Dubai tourist visa: Visitors must pay overstay fines

PHOTO

Visitors overstaying in the UAE must pay fines for the number of extra days after visa expiry and need to obtain an out pass or leave permit at the airports or the immigration office at the land borders.

A customer service representative at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) Dubai confirmed that anyone overstaying in the country should obtain an outpass or leave permit at the airport or immigration offices at the land borders.

This permit can also be obtained at the Al Awir Immigration office. An overstaying visitor should also pay fines for the number of days they extended their stay in the country.

According to travel industry experts, this process started a few days ago. Many of their clients who overstayed in the country had to acquire the permit by paying Dh200 to Dh300 before exiting.

Mir Wasim Raja, manager of MICE & Holidays at Galadari International Travel Services, said, “An outpass or leave permit is required for those visitors who continue to reside in the country after visa expiry or after the grace period offered by the emirates.”

According to a travel industry expert, Dubai visit visa holders get a grace period of 10 days from the date of visa expiry

Ranjit Routray, an Indian national, was on a two-month visit to the UAE but had to extend his stay for two days due to personal engagements. His brother-in-law, Jubin, had cleared his overstay fine online. “But when we were at the immigration, I was asked to pay the ‘leave permit’ for overstaying in the country and pay Dh240 fine,” said Jubin.

Many other visitors have been obtaining a leave permit for overstaying and exiting the country. “Without our knowledge, a few of our clients overstayed their specified period of stay on their visa. When their visa expired, they contacted us to pay the overstay fines. But they did not know the out pass or leave permit,” said Deepak Kaushik, marketing manager Rooh Travel and Tourism.

“At the airport and land borders, they had to pay for the number of days overstayed and for leave permit,” added Kaushik.

Robin Pathrose, sales manager at Kingsland Travel and Tourism LLC, said that once an outpass is obtained, the visitor must exit the country. “One of my clients arrived in the UAE on a visit visa and managed to secure a job here. He was already overstaying in the country and had even applied for a leave permit at the Al Awir Immigration centre, which he forgot about,” said Pathrose.

“His employer applied for the work permit and permanent residency status as much as four times. But it was not approved by the authorities. When we inquired about the reason for rejection, we were told that he must exit the country as the leave permit has been issued against his name,” said Pathrose.