Dubai - All expat residents will also have to undergo X-Ray tests during visa renewals.
Published: Tue 1 Mar 2016, 8:21 PM
Last updated: Wed 2 Mar 2016, 8:10 AM
M Janah was expecting in March last year when her husband was diagnosed with tuberculosis after he underwent medical tests to renew his residence visa.
As per the laws then, he was treated in the Dubai Health Authority's (DHA) Sonapur facility for three weeks and then given a week to leave the UAE. He was then banned from entering the UAE forever.
However, last week's announcement by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has given hope to hundreds and thousands of couples like Janah who have been living apart due to the UAE's old policy that placed an entry ban on people who were suffering from the infectious disease.
X-ray test mandatory for all
>All expat residents will have to undergo chest X-Rays during visa renewals
> Expatriates already living in the country will now be allowed to sponsor their spouses, children and parents with TB scars and active TB. However, those with active TB will be given a conditional certificate and a residence visa for one year and will also have to follow proper treatment protocol
> People with TB scars or active TB seeking UAE residence for the first time/or re-entry after cancellation will not be allowed into the country.
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"My husband was diagnosed with TB last March of 2015 when he took his medical for his residence visa. I was pregnant then and almost due for delivery. It was a tough time for us," she wrote to Khaleej Times.
"Sadly, I did my delivery alone because he was kept in isolation. After three weeks he was released and was given a week to go back home."
He was then given a permanent ban by the immigration.
"Is there something I can do for him to be given a second chance to enter UAE?" she asked.
Despite repeated attempts, the Ministry of Health and Prevention did not respond to Khaleej Times' questions seeking further clarification on the policy changes and asking whether people who had been banned earlier will be allowed to re-apply or not.
Second chance
Sources, however, said that it was likely that in cases where the sponsor is already a UAE resident, the below mentioned categories would be given a second chance in due course of time.
Expat students enrolled with UAE universities, members of diplomatic corps and leading investors will be allowed to apply for a new visa even if they have scars from cured TB, which also include spouses, parents and children of current UAE residents.
Under last week's announcement that changed medical fitness procedures for all expatriates, those already living in the country will now be allowed to sponsor their spouses, children and parents with TB scars and active TB.
Those with active TB will be given a conditional certificate and a residence visa for one year but will have to follow proper treatment protocol.
Welcoming the changes, Dr Shehnas Puthiyaveettil Abu, Pulmonary Specialist, Internal Medicine/Pulmonary Diseases at LLH Hospital, Abu Dhabi branch, said: "This law will help the expatriate to take treatment here and then continue to work and support their family thereafter."
However, people with TB scars or active TB seeking UAE residence for the first time/or re-entry after cancellation will not be allowed into the country.
All expat residents will also have to undergo X-Ray tests during visa renewals.
According to DHA statistics, 507 expats were deported in 2014 due to pulmonary TB while nine Emiratis were treated.
Another 78 were also sent back to their home countries due to extra pulmonary TB.
Another UAE resident Arokiaraj Francis also hopes to bring his wife and five-month-old baby back to the UAE after the news.
"My wife was here in UAE three years ago. During a medical fitness test she was told that she had old TB scars and an immigration ban was placed on her. Can I bring my wife here as we now have a five-month-old baby?" he asked Khaleej Times.
Nitin Gupta, who has also been living apart from his wife and four children for the past four years, says he has got his hopes high.
"I am a UAE resident for last five years. When my wife came with my kids to join me four years back, she was given a medical unfit certificate due to old TB scars. Her eyes were scanned and she was banned permanently."
Mohammed Mateen said he had to leave the UAE within a year after his wife was denied a visa due to an old scar. "I'm one among many other people who left Dubai because my wife was denied visa for an old TB scar in 2011," he wrote from India.
"After running through every government office, PR agents, lawyers and doctors I failed in getting a residence visa for my wife and finally left with no other option, I too packed my bags and came back to India."
Another resident, Janki Dave also hopes to bring her father back once the rules are clear.
Why the fear, when TB is curable
Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious disease caused by bacteria that is spread from person to person through microscopic droplets released into the air. This can happen when someone with the untreated, active form of tuberculosis coughs, speaks, sneezes, or spits.
"Active TB means the person is actually experiencing all the symptoms of TB and the patient can spread the disease because it is contagious," said Dr Hassan Shurie, Consultant and Head of Technical Services in DHA's Medical Fitness Department."TB is 100 per cent curable; however, absolute compliance to treatment and regular follow-up is extremely important to treat the disease," said Dr Shurie at DHA's smart clinic held on Monday.
The combined symptoms of TB include but are not limited to coughing that lasts two to three weeks, coughing blood, chest pain, unintentional weight loss, fatigue, and fever mainly at night and sweating at night.Treatment for active TB includes isolation to prevent the spread of the disease.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com
Arokiaraj Francis hopes to bring his wife and five-month-old baby back to the UAE after the news of change in TB policy.
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