Khaleej Times, Monday, Feb 06, 2023 | Rajab 15, 1444
UAE: Will I be banned from the country after my employer reports me absconding?
Emirates:
Question: I was deported from the UAE after my employer reported me
absconding. How do I check if I have a ban? Also, will this extend to other GCC
countries? I mean, can I try my luck in other Gulf countries?
Response: Pursuant to your queries, it is assumed that you were
employed by a mainland employer based in the UAE, and that your residency visa
was sponsored by the said employer. Therefore, the provisions of Cabinet
Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on the Implementation of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of
2021 regarding the Regulation of Employment Relations (the 'Cabinet Resolution
No. 1 of 2022') and those of Federal Decree Law No. 29 of 2021 Regarding Entry
and Residence of Aliens (the 'Immigration Law of UAE') are applicable.
In the UAE, an employer may file an absconding complaint with the Ministry of
Human Resources and Emiratisation (the ‘MOHRE’) if an employee is absent from
work continuously for seven days without formally informing the employer. This
is in accordance with Article 28 (1) of the Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022,
which states: “The employer shall notify the Ministry of the worker’s unexpected
work abandonment pursuant to the following rules and procedures:
a. The absence from work shall have exceeded 7 consecutive days, without the
employer’s knowledge of the worker’s location or the possibility of
communicating with him.
b. The absence from work form shall be completed pursuant to the procedures set
by the Ministry.”
Based on the complaint and upon confirmation that you were absconding from work,
the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai (the
‘GDRFA’) or Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port
Security (the ‘ICA’) in other emirates of UAE may have conducted [an]
investigation and accordingly deported you from UAE.
Article 18 of the Immigration Law of UAE also mentions the conditions under
which a deported individual from the UAE is allowed to reenter the country. It
should be noted that usually an individual who is deported from the UAE on
grounds of absconding may be imposed with [a] ban prohibiting travel to [the]
UAE for a certain period of time, or permanently as decided by the GDRFA or ICA.
Further, [a] travel ban to [the] UAE on [the] grounds of absconding may be
considered an administrative deportation, and therefore an individual may travel
to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
You may contact the GDRFA or ICA with regards to the nature of the travel ban
imposed on you on grounds of absconding from your employer and if the same is
limited for [a] certain period. You may further check if you can travel to UAE
or other GCC countries. Further, it is recommended that you contact the relevant
authority/ies of the GCC country which you intend to travel to.