13 February 2023
Summary
The UAE Immigration Authorities have recently announced that all mainstream UAE residence permit holders such as investors, employees and their dependents who have been outside of the country for more than six months can now secure a re-entry permit by applying through a designated online immigration portal.
The Detail
As a general rule, the residency status of an individual is automatically invalidated if the holder has been outside of the UAE for a continuous period of more than 180 days. There are a number of exceptions e.g. students, medical patients, domestic helpers of diplomats, as well as self-sponsored Golden Visa holders (amongst other exempted cases indicated on the UAE government website).
However, as per the new re-entry permit implementation rolled out by the ICP (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security), residence permit holders who stay outside of the country for more than six months are now allowed to re-enter the UAE if they submit an application via the ICP portal. The applicant needs to specify a reason for exceeding the 180 day rule and approval will be granted at the sole discretion of the Immigration Authorities. ICP officials have not further specified which reasons may lead to acceptance or rejection of re-entry permit applications.
What this means
Anyone with a valid UAE Residence Permit who has stayed outside of the UAE for more than 180 days can apply for a re-entry permit through the ICP system online. Residence Permit holders will need to ensure that their visa status is active and that their residency has not expired or been canceled.
Residents can apply for the re-entry permits either through accredited travel agents, through the ICP website online or through approved government service centers in the UAE. In support of their re-entry permit application, the applicant must provide a number of personal documents and pay an application fee of approximately 950 AED. Once the application is approved and the re-entry permit has been issued, the individual must re-enter the UAE within 30 days. Failure to re-enter within the stipulated time frame will incur a penalty of AED 100 for every additional 30 days spent outside of the country.
Employers will need to consider the impact of this change (e.g. WPS obligations for Mainland entities), for example in cases where employees leave the UAE to go on long term assignments beyond six months and there may be the prospect or an expectation that they will return to the UAE for work/ employment purposes
How we can help
We understand that for many companies this will require careful monitoring of employees who are traveling outside of the UAE for a longer duration. We can assist with:
● Monitoring the 180 day period employees remain out of country;
● Conduct an impact assessment based on the current employee population and advise
on the implications for employers to hold on to the deregistration of employees’
Residence Permits while out of the country, in case there is an intention for the
employee to return;
● Assist with the submission of re-entry permit applications with the ICP.
Contact us
Should you have further questions on this update, please reach out to:
● Rekha Simpson – Director, Middle East Immigration: rekha.simpson@vialto.com
● Umme Salma – Senior Manager, Middle East Immigration: umme.salma@vialto.com
● Dounia Fathi-Benbrahim – Senior Manager, Middle East Immigration:
dounia.fathi-benbrahim@vialto.com
● Ananth Prasad – Manager, Middle East Immigration: ananth.prasad@vialto.com
Further information on Vialto Partners can be found on our website: www.vialtopartners.com
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