Six Month Work Permit Ban in U.A.E.
May 2, 2011— Expatriates who have received a work permit ban from the United Arab Emirates’ (U.A.E.’s) Ministry of Labour are now unable to obtain employment visas for work within the U.A.E.’s free trade zones for the duration of the ban, typically six months.
Previously, these work permit bans only prevented foreign nationals from working for a sponsoring employer operating outside of the free trade zones. The change in policy means that foreign nationals seeking to change from an employer operating outside of a free trade zone to a new employer that operates inside a free trade zone are now subject to Ministry of Labour imposed work permit restrictions. Expatriates may be exempt from the six-month ban if they have worked for their employer for at least two years or have completed the term of a shorter-term employment contract, under directives issued by the Ministry of Labour that took effect January 1, 2011.
The change in policy is a result of an unexpected decision by U.A.E.’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners' Affairs (GDRFA) to more broadly implement Ministry of Labour imposed work bans on expatriates by including those seeking to work for employers operating in the free trade zones. The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has already announced that the restrictions now apply to expatriates seeking work for an employer in the DIFC, and while other free zone authorities have yet to make similar announcements, they have advised that they too will be implementing the new policy from the GDRFA. |
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