UAE labour law: Can an immigration ban be lifted?

Dubai - Know the law: What’s the process to check about the possibility of returning to UAE after a ban

By Ashish Mehta

Published: Sun 23 May 2021, 10:33 AM

Question: Thanks for your answer dated May 16 about employment ban in the UAE. I used to work in a company in Dubai. However, I received an immigration ban in 2019 and left for India. I am not sure if my ban was permanent or just for one year. Is there any way for me to check on this? Is it possible to lift a 'permanent' ban? Thanks.

Answer: Pursuant to your queries, we assume that a permanent immigration ban is imposed upon you, which refrains you from travelling to the UAE. Therefore, the provisions of Federal Law No. 6 for 1973 Concerning Immigration and Residence as Amended by Virtue of Law 7 of 1985, Law 13 of 1996 and Federal Decree - Law No. 17 of 2017 (the ‘Immigration Law’) are applicable.

It should be noted that an immigration ban may be interpreted as a permanent one on an individual which refrains him or her from travelling to the UAE. An employment ban on an individual may only be a temporary one not to work in the UAE for a certain period. Such ban may not stop an individual to travel to the UAE.

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Generally, once an individual is deported from the UAE based on an immigration ban, he or she shall not be allowed to re-enter UAE.

This is in accordance with Article 28 of the Immigration Law, which states: “A foreigner who has been deported may not return to the country except with special permission from the Minister of Interior.”

Therefore, your chances of travelling back to the UAE look minimal as the authorities may have conducted an iris (eye scan) test on you and may have blacklisted you.

However, if you are interested to travel back to the UAE, you may grant a power of attorney to one of your friends/relatives or a legal counsel to check if there is a permanent ban on you related to entering the country.

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The said power of attorney should be duly notarised and legalised by local authorities in India, attested by the UAE embassy there and thereafter by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the UAE. If there is a permanent ban, you may authorise your power of attorney holder to appear on your behalf before the authorities concerned in the UAE and check with them about the possibility of lifting it.

Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.