Know the law: avoid overstaying in UAE or face jail, immigration ban

A lot of people come to the UAE on tourist visa and some of them do not return to their home countries. There are some who have residence/employment visa, but stay on despite cancellation due to different reasons.

Those who overstay can face a host of issues and should be aware of them.

Let's take a look at the rules and regulations regarding overstaying in the UAE.

Overstay fine for visit/ tourist visa

If a tourist or a visitor overstays, he will be fined with a certain fee to be paid at the immigration offices or at the airport when exiting. If you get a job while you are on visit visa, you must change your visa status from visit visa to employment visa. In case if you overstay more than the date mentioned on the visa, the fine for the first day would be Dh200, and then a further Dh100 for each subsequent day.

Residence/employment visa

As per the immigrations rules, one has to leave the country within 30 days after cancellation of visa. Once your previous work ends and your visa is cancelled, you have 30 days to prepare for your next job. In case of overstay, you will be subjected to fine, although it will not become a criminal case. However, your children staying with you will be subject to a fine of Dh120 each for the first day and thereafter Dh25 for each day.

The fines also apply to a worker's spouse, and anyone else who overstays in the UAE.

It may be advised that if your prospective employer is unable to secure a visa for you within a reasonable period of time, you may opt to exit the country in order to avoid payment of any overstay fines. You may subsequently return only when your employer has secured a new visa for you.

Consequences of overstaying

If anyone who significantly exceeds the grace period, i,e by a further 30 days or more, could find that they have extra penalties to face with their name added to an immigration blacklist. This could prevent them from re-entering the UAE at a later date.

So, in the event you stay more than the grace period, you can face the following fallout:

- Your name will be blacklisted

- You may be slapped with immigration ban

- You could go to jail for up to 3 months

- You may be issued a deportation order