United Arab Emirates | New grace period policy introduced

The Emirati government announced that foreign nationals on expired residence permits will now be granted a two-month grace period to resolve their immigration status.

Key Points:

• The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security is now allowing individuals a two-month grace period to regularize their status or depart the country without penalty.
• Officials stated that all necessary measures will be taken to implement this initiative, including waiving fines and legal consequences, so that individuals will have the opportunity to either adjust their status or leave the country more easily.

Additional Information: The current penalty for overstay on an expired residence permit is 50 AED (about US$14) per day.

BAL Analysis: The initiative aims to provide foreign nationals with a new opportunity to regularize their status. BAL will provide further updates on the implementation of this new policy as information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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