The Deadline

The deadline for residency violators will expire next Monday. The two-month deadline will lead to the departure of thousands of workers and residents whose stay in the UAE is mot in line with the applicable laws and regulations. In recent years, the competent authorities tended to stiffen the punishment of the violators of both the labor law and the expatriates entry and residence law with double punishment in case of return. The issue is hot; it was so in the past and will be so in future. What then is the deadline that will expire next Monday for? Why does the Ministry of Interior announce the application of a deadline for offenders during which they can leave the country without paying fines? Why does the Ministry of Interior launch an awareness campaign prior to and concurrent with the deadline? Why do the mass media bother about the two-month deadline and track it almost day after day? What is the deadline “philosophy” for?

Talking sensibly, our organizations aspire for an environment for workers and the population which is as clean and violation-free as possible. They are doing their utmost to reach this goal. The deadline in this context is not and end; it is a way to ease the lives of people, employers, sponsors and the offenders themselves. This is a country of justice and fairness, and those who want to respond to the call of law and order are invited to show up.

The deadline will expire next Monday, what then?

The signals and directives of the Ministry of Interior stressed the importance and need to respond; otherwise, stricter measures will be taken against those who did not benefit from the opportunity. The awaited measures are logical, and from one of its perspectives, the deadline has a message to give to the UAE society: The UAE is determined to address the labor and demographic file. In this connection, the Federal National Council is launching initiatives, and so are the ministries of interior and labor and the Emirates Identity Authority through the ID card and population register system.

The message is meant to be sent to the whole community and to the offenders who did not respond, some of who are citizens, more than others.

The UAE government is very serious about reviewing and addressing the phenomenon with the aim of putting an end to it and minimizing its effects, particularly in terms of  the offenders’ crimes. Hence, every citizen and resident is kindly requested to consider himself as part of the solution, i.e. to start himself first and move then to those workers and sponsored people who call him.