Mission visa workers do not require NOCs

Mission visa workers do not require NOCs

By Ahmed Abdul Aziz (Our staff reporter)KHALEEJ TIMES 7 January 2008

ABU DHABI — Workers on mission visas do not require ‘No Objection Certificates’ (NOCs) from the current sponsors to change jobs, it was stated by an official.

Obaid Rashid Al Zahmi, assistant under-secretary of the Ministry of Labour (MoL), said that workers on mission visas can switch jobs after completing the period of three to six months (including three months after mission visa renewal).

Al Zahmi said: “In the case of mission visa workers, an employer has no right to demand a labour-ban if they want to join other companies because this is similar to the limited labour contracts.”

The MoL recently took the decision to issue mission visas to people who want to come to the UAE in search of jobs. The move aims at combating the menace of illegal workers as well as protecting the rights of the workers.

Meanwhile, Khalil Khoury, director of the Work Permit Department at the MoL, said that many companies had already applied for the mission visas. The formalities for the issuance of mission visas are easy and allow the sponsors to employ new workers under probation period, he added.