Questions & Answers
Is it possible to settle credit card debts after losing job and leaving the UAE?
Hi,
I was laid off in June 2020 during COVID19 and had credit cards in several banks. I had to leave the country but was still paying the banks up until September 2021.
So I was getting calls from the bank, and the last one was maybe in December 2021. A new law came into effect this January, so the cheque bounce was decriminalized but the civil case is still there and a new option of some kind of execution is also there now.
I don't know if I got any cheque bounce, do I get a notification on my email or SMS on my mobile? (My mobile is still active and I am outside of Dubai since then).
Also, want to ask- under the new rule does the execution smth can lead to imprisonment and/or a travel ban? And if yes then for how long?
Will I be able to come to Dubai and find a job if the execution case is there?
Thank you
Dear Sir
Many thanks for your message.
Indeed what you have heard is right, bounced cheques have been decriminalized but not for all bounced cheque cases.
Forged cheques, using fake cheques to obtain money, writing a cheque in a way that prevents it from being enchased, or stopping a cheque from being cashed ate still criminal offenses.
The cheques that you are talking about however are relative bank security cheques for bank debts. I believe where those cheques are issues and the debt is over AED 200,000, the criminal sanctions have not been removed.
Confirmed you can have a travel ban placed on you in those situations. As you are abroad, the banks will be willing to enter into a payment plan with you to gradually pay off those debts.
Many thanks.
Jennifer Arkhurst
