Visit visa only for immediate relatives: ADNRD
Dubai,
Dec
27:
Abu
Dhabi
emirate
has
stopped
accepting
applications
for
visit
visas
for
those
other
than
immediate
relatives
of
expats
after
a
study
found
that
25
per
cent
of
illegals
came
on
such
document.
The Abu Dhabi Naturalisation and Residency Department (ADNRD) took new measures this month to stop issuing visit visas to bring friends and workers to the emirate, according to a senior official at the department. Colonel Nassir Al Awadi Al Minhali, Director of ADNRD, told Khaleej Times, ''The ADNRD allows issuing of visit visas only for immediate relatives, such as parents, brothers, sisters, wives and children.'' The ADNRD would not issue visit visas for the firms because they were allowed to obtain only employment visas after getting temporary mission permits from the Ministry of Labour (MoL).
The new protective measures were aimed at weeding out the phenomenon of illegals from the country.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has completed a study, after the 2007 amnesty period that ended on November 3, to find out the factors that contribute to the problem of illegals in the country.
The
study
showed
that
about
25
per
cent
of
the
illegals
entered
the
UAE
on
visit
visas.
The
companies
could
apply
for
visit
visas
only
for
delegations.
This
was
a
special
case
and
the
ADNRD
would
demand
bank
guarantees
ranging
between
Dh2,000
and
Dh5,000,
depending
on
the
applications.
UNI