UAE residents throng immigration departments to make sense of new visa rules
By Marten Youssef, Staff Reporter (Gulf News)
Published: July 29, 2008, 13:32
Abu Dhabi: Hundreds of residents filled the visa and immigration department from Tuesday morning, hoping to make sense of the new rule changes.
The new visa regulations, which took effect on July 29, were intended to weed out those who are abusing the system and implementing a more rigorous procedure.
For Ayub Shaikh, an Indian national who has been a resident of the UAE for 10 years, welcomes this change as a step forward in the right direction.
"For me, this is much easier today. I am applying to bring my mother. Before, I could only bring her here in increments of three months and I would have to apply and pay every three months. Now, I can bring her here on a resident visa under my name and have her stay for one full year. I only have to pay Dh1,000," he said, emphasising on the fact that the pay is merely a deposit.
Erwin Tauma, a Filipino resident of Abu Dhabi for the past two years, said the process is making it far more difficult for him and his wife to bring their family members over.
Sitting in the typing office next to the visa department, Tauma said: "I can't believe how confusing this is. Not only that, but the prices have drastically increased. It's almost impossible for me and my wife to bring over my sisters to visit. Now we have to pay 600 per person plus a Dh1,000 deposit."
(Courtesy – Gulf News)
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