New human resources legislation will give more opportunities to workers in Dubai. Getty Images
New human resources legislation will give more opportunities to workers in Dubai. Getty Images

'Can I do a summer internship in the UAE on a visit visa?'



Can I carry out a summer internship in the UAE on a visit visa as a student coming to visit his parents? If not, are there any short-term work visa permits for two to three months for students or graduates like me? The companies have told me such a visa does not exist, therefore I cannot be sponsored. AS, Slovenia

It is illegal for anyone to work in the UAE if they are on a visit or tourist visa. Both the individual and the employer can be fined and there is also a risk that the individual could be deported. It is common for companies in the UAE to offer internships over the summer months but these roles are generally taken by students resident in the UAE, under their parent’s sponsorship, or who are sponsored by their UAE college or university. The employer simply has to provide a labour card and obtain a letter of no objection from the sponsor.

It is possible, however, for non-residents over the age of 18 to obtain a short-term work permit for an initial period of up to 90 days, although this can be renewed, known as a mission visa. The potential employer must make an application for a mission visa to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and this should be approved before someone enters the UAE. Various costs apply but it should be no more than Dh800 per person for the initial application in addition to the standard labour card fees. The cost is higher for renewal.

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'How can I find out if there are cases registered against me for unpaid debts?'

'Do I have to pay my employer three months' salary if I leave early?'

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I left the UAE six years ago and live in Europe now but I left with some credit card debts and received numerous messages that my cheque had been submitted meaning I cannot re-enter Dubai without getting arrested. Is that still the case? Can I transit through Dubai on my way to another country, so that I do not have to go through immigration? I have since renewed my passport and changed my surname from my previous passport name but the date of birth remains the same. Could that allow me to enter Dubai in the future if I want to visit? MW, Europe

If someone leaves Dubai without repaying the money that they have borrowed there will be consequences, and rightly so. There is both a local and moral obligation to repay money and I am not impressed to read that someone has not made any attempt to repay their debts, despite six years having elapsed, and is looking for a way to return to the UAE without doing so.

Changing a name to try and avoid repaying money that is owed is no guarantee that a person will get away with non-payment. If the date of birth is the same on the passport that may lead to investigation. It is also still evading a debt and wrong.

It appears that as MW failed to make the due payments on her credit card, the bank then presented the security cheque and because that bounced they have registered a police case for debt.

This will then show up on the computer system of the Immigration Department and anyone who passes through passport control will be flagged on the system.

In theory, someone who transits through the UAE will not pass through passport control. Questions can still be asked and if a flight is seriously delayed then passengers can be asked to enter the country and that will present a problem.

While I have sympathy for people who struggle to repay debts due to redundancy or difficult circumstances, people who deliberately fail to repay what they have borrowed even when they have the means to do so, make it harder for those people with genuine issues as banks become stricter with anyone who defaults on a debt. 

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'Can I enter the UAE if my residence visa is only valid for one more day?'

'Am I entitled to compassionate leave as a private sector employee?'

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I have been with my company for four months but I was very ill last week with flu and could not do my job so I took three days of sick leave. I managed to go to a local hospital to get a sick leave certificate but my boss has told me that I will not be paid for these days as I have a six-month probation period. Surely I should be paid as people get sick and I gave them the certificate? TM, Abu Dhabi

This issue is covered by Article 83 of UAE Labour Law, which states that: 'the worker shall not be entitled to any paid sick leave during the probation period'.  This confirms that the employer is correct in not having to pay an employee when they are off work due to ill health during their probationary period, which will be set out in the contract of employment. Some companies will pay salary for a few days of proven illness but this is entirely at the discretion of the employer.

Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser and senior partner with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with over 25 years’ experience. Contact her at keren@holbornassets.com. Follow her on Twitter at @FinancialUAE

The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only.

Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.  

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery 

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
  1. Join parent networks
  2. Look beyond school fees
  3. Keep an open mind
The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

The%20specs
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Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)

Power: 141bhp 

Torque: 250Nm 

Price: Dh64,500

On sale: Now

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

About Proto21

Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group

End of free parking

- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18

- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued

- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket

- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200. 

- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200

- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300

How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
  • The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
  • The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
  • The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
  • The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
  • The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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While you're here
Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro
Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books 

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
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%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%203-litre%20V6%20turbo%20(standard%20model%2C%20E-hybrid)%3B%204-litre%20V8%20biturbo%20(S)%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20350hp%20(standard)%3B%20463hp%20(E-hybrid)%3B%20467hp%20(S)%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20500Nm%20(standard)%3B%20650Nm%20(E-hybrid)%3B%20600Nm%20(S)%0D%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh368%2C500%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SPECS
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