Expats Found with TB upon Visa Renewal will not anymore be Deported
They’ll be required to undergo treatment instead
DUBAI: Foreign workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) found afflicted with tuberculosis upon renewing their visas will not anymore be deported and banned as has been the practice in the past, but instead be required to undergo supervised treatment until they have been cured of the disease.
This, following a recent issuance by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, of 2016 Cabinet Resolution No. 5, which amends several provisions of Cabinet Decree No. 7 of 2008 on the medical examination system for foreigners in the country.
As posted on the UAE Cabinet website, the amendments stipulate that expatriates found to be TB-positive will have to undergo treatment protocol and granted a one-year health fitness certificate in lieu of a visa subject to strict monitoring. Failure to comply with the treatment requirements would result to non-renewal of the visa, officials said.
“In the event of non-compliance of patient treatment under direct supervision or lack of commitment to three consecutive visits, (that) person will be considered unfit, (and) procedures taken to inform stakeholders and not renew that residency,” stated the online announcement.
Moreover, patients found with TB resistant to standard medication “will be subjected to treatment inside the country to be cured and then, if deemed fit, will have residency renewed,” it added.
The UAE government, in an apparent bid to protect its citizens and residents from tuberculosis caused by the influx of foreign workers, have been implementing strict measures which include the deportation of these workers found afflicted with TB or have TB scars.
Thus, newcomers found TB-positive during mandatory tests will still not be granted residence visa, the website stated.
According to data from the Department of Health Authority (DHA), 507 foreign workers were deported in 2014 due to pulmonary TB.