Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Is son liable for bank debts of his father?

Q: My friend`s Dad has taken a lot of debt from Dubai banks and has gone missing from past 1 year. Due to this my friend and his family have moved away from Dubai and he plans to come to Dubai for vacation after 1 year. Is it possible for him to enter the UAE with a tourist/visit visa? His permanent visa is expired. Will there be any problem for him at the immigration or in Dubai? He wants assurance from some official too.

Can I accept a new job offer if I have pending labour case and expired visa?

Q: Dear Sir, Hope you will be in the state of good health and doing fine. My owner absconded in 2015 but my visa expired in June 2016. I filed a case before he absconded and Labor office transferred the case to court where the worthy orders of the court to do execution and pay my dues and that execution is still in process. Labor approved me to work as part-time. Now I have a new job offer from another company and want to cancel the visa that has already been expired for one and half year. Will I have fine or some other obstacles while cancelling my visa in order to join the new company? Regards

Liability of a bounced cheque issuer and recovery of the cheque amount

Q: I am a trader, my clients provide me PDC cheques (post dated). As per new law if my clients bounce the cheque & I make a case against them, they won`t be imprisoned, they would have to pay fine. What about my payment, how would I recover my bill payments? Will they still be liable to pay my dues? Also, will they be under a travel ban?

Early termination of a long-term commercial lease agreement

Q: In case of a long-term lease with a commercial tenant for eg 5 years and the tenant wants to break the contract say after 3 years. The termination clause in the agreement states that the tenant has to pay a minimum rent for 3 years + termination penalty equal to 6 months + 3 months notice period. The query is, at the time of termination, lease agreement ceases and the tenant is liable to pay the termination penalty + notice period immediately or as per the terms of the lease agreement? Assume the tenant wants a payment plan, can he lock up the premise and not hand over the keys till the minimum rent period (i.e 3 years) and whether late payment fees is applicable? (assume the lease agreement states late payment fees for non-payment), if applicable whether the calculation should be from termination date or the lease due dates? I believe the late payment fees should be from the termination date and not on lease due dates since the lease agreement is terminated by way of the notice.

I have an unpaid bank loan. How can I check if the bank raised a case against me?

Q: Hi , I left UAE during the financial crisis 2009 because I got laid back by my employer and I could not pay back my bank loan. The bank collection agents contacted me few times but I couldn`t reach an agreement with them as I am facing financial difficulties as a single parent for 2 kids currently not working. l want to go back to the UAE for a job offer. I need help finding out if the bank has raised a case against me and what is my current status and legal options to be able to work in the UAE.

Getting new employment while having a pending labour case

Q: Dear Sir, My case is in Dubai Labour Court (since one-year). The 1st hearing is completed and I`m waiting for my judgement. My visa expired in November 2016. I got a Certificate from the court giving the dates of the case from 2016 to 2017. Can I cancel my employment visa and labour card (without any effect on my Labour Court decisions and proceedings)? I want to win the case, but at the same time, I need to go back to my country and come back on a new employment visa & labour card. Please advise what I should do. Thanks, DEVASSY

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Enforcement of a foreign court judgement in the UAE

Q: Hi, We are UAE FZ Company. A US (Californian) Supplier is threatening to take us to court (in California), over an unpaid invoice, for year 3 of a 3-year service contract. The UAE end user only used the system for a few months & only paid us for 2 years. We informally cancelled, verbally, the 3rd year. My question is: if they manage to achieve a judgement against us in the USA, is it enforceable in the UAE? P.

What is the procedure and time frame for eviction of a tenant not paying the rent?

Q: Hi, I have a flat in JLT Dubai, my tenant is not paying the rent for many months nor will he move out of the house. Also, he is sub-leasing the unit to someone else without our allowance or confirmation. We want to kick him out for both reasons: not paying + sub-leasing unit. What do we need to do and how long will the process take to get him out? We hope you can help.

Overstay in the UAE: grace period, fine and immigration blacklist

Q: I have unpaid Etisalat bills for 500 AED and a cash advance in DIB, and my visa is already cancelled. Is there any possibility to exit the UAE without paying for both and for overstay?

How long does a labour dispute take?

Q: Hi, I was working for a company where 100% owner is local, and I was not getting my salary for last 3 months. I was chasing them so much, for this reason, I resigned. Still, they are not paying me the salary, I filed a labour complaint. Currently, my financial situation is getting worse. I would like to ask only one thing: how long is the process of a labour dispute under this salary delay case?

Notarization of passport and signature

Q: Good afternoon! How can we notarize a passport and signature?

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Can I change my job if I have a pending labour case with my current employer?

Q: I had been working in a company for 4 years. The salary was pending for 5 months and I have made a legal complaint against the company. After the complaint, they terminated me with immediate effect. I got another job and offer letter. After this, I have made a request for labour card cancellation. How can I cancel my visa?

Refund of rental amount paid in advance to a real estate agent

Q: I have paid an advance payment of AED 11,000 in Cash and AED 32,000 in Cheque to Real Estate Agent (Broker) in Sharjah for booking of my rental flat in Sharjah. Now it`s already passed 11 days but no reply from the agent and the agent told me that there is no owner available and the owner`s signature is required in the agreement. The agent also doesn`t know when the owner will come & will sign. So, I asked the agent to give my money back but he refused to give money. What should I do now?

Can post-dated cheques be revoked?

Q: My husband is selling icecreams in a cafe in Dubai. He has started a business from this. He needed a visa and the owner gave him a visa but we paid for it. The owner wrote a contract by email but we haven`t signed it. We have given 3 cheques for the next year and are paying quarterly. Unfortunately, the business/icecreams are not selling at all and we want to get out of the contract. I would like to know what hope do we have to get out of the contract as we haven`t signed it but he has the year cheques on him. Hope to hear from you soon.

What to do if your cheque was wrongfully encashed

Q: Hi, I hired a real estate agent from Dubbizle Abu Dhabi. We reached a consensus of AED6,500/- commission for his services. Once I liked the property, I gave AED5,000/- cheque as security. Later, after signing the tenancy contract I gave cash AED5,000/- to him. As AED1,500/- was pending, I didn`t take the cheque back. Later from the landlord, I got the information that he took an extra commission of AED5,000/- from the landlord as well by telling him that we are relatives and he is not charging any commission from me. So the landlord increased the rent by AED5,000/- and once the payment was made to the landlord (single payment by my employer); landlord had already given AED5,000/- to the agent. Later the agent called me to ask for remaining AED1,500/-. At this time I said `no` as he has already made a double commission. I forgot about the cheque. Today I received a message from my bank that the cheque has been encashed and AED5,000/- has been deducted from my account. What are my options now?

Commission payable to property agent dismissed before the deal was closed

Q: I was working for a real estate company in Dubai. I was part of a big deal for selling a villa for 18.5M. The deal was signed while I was with the company, and I was still in the company a few months later until the owner terminated me under the reason “services no longer required”. The MOU was signed while I was with the company and the deal was meant to go through in September, I got terminated in August. I have a voice recording of the whole conversation on the day I was terminated in which the owner clearly states I was part of the deal and as I`m no longer part of the company he will need to consult with his partner whether I`m owed my commision. I have spoken to the buyer who has confirmed that the deal has gone through and they are the new owners of the villa. I have contacted the owner of the real estate company who is reading my messages and ignoring me. I am owed 50k commision. Where do I stand?