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Oil, other firms can avail of ‘Mission Entry Permit’

ABU DHABI — The recently introduced temporary 'Mission Entry Permit' will be issued to oil and energy companies and other firms decided by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, a senior ministry official has said.

Giving details of the criteria for issuance of the new entry permit, Dr Khalid Mohammed Al Khazraji, Under-Secretary at the ministry, said those who can avail of the new service should be technically specialised in the sector that they would be working for in the country. The permit should also be sanctioned by the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC), government oil companies or other concerned energy and oil government departments. No sub-contracts will be accepted, the official said on Sunday. The contract in question should be for a specific period of three months renewable for a similar duration.

This will be calculated from the date of entry of the person. The contract should stipulate that the company would be responsible for provision of healthcare of its employee.

A ministerial decree issued this week by Interior Minister Lieutenant-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan stipulates that the current 90-day 'Mission Entry Permit' can be issued to foreigners to carry out an "urgent" task for a company or a public or private institution operating in the country, provided the institution has a sponsor with a commercial registration in the UAE. Engineers, doctors, lawyers and qualified technicians can also avail of the new permit along with their families.

Under the 'Mission Entry Permit' system, foreign workforce will be able to work in the country without employment visa. Senior officials earlier said the system aims to facilitate recruitment procedures required for employing temporary foreign workforce who are in demand in the local market. The ministries of Interior and Labour recently signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate issuance of work and entry permits.

Under the agreement, a new service, called the VIE (Very Important Establishments) has been introduced to facilitate and speed up procedures of issuing work and entry permits for select companies. A joint office, manned by 11 employees including seven from the Interior Ministry and four from the Labour Ministry, has been set up at the Ministry of Labour for the purpose. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs will soon issue the executive by-laws of the Cabinet Decree on sponsorship transfer.

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