Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Understanding the rights of the husband during divorce

Q: Hi, I’ve been married for 7 years with two beautiful children and we are expats living in Dubai (British). We decided to get divorced and I wanted to understand my rights in regards to the family name as she’s in media and uses my children as pawns on social media sites. She also puts up pictures that I don’t want to be associated with my family for legal reasons (alcohol-related as she doesn’t have a license and hosts paid media events illegally). Can I force her to change her surname? Do I have any rights over what pictures of my children are put up on media platforms? Do I have any rights over my family name relating to social media? Thank you

The legal consequences of defaulting on a bank loan

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I have a loan of AED 400,000 from a bank in Dubai. I got a termination and October 2017 was my last month at work. The bank made a case to the police for the balance amount which is AED 2500,000 as per their record. They stopped my visa procedures at my new company. Can you advise what to do?

Consequences of resigning while on probation

Q: I am under a limited contract with a DMCC company. The contract has been generated on the 5th of September 2017. Both parties signed on the 19th. The first day of work was the 25th of September. Which date is considered the official date of joining, so I can know if I am still on probation? What do I have to pay to my employer if I resign on probation? What is the compensation? Do I have a risk of getting a ban? Nadine

Parents liability for the actions of their minor children

Q: I am staying in a building in Al Nahdha, Dubai. The front glass door was broke 3 days back. According to the building owner and security, my son was standing near the door and it happened because of him. They say that I have to pay for the damages or they will refer it to the court. My son is 6 years old, and I would like to know if I am liable to pay the cost of the damages.

Filing a divorce case for domestic violence

Q: I am looking for legal advice on divorce in the UAE. I am Belarusian non-Muslim and my husband is Tunisian Muslim. We have 1.5-month-old daughter Belarusian citizen. The marriage contract was made in Tunisia and legalised in Tunisia, the UAE and Belarus. The father is mentioned in the daughter`s birth certificate. Since September, I stayed in Belarus and I am here with a daughter now. In April, I am travelling for the UAE visa validity (6 months) just for a week and coming back to work in July from maternity leave. I want to file for divorce as my husband had aggressive behaviour towards me, was physically violent 3 times during my pregnancy and abused me verbally. He also refused to support me while pregnant, and since August 20th, 2017, I was not able to work and I had no source for living while paying AED 5460 loan monthly, that was the reason of leaving back to Belarus for maternity. Can you please advise if my husband can ban my daughter while coming in April on a tourist visa? Also, what is the actual procedure to file a divorce in my case?

Respecting the notice period despite the absence of a visa

Q: I signed an offer letter with a new construction company and started working with them for almost a month. My visa is still under my previous company because it is still under process for cancellation. Now, I want to quit working with this new company because my boss is giving me a hard time. Can I quit my work without 1-month notice? Will there be any legal issues with me?

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Visa cancellation delay while urgently needed for the new company

Q: My office is in Abu Dhabi but the company gives me a Sharjah visa because my position is required in one of our projects in Sharjah. Now, I resigned and asked for cancellation but it is almost 1 month and my visa is not cancelled yet. My new company is asking for the cancellation, what should I do to make my old company give me my cancelled visa?

Special POA for opening a representative office abroad

Q: Good Morning, We are a UAE registered company and we are opening a representative office in the Republic of Belarus. For that, we need special POA. Could you assist us with that? Thanks and regards, Rania +971567788780

Filing for divorce in the UAE if marriage was outside

Q: I married in Poland, my wife is Polish and I am English. For the past 3 years, she has refused to live here and now has no residency visa. We have a 13-year-old son, and she is pregnant. She organized this by IVF treatment which was from a spermicide sample of mine without consultation. I am considering whether I can divorce in the UAE where I am a resident, and what would be the financial implications of doing so.

Arrest in a bounced cheque case filed by the bank after settlement

Q: Last October 2017, my security cheque for my personal loan bounced because I was two months delayed. When I found out that my cheque bounced, I coordinated with the bank, and they advised me that I need to submit a new cheque and new salary transfer certificate to them and they won`t file a case. I submitted the required documents and paid some amount as well. Last February 21, 2018, I was planning to go to Georgia for vacation and I was arrested due to a case filed by the bank. I was surprised because I knew that they will not file a case and no one from the bank informed me that I have a case. The case was filed last November 12, 2017, and I even had communication with the bank for loan re-structuring and during that time they didn`t even tell me that I have a case. I paid AED 10k fine for the case. I was really disappointed by the bank gesture. Why would I go to Georgia if I know that I have a case? I almost spent 5 days in jail. Please let me know your advice. Thank you very much.

Terminating employment contract by an employee who has no visa

Q: What if I signed a contract with my employer but I don`t have any employment visa yet, then I want to quit? do they have the right to make any problem for me?

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International marriage and validation in home country

Q: Hello. I am Irani citizen temporarily residing in Sweden while doing my masters, and I am willing to get married to a Palestinian girl holding the Swedish nationality. By the end of this year, we are planning to move to Iran for a while before my papers are sorted and we move back to Sweden. What papers do we need to validate our marriage in Iran, and how to fix her residency when we come as we might stay for more than one year there?

Is it safe to accept post-dated cheques to drop a fraud cheque case

Q: Hi, I invested AED 75,000 with a company that intended a takeover of CCTV installation, and the company is located in DAFZA with 4 partners. They made me sign an internal contract which wasn`t signed by all the partners and I never got a copy of the same signed by all 4 partners. I kept chasing them for the same as well as for MOA from DAFZA and name change on Trade Licence but got only excuses. Finally, after 3 months of chasing them, they informed me that they don`t intend to take over the company and wanted to divert my funds elsewhere. I refused and asked for a refund. They gave me a fraud cheque that got bounced due to the unauthorized signatory. I filed a police complaint, after which the authorized signatory was summoned by police. Later the signatory contacted me and wanted to settle it in 4 PDCs across 3 months but on a condition that I return him the fraud cheque which is the only proof I have proving his fraud intentions. Kindly advise if his demand for the return of fraud cheque is valid?

Drafting Terms of Service & Privacy Policy for a start-up

Q: Hello, We are a Dubai-based start-up and we are seeking a legal counsel or freelance legal advisor to draft Terms of Service & Privacy Policy, as well as vendor terms & conditions/ contracts. Please contact sam@bopi.ae if you are able to support. Thank you Samiha

Claiming unpaid fees by a company due to its administrative error

Q: Sir, Madam I signed in Dec. 2017 a business contract for a short audit assignment with a local AD company. The CEO of the company requested my services but recently resigned. The company paid the first payment on my private UAE account. But in Jan 2018, the finance department realised their mistake in the selection of contractors. They wanted a company and not a single entity. As requested, I gave all documents required for a new vendor registration counter-signed by my local partner company. After delivery of the preliminary report, as per contract terms, they still didn`t pay the 2nd payment for misalignment with the 1st beneficiary of the payment (me). They have launched an internal audit. The company has not followed the procedure, nor reacted quickly on the affair and tried to cover their internal error. What are my rights as an independent consultant not residing in the UAE? Can I file a legal case for the non-respect of payment & breach of contract? What is my/partner probability to win this case?

Labor contracts revision to advise on labor dispute

Q: Assalam Alaikom, I live and work in Iran for 4 years as a storekeeper in est. for food & beverage. I never had any problem, but my company was cutting my salary and did not pay my last 2 salaries until now. I told them I have family and need my salary but they did not help, and we argued till we reached a bad situation in the relationship. they told me not to come to work anymore and did not pay me anything. I was shocked that they made a case against me that I had a lot of mistakes and made them loses and they ask me to pay them money now. Please, tell me what should I do?