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As reported by the Al Arabiya News Channel, the United Arab Emirates Minister of the Interior has issued a decree granting expatriate property owners multiple-entry visitor visas allowing them to stay six months at a time. Previously, the UAE had allowed foreign investment in property, but the residency rights of foreigners who purchased residential property were unclear.

Details of the decree include:

• Owners of developed properties (wholly-owned residential units, suitable for accommodating a family) can stay for six months from the date of entry into the UAE.
• The visa does not allow the property owner to work in the UAE.
• Upon expiration of the six month period, the property owner must return to his or her home country or any of the GCC countries.
• The initial six month visa may be renewed if certain conditions (minimum monthly income and property value) are met.
• The property must be worth at least AED 1 million ($272,300), and the owner’s fixed income must be at least AED 10,000 ($2,723) a month, or the equivalent in foreign currency.

Property analysts commented that the new policy still required clarification before it would have the intended effect of reviving the UAE’s real estate market. For example, it is unclear whether the decree applies to leasehold as well as freehold properties.

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Beginning in early August, Bahrain will implement a new labor law that will end the employer sponsorship system and permit foreign workers to change jobs without their employer’s consent. As reported in The National, the law was adopted following three years of consideration and is the first of its kind in the Gulf region.

The law is designed help end to the practice of some Bahraini employers that sponsor several—and sometimes hundreds of—foreign workers and charge them a “visa fee” to work with another employer. The workers, mostly from the Indian subcontinent, are not allowed to change jobs without their sponsor’s permission. Once the law takes effect, an employer will be able to terminate an employee’s contract and deport him or her with one month’s notice, and an employee will be able to leave his or her job after giving three months’ notice to the employer.

The law also is intended to help decrease the number of foreigners entering Bahrain to work. Currently there are more than 500,000 expatriates in the country, which accounts for about half of Bahrain’s population. The government also is considering a cap on the number of foreigners who enter Bahrain and expects to resolve by the question by the end of 2009.
 

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The Minister of Labour for the United Arab Emirates has announced proposed legal revisions that would allow foreign workers who have lost their jobs to stay in the UAE for up to six months. Currently, expatriates need to leave the UAE within one month after their employment is terminated. As reported in The National, the proposed law would apply to workers of all nationalities and would extend their visas by between three and six months, depending on the worker’s job. Also, visa application fees would be reduced for companies that hire unemployed workers already in the UAE. The legislation is awaiting approval by the Cabinet and is expected to become law within two months.

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Under new United Arab Emirates visa regulations effective at the end of July, jobseekers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Philippines and Bangladesh, who currently are not subject to visa fees, will have to pay a refundable deposit of Dh1,000 ($272) and secure health insurance while they look for work. One likely result of the new regulations, as reported at portstrategy.com, is a rush of would-be workers in the port of Dubai in the spring and early summer. Another probable consequence is that potential employers and recruitment agencies will need to search abroad to find workers in order to avoid a labor shortage. Anyone found working while on a visit visa can be fined more than Dh50,000 ($13,617) and banned from re-entering the UAE. Employers also will be subject to strict penalties for violations.

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