working for any government/ military/ police institution have a mandatory 1 year ban imposed on them, not the 6 month ban like other catagories

6. people working in a FreeZone are excluded from the ban when transfering between companies - only because they are not subject to the Federal and Emirate labour law

7. under article 131 of the Labour Law UAE nationals are excluded from the ban on terminating their employment and taking on a new appointment

Here is the deal Arnie I'm an architectural engineer and I'll be working in an architecture firm in Dubai as an architect. I have 5 yrs of exeprience mainly in project coordination and management. In what salary rang do u think I fall in ?

Waf

Post those details up in a new post in expat/employment and there will be someone out there who can help you. I have no idea of the salary or industry so sorry i personally cant help you.

It probably would help if you also included the salary being offered.

Put "Architect" etc in the post subject to attract attention.

Waf

Found this post for you using search, hope it helps and maybe worth pm'ing the guy.

barastisundowner
Dubai Forums Member


Joined: 16 Dec 2005
Posts: 49
Location: UK (just left dubai after 5 yrs
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 2:53 pm Post subject:

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If you've a western passport, starting a minimum 15kdhs salary with the Jumeriah group + housing allowence and car allowence. But can do loads better.

This is so confusing, the whole ban thing... It exists, no, it doesn't, etc.

So, hypothetically, I gave up my job, sold my belongings and moved to the UAE, only to find on arrival that the working conditions at my new company are NOT what I am used to. I see several vacancies in the newspaper that I qualify for. I don't feel like going home yet - don't like to give up that easily!

Is there any way for me to move companies? Surely you cannot be held prisoner by your employer for your entire first year in Dubai (and then they try to take your passport off you as well...)

Two additional factors to consider:

1)I AM STILL UNDER PROBATION, for another two months.
2)My residency will be issued in Sharjah - I heard that there is also a ban against moving between emirates, and most attractive job opportunities seem to be in Dubai.

Help?

okay muffin i have made a couple of enquiries - with specific reference to your situation.... some of the info may be pertinant to others, so i am submitting it o the forum.

the labour ban issue affects the FEDERAL LABOUR LAW. in short this means that it is imposed throught the UAE and is not just a "local" issue.

for you this means that taking up a position in any other emirate WILL result in the ban being imposed!

second point. clarity on the probation "clause", this IS included in the Federal Labour Law and is defined as a period of 3 months from date of employment. Some companies change this to 6 months, as long as it is included in the legal (submitted to the dept. of labour) contract and you have signed it, it is enforable.

the PROBATION PERIOD is to protect the employer!!!!! it does not run both ways! (i was also unaware of this). basically after your probation you can be terminated without any recourse to the department of labour - they will simply state that you "under-performed". this does not mean that at the end of your probation if you are not happy with your employer you can simply walk off to another job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU WILL STILL INCURE THE BAN.

to sumerise YOUR current position, if you have not been issued with a labour card and your employer has not even applied for one (on your behalf) then technically you are working illegally and have NO recourse to any legal aid (or the help of the department of labour). BUT if this is the case then there is nothing stopping you from walking out the door and taking up another position!!!

if your employer has applied for a labour card on your behalf and is in the process of having it processed .... well then basically you are screwed
if this is the case, and you are unhappy with your position now, i would suggest - take the know, leave for 6 months and come back. if you hate your job and the place you are currently staying in then it will only cause you stress!

on the upside.... i have heard from a good source that they may drop the labour ban as well (- although its still hear say and i have no timeframe for this either .....

sorry .... this was supposed to read

" ....i would suggest - take the knock ...."

I am gobsmacked at the probation period not cutting both ways.

that sucks

Does anyone know how long does it take to obtain the initial work visa ?!

between 2 and 3 weeks for the whole process - on average
1 week to 10 days if the pro knows what he is doing,
4 to 5 if he doesn't or there are minor complications
in excess of 8 weeks and they are pulling your chain!

dbxsoul do you mean that after 10 days on avg. they should have the initial one and then they email it to me ?!!

It will take between 6 to 8 weeks this also depends on how many visas the company putting in as if it is a large company they may be putting over 35 which is the limit which has to be approvedbefore any more come in and it also has to do if the company also has any runners which again also freezes any applications.

Are you working for a construction company or consultant if it is for a construction company will take a while.Most companies will bring you here on a visit visa and will have to extend this after the 60 days for another 30 which usually covers it.

well don't know which kind are they doing they asked me to stamp my certifiactes from the UAE and I did so they told me we will email u the initial work permit/visa within 10 days.

I would say they are organising a visit visa

not an easy question i have tried answering it a few times before.

the processes of immigration (application for residency visa) and application for a labour card are two seperate procedures and are handled by two seperate government departments. the processes run in tandum, but one may be dependant on the other for its progression.

normally the company applies first to labour for "labour apporval", which means that the labour department approves the company to employ a person. you are submitted as the candidate.
once approval is given, then they will only apply for residency status for you (else they will waste the money if labour rejects your application).

the two processes then run in tandum, your certificates are submitted to labour and immigration processes your visa.

in some instances a "security clearance" is required by immigration. this is posted back to the company .... i should point out here that almost 90% of the application process - labour and immigration can now be done on-line by the company... only a minimum of standing in queues is required!!!! the security certificate can delay things by a week as it cannot be collected from the department and the pro has to wait for it to arrive in the mail. i'm not sure on what basis the security clearance is imposed... !!

finally once the whole lot comes together a residency visa (entiteling you to work) is issued by immigration. this can then be forewarded to you by your employer to allow you to enter the country. people who have entered the country previously on a visit visa then have this converted to a residency visa (at a cost of about 500 AED - although i think it has now gone up to 1,000 AED). most companies will make the employee pay for this "transfer cost" - remember this only applies to people converting from visit to residency.

on arrival in the uae you are subject to a medical - this is the final process before being issued your labour card. this takes about 2 to 3 days to be finalised..


the final stage

uaeaussie wrote:Are you working for a construction company or consultant if it is for a construction company will take a while.Most companies will bring you here on a visit visa and will have to extend this after the 60 days for another 30 which usually covers it.

what you are refering to here is called a "block visa" and is used mainly in the construction and maintenance industries where large numbers of employees are recruited and processed at the same time.

yes this can take up to 6 months!!!! as all the paperwork for each individual has to be completed 100% and all submitted together for processing...

this is normally used for manual, unqualified labour as the labour and qualification criteria are different !

yes but construction companies hire proffesionals as well as general labour which does cause issues I know my company employes a fairly large amount of both