Four new types of visit visas

Four new types of visit visas
By Ahmed Abdul Aziz (Our staff reporter)Khaleej Times 9 June 2008

ABU DHABI — The Director-General of Federal Naturalisation and Residency Department (FNRD) in the Ministry of Interior, Lieutenant-General Mohammed Salim Al Khaili, yesterday introduced four new types of visit visas and announced the new fees structure for various types of visit visas that would be implemented from August 1.

Addressing media at the FNRD Directorate-General in the capital, Lt-Gen. Al Khaili said visa fees have been revised as per the Cabinet's decision No.16 of 2008.

Colonel Darwish Eid Ebaid Al Meheri, Manager of Entry and Residency Department, pointed out that all visas would be issued after the sponsor or the company paid for and provided health insurance because the visitors who come to the country should have health insurance cover.

About the new types of visas, Lt-Gen. Al Khaili said, "This is to meet the developments that the UAE is witnessing as part of the economic boom and the huge contracting and tourism projects across the country."

The new fees approved for the six-month multiple entry visa is Dh2,000. However, under this category visitors would not be allowed to stay for more than 14 days in the country on each visit. The visa can be renewed for another six months on payment of Dh2,000.

The new visit visas will be of two types: the long stay (three months) that would cost Dh1,000, and the short (one month) costing Dh500. Both are not renewable.

Lt-Gen. Al Khaili told Khaleej Times that the Ministry of Interior is keen on protecting the workers' rights and stressed that the companies must abide by the laws when bringing workers to the UAE. The visit visas should be sought only for visitors, not workers, he clarified.

"We work in cooperation with the authorities concerned to protect the rights of workers such as wages, air tickets and health insurance that would not be available to them if they entered the country on visit visas,", he pointed out, noting that

the firms can apply for three-month mission visas to bring in workers.

The non-renewable mission visa would allow a stay of three months and cost Dh200 and the non-renewable transit visa would allow a stay of 14 days and cost Dh100.

Visit visas for GCC residents would allow a stay of one month and cost Dh100, and could be renewed for another month for a fee of Dh500.

Visit visas for those accompanying GCC nationals would allow a stay of one month and cost Dh100 and could be renewed for another month at a fee of Dh200.

The duration of the new education visas would be fixed depending on the universities' courses and programmes taken by the students and each authorised academic institute must apply to issue visas for that particular course. The education visa would cost Dh1,000 and could be renewed for a fee of Dh500.

For the medical treatment visas, Col. Al Meheri said they would be issued to expatriates who want to come to the country for medical treatment and would cost Dh1,000 for three months and could be renewed at a cost of Dh500 for another three months.

He added that the tourism visas would cost Dh100, and allow one-month stay and could be renewed for another month at a cost of Dh500.

Lt-Gen. Al Khaili said the travel and tourism agencies would have to pay a refundable guarantee of Dh1,000 per visa at the time of issuance.

Visit visas issued for conferences and exhibitions would cost Dh100 for a stay of one month and would be non-renewable.