Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Shorthold tenancy at in Dubai and its governing law

Q: Hello! Tell me, please, is there a practice of assured shorthold tenancy in Dubai and the UAE? And how is it governed? Do the tenant rights differ in case of an assured shorthold tenancy (if there is such a practice)? Can the landlord increase the rent or evict in this case whenever he wants? Thank you in advance.

The possibility to enter the UAE while a Saudi ban is imposed

Q: Hello, I am asking on behalf of my friend. She was working in Saudi Arabia in a salon for the past 4 years. Her employer was working her and her coworkers like slaves; 15 to 17 hour days, one day off. Her employer keeps all their passports. Just a very strict environment and not a good one. My friend was a good employee and lots of customers liked her work. As you can imagine being treated like this; working so hard for half the pay took its toll on my friend. She became very unhappy and asked her employer`s permission to go home to the Philippines as her contract was over. They said OK but went ahead and paid for her to come back after her vacation. Well, she did not return and her employer became very angry and has put her on a GCC ban or something like this. Now she can`t work abroad in Dubai, Bahrain, or Saudi again. My friend never asked them to pay for her return work visa; they just did it because they assumed that she would. How can we fix this problem of the GCC ban?

Traveling to a GCC country while there is an unpaid loan in the UAE

Q: Hello Ma`am, My question is regarding the GCC travel ban. After working for 8 years in Dubai, I lost my job in 2018 and had to subsequently leave Dubai and while doing so I still had an unpaid loan of 160K AED + 50k AED credit card debt. I have not been able to pay anything back to the banks since June of 2018. Now in Oct 2019, I am receiving a job offer letter from a Kuwaiti company and will be positioned in Kuwait. I would like to know if I will be able to get an employment visa from Kuwait and land safely in Kuwait. I am willing to settle down all my debts with all the banks upon getting a job there.

Compensating the employer for terminating a five-year limited contract

Q: Dear Sir, I am working in the UAE for 5 years with one employer under a limited contract. This is my 3rd contract. If I terminate the contract before expiry, am I eligible to gratuity and how much compensation I need to pay to the employer?

Is it possible to leave the UAE after losing a job while a loan is outstanding?

Q: Hi sir, My colleague got a loan from a bank 2 months ago. Now, the company terminated him and canceled his visa. He is not able to pay without his job and visa. He wants to go back to India and search for a new job. After that, he will pay the remaining amount. So sir please let me know if he is allowed to depart.

Cancellation of visa due to the premature death of sponsor

Q: Hi Sir, My sister`s family had to exit the UAE on 25th Sep as her husband passed away on 20th Sep. Also given he was the main sponsor (investor visa) the resident visa of all family members had to be cancelled for them to exit and carry the human remains. However, the family members now need to go back to the UAE for winding up their home & also children`s school. Can they enter considering the grace period of 30 days or do they need to re-apply for a new visa to enter the UAE?

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Resignation during probation due to unprofessional employer

Q: Hi there, I am new in Dubai and recently got a job. I started last September 15, 2019. The company itself is great but my immediate supervisor has been very difficult. He loves pointing mistakes, which he said so himself. He would make you feel unworthy to the point of breaking your spirit. I think I`m going to cry again. I want to leave but I am scared they will put a ban on my passport and make me pay penalties. My visa is in the process now. I completed my medical last September 6. What should I do? PLEASE HELP!

تسوية قرض بنكي لإلغاء ملاحقة الإنتربول

س: السلام عليكم، اقترضت قرضًا من البنك وبعد سنة ونصف تقريبًا تعثرت في العمل وحصلت على عمل خارج الإمارات. بعد مدة اكتشفت أني مطلوب للإنتربول بخصوص القرض وقيمه القرض 99 ألف درهم. تم التواصل مع قسم التحصيل في البنك ورفضوا التسوية لأنهم يطالبون بمبلغ آخر وهو مبلغ 30 ألف لبطاقة الائتمان والتعميم فقط على القرض. كيف يتم حل المشكلة وإلغاء تعميم الإنتربول؟ شكرًا!

The process of employment after signing the offer letter

Q: Hello, I am working in Kuwait for the last 20 years and currently in the capacity of a Manager. One of the local companies has given an offer to Head their office in Dubai. I have asked them to transfer my visa locally to their sponsorship. How can I be employed to Head their Dubai Office? Can you please share some information?

The procedure of serving foreign summon to a UAE resident

Q: Does the Dubai law permit foreign legal process to be served by hand or by post to an individual`s address in Dubai? I need a written legal opinion by a Dubai lawyer as to this to satisfy a UK court.

Suing an agency for refusing to pay the fees of provided services

Q: I am an individual working in Dubai and photography is my hobby/passion. I did a time-lapse project for a person here in Dubai. He owns a free zone company and also works with different media agencies in Dubai. My 3 movie clips from that time-lapse project are being used in a documentary running in 1 airline (I watched while travelling through that airline). I never had any signed agreement. It was all mutual understanding and all conversations happened through emails. Now, after knowing my time-lapse clips already been used in airlines without paying me anything, I have been following up with this person for the last 1 year. He`s not paying me my money. I even tried to approach the airline and the response I got from them is "Airline already paid the agency hired to get that job". What does the UAE law say in this case and if as an individual I can sue the airline or how can I get my money? Any help or advice will be very much appreciated. Thanks.

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Extending the notice period in unlimited contracts

Q: On an unlimited contract which says 3 months notice, the employer has taken in writing 6 months notice separately. My friend gave notice. 4 months passed and he wants to leave the UAE urgently. The employer is holding his passport and not releasing it. If the employer gives a labour ban, no problem, but he wants to avoid a travel ban. What are the options?

Claim against the bank for presenting a forged cheque of the client

Q: Dear Sir, I had taken a personal loan from a bank of AED 173,000 in 2016 and was paying on time until I lost my job in 2018. The total I paid back is AED 173,875.64, and balance to pay is AED 42,986.90 Currently, I don`t have a job and after three months of pending instalment since July 2019, the bank collection agent started calling and saying they will bounce the security cheque. On 8th Oct they had deposited the cheque and bounced and later I saw in internet banking that the cheque number deposited was different from the one which I had signed during the application process. As I have the copy of cheque with me, I talked to the agent after that and they insisted that it was the cheque that I signed and they aren`t giving me more clarification on that. Kindly advise, what if they go for a case of the deposited cheque with a different serial number?

Consequences of not exiting the country within 30-day grace period

Q: What are the consequences of not leaving the UAE after employment visa has been cancelled but within 30 days grace period? The employer bought a one-way ticket home under the agreement prior to cancellation that the employee will go back to the home country. Can the employer file any case in immigration because the employee decided to look for jobs in UAE instead?

كيفية المطالبة بالشيك بعد فقدانه

س: استلمت شيك بتاريخ مؤجَّل بعد شهر. فقدت الشيك. كيف يحق لي أن أطالب بحقي؟

Working with a company without providing a labour contract

Q: I have joined a company which have provided me with a work visa, however, they have not yet shared the labour contract. When I try to check online I am unable to find details while entering my passport details. Could you please help? My offer letter says that I am on a six months probation period.