Dubai: Expatriates will not be allowed to leave the UAE unless they have paid all their fines in line with new Interior Ministry measures.
“Expatriates must not have any unpaid fines or any police cases against them in order to be able to cancel their visa to leave the country or to get a new visa here,” Major General Mohammad Ahmad Al Merri, Director-General of Dubai Residency and Foreigners Affairs Department in Dubai (GDRFA), told Gulf News.
He said this applied all over the country.
According to new rules implemented by the Ministry of Interior late last year the rules will be expanded to cover all financial commitments by expatriates.
“We have linked procedures to cancel visas for expatriates with the payment of all their road fines.”
The computer systems of the traffic police and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) have already been linked to all Residency and Foreigners Affairs Departments in the UAE.
This step is to ensure that expatriates pay all their financial dues.
An American resident in Sharjah, who had his visa issued by Sharjah Free Zone and who wanted to have his visa cancelled to change jobs, said he was shocked to discover he owed Dh10,000 in Salik fines.
William M. said he was new to the country and did not know about Salik.
“When I bought and registered my car no one told me that I needed a Salik tag,” he said.
He said he was asked by the residency department in Sharjah to pay his RTA fines in Dubai before getting his visa cancelled by the Sharjah Free Zone.
“I had to pay Dh10,000 in traffic fines.”
He said newcomers to the country should be educated about the rules here to avoid breaking the law.
