No Overstay Penalty for Expats Facing Court Cases
LEGAL QUESTION 1: After working for five years, my visa expired last September 11 and my labor card was cancelled on the 17th of the same month.
The problem is my visa can’t be cancelled because I have a pending police and court case for issuing a check that bounced.
I had since surrendered my passport as a guarantee while I will be attending my court hearings.
Here are my questions:
- Can my visa be cancelled while my case is still pending? I have not received any of my end service benefits, leave compensation and last salary because the company requires that my passport be stamped with cancellation of visa before my benefits are turned over to me.
- Can the company file an absconding case against me?
- Finally, will I be required to pay overstay penalty since my visa expired as early as September 11, 2015?
ANSWER: You mentioned that your labor card was cancelled which means you have signed a document attesting that you have received all your dues from your company. If that is not the case, then you may contact the Ministry of Labor for assistance.
You should inform your company about your police case, so no absconding case can be filed against you.
As for your passport concerns, you can change your passport. You should file an application before the public prosecution for passport change and a public prosecutor may grant you permission subject to certain conditions and terms.
You will not be charged overstaying penalty because you have a pending court case. You can stay in the UAE until the final disposition of your case.
Once your case has reached a judgment, you will get a letter from the court addressing the immigration authority about the overstay issue, stating your case details so that you will be spared of paying for overstaying in the country.
Atty. Imran Khan, a legal consultant specializing in employment, civil, family and immigration matters at Al Bawardi Advocates and Legal Consultants founded by Chairman Juma Butti Al Bawardi, former Secretary General of the UAE Council of Ministers and past Director of the office of His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.