UAE visa change contested

in 

UAE

Business bigwigs in the UAE are asking the government to change new visa legislations that effectively cut down the amount of time expats can spend working in the country.

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce is now set to ask the Ministry of Labour to rethink their changes which have seen UAE residence visas for expats cut down to two years.

At the end of last year the Ministry of Labour announced that the validity of labour cards would be shortened to two years, and that also affects residence. However, businesses fear the ruling will have a negative effect and lead to increased costs. Speaking to Arabain Business, Chamber of Commerce director Hamad Buamim said: “As the private sector, the position is that we are not that happy with this change and we would like to see a change back to the old times.”

Buamim remains hopeful that the government will listen to his requests: “All the governments in the UAE listen quite well. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said once that even if there is a law that we pass today, if it is wrong, we are ready to relook at it tomorrow,” he added.