Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Decrease of house allowances

Q: Can my boss decrease my house allowances? I signed the contract almost 2 years ago. The contract says they shall give me 250 BHD for house allowances but the situation at work changed and I have more duties and responsibilities now than before. They didn`t increase my salary or change my contract but we did a verbal agreement. We accorded they will pay 425 BHD for the house allowances. Everything was fine, they did it for 1 year and a half but yesterday the new manager told me they are going to stop to do it because in the contract it says only 250 BHD. Is that legal? After being doing it for a long time, can they change it like that? We have proof that the company is the one paying the house, also the house contract is in their name. Thanks in advance :)

What to do if you have a problem with your sponsor

Q: Salam Alaykum, My former kafil (sponsor) allowed me to transfer to another kafil and I paid to the new kafil SAR 5,800 but until now she did not renew my residency and she holds my passport too. Please advise what can I do? Can I file a case against her? Thank you for helping me.

Liability of the company to pay End of Service

Q: Who is in charge of my End of Service gratuity if the company which is an L.L.C. is not able to pay it because of financial issues?

Possible action for delay in payment of credit card installments

Q: Dear Sir, I have one credit card in a UAE bank from 2015. I was paying the minimum instalment every month but for 5 months, my salary is delayed and I wasn`t able to pay more. The total outstanding is AED 60000. Please let me know what action can the bank take and give me some soloutions. Thanks.

Consequences of a deportation order in the UAE

Q: Hello Madam, My name is M., I was employed in Dubai at one of the construction companies from 2006 to 2008. The days of the recession were hitting Dubai and companies not increasing salaries, due to that, labours made a strike and the company complained to the local authorities. So the authorities kept us in jail for 4 days and deported us from jail to India with taking our eye scan in the jail (we received our full settlement in the jail in front of authorities). I want to know, do I have a travel ban in the UAE? Can I enter the UAE through a visit visa? Can I get a work permit in the UAE?

Credit card debts and consequences in the UAE

Q: Madam, I have one credit card in a UAE bank from 2015. I was paying the minimum instalment continuously every month but for 5 months, my salary is delayed. I want to know what action can the bank take against me. Thanks.

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Refund of an off-plan property payments for delay in delivery

Q: Salam, Hope you are very well. I am writing this email to understand the current law for off-plan properties in Dubai. I started an agreement with a developer in Dubai in 2016 4th quarter. The developer promised to deliver the project by June 2019. Currently, the project is only 23% completed. When I saw the project is being delayed, my payments were delayed too I paid around 40% of the unit price. Now I received an email/letter from the developer on the final Legal Notice, or they would cancel my unit. Does the developer have such rights even though its a big delay from there end? If they cancel my unit, what % of my total paid money will I be refunded from them? I would appreciate your detailed and kind response in this matter, please. Thanks

Returning to the UAE with a debt in at the time of leaving

Q: I had to leave the UAE in 2015 due to losing the job and left a debt of AED 275000. I have a new job offer with a better salary now. I want to know if I can come back and pay monthly to the banks.

Clearing debts to avoid legal action of a collection agency

Q: Dear Sirs, I have checked online to seek legal advice and came across your site. I have lived in Dubai for a few years and returned to Beirut in 2009. I left back then during the financial crash that happened and had some unsettled debts with banks. Since then, I have communicated with the banks and settled most of my debts a few years ago but I still have some pending. In the past few days, debt collectors here in Lebanon have been calling and harassing members of my family threatening that they are about to file a lawsuit against me regarding unsettled debts in Dubai. They have never contacted me personally. I would please like to know what my options are here and how I can make them stop harassing my family or any other person in regards to me. I tried to communicate with them but they are not helpful at all. Currently, I am unemployed and I can`t pay back till I get another job and I`m being threatened with prosecution! Would really appreciate hearing back from you with any advice.

منع السفر إلى دول عربية بسبب دين مترصد في الإمارات

س: مرحبا. أنا لبناني كنت أعمل في الإمارت منذ حوالي الأربع سنوات. خسرت عملي ولم أجد عملاً آخر فاضطررت للعودة إلى لبنان وأنا مديون بما يقارب ال 200 ألف درهم. وخلال هذه الفترة كان يتم التواصل معي للتحصيل، ولكن لم أستطع أن أسدد إلا قرض صغير لأحد البنوك ( حوالي 12 ألف درهم)، أما المبالغ الباقي فعجزت عنها لأن الأجور في لبنان قليلة والمعيشة باهظة. الآن وبعد أربع سنوات، حصلت على فرصة عمل في إحدى الدول الأفريقة براتب جيد يخولني تسديد الدين كاملاً خلال سنتين. وكان علي أن أسافر إلى مصر للحصول على فيزا إلى أفريقيا لأنه لا يوجد سفارة لهذه الدولة في لبنان. وبعد انتظار شهرين للحصول على الفيزا المصرية تفاجأت بأنها رفضت بدون معرفة السبب، علماً أنني كنت قد سافرت إلى مصر منذ ثلاث سنوات. سؤالي هو: هل من الممكن أنه تم رفض الفيزا المصرية بسبب ديني المتعثر في الإمارات؟ هل يمكن أن يتم توقيفي في مطار لبنان أو أي دولة أخرى غير الإمارات بسبب الدين؟ وما هي الخطوات التي يجب أن أتبعها عندما أجهز لتسديد الدين وحتى أضمن إغلاق القضية نهائياً؟ شكراً جزيلاً.

Labour case hearing and ex parte judgement

Q: Hi Madam, Good Evening!! A labour case has been filed against my employer for the non-payment of salaries and final settlement at Abu Dhabi First Instance Court. The amount comes approx AED 95000. I`ve attended the hearing in Labor Court two times and the next date is given for 09-04-2019. But my company didn`t appear for any hearing in the court as the authorized personnel in my employer are in large and the company is like the status of a lock-out, not legally. While checking the case status online, the stage is shown as (متداولة في المحاكمة), which translated into English gave me output as circulated in the trial. Please advise what happens next. How many more times I have to attend the hearings? When can a final judgement be expected and is there any chance of getting money?

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Assistance in applying for a visit visa to the UAE

Q: Dear, I want to know why it is not possible to apply for a Dubai visit visa in my home country.

Action against a client for refusing to pay for provided services

Q: I have a contract. The client has not paid for the work and does not intend to. Please help, what can be done?

Refund of security deposit from the landlord at the end of tenancy

Q: I have vacated my flat in the first week of February. The old tenant made so many changes in the flat and the landlord knows about this one. They told me that they will not charge me. It was in 2016. Now, they refused to pay my security deposit back because they don`t have any proof whether they deducted from the old tenant or not. What can I do? Please help.

Cancellation of visa during the pendency of labor case

Q: My company is closed and I have 3 months` pending salaries, so I raised a case against my company. Now, I want to cancel my visa. When I went to cancel my visa in Tawafoq, they told me that there will be a ban for 1 year if I cancel it before my final case judgement. So is there any solution for cancelling my visa since I got a new job and they need my visa cancelled as soon as possible. Please give a reply as soon as possible.

Claiming EOSB after termination and leaving the UAE

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I continuously worked for a company in Abu Dhabi for 8 years. My contract was terminated last March 18. My gratuity has not been paid since then as the company kept stalling me by promising to pay it in my home country. I deeply regret trusting them. I am currently working outside the UAE and it had been more than 1 year after the termination of my contract. Given the above, can you please tell me what rights do I have at the moment?