Q: Good morning. My wife is Philippino national and I am a UK national working in Dubai. In March 2016, my wife was arrested and charged with the Abuse of Psychotropic Substances. She was sentenced to 1 year in jail. After 6 months she was deported back to the Philippines (September 2016) and is now on the immigration blacklist, I have had this confirmed. At that time she was single, we met later. I understand it is legally possible to get her name removed from the immigration blacklist, but my question is have the UAE courts ever lifted an immigration ban for someone jailed for a drug offense? I understand the law is rarely ‘black and white’ but would appreciate a legal view. Obviously, I would like my wife to join me here in Dubai and I’m just trying to understand if this is actually feasible or we should just accept that we will have to live apart while I work in the UAE.

Q: Hi, My fiance was arrested due to drug possession. The prosecutor in Dubai dropped the charges and ordered deportation after 30 days being in jail, so he doesn't have an order for deportation from the court as he didn't go to the court. What are the chances for him to get back to the UAE as he has a good job offer and what is the procedure to do that? Thank you

Q: Dear sir/madam, I was born and brought up in the UAE and lived there for 18 years. My family owns 2 properties and a business in Sharjah and Dubai. In 2017, I was deported for a mistake I made because of a bad influence, and my future was ruined. It was a genuine mistake of using illegal substances (Marijuana) in Sharjah. While I was imprisoned in Sharjah, I did not get any proper representation or chance to speak to a lawyer or the judge and was directly deported on a special pardon in October 2017. My parents have tried removing the ban from MOI Abu Dhabi with a special pardon but have got rejected every time and now we lost hope and ask you to help in this situation. I have not done any criminal activity or illegal activity before this. My records are clean. I really wish to get back to my family. Please help me in removing the ban. I have recently heard of the new law which has been imposed since January 2022 with no mandatory deportation. Will this help my case in any way?

Q: I was deported from Dubai for possession of weed after serving 30 days of my sentence. It was for using weed three days before when they tested the urine, and it showed positive. So after 30 days, the judgment says deportation and a Dhs 5,000 fine. Can I travel to other GCC countries? Also, is there any chance to remove my name from the blacklist if it is there?

An interview-format article covering the topic of drug use and rehabilitation in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

A legal concept upheld by the Federal Supreme Court states that drug use is not prosecuted by UAE courts if the offense occurred abroad. A positive drug test is accepted as proof of drug use, but it does not reveal whether the drug use occurred domestically or abroad. It is necessary to establish the crime's location in order to decide if the UAE courts have the authority to investigate it or if foreign courts should have jurisdiction over it.

This Law promulgates the Federal Penal Code (Criminal Law) of the United Arab Emirates. Crimes and chastisement punishments shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of this Law and other penal codes.

The law promulgates UAE Criminal Procedural Law (Penal Procedures Law) which governs criminal procedures in the UAE. This law applies to the procedures relating to offences whose punishments are not specified, dogma and punitive offences, and blood money, if they do not violate the Sharia rules.