The UAE visa amnesty is easing stress on the system and in residents' lives

Visa amnesty center at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs Dubai in Al Awir area in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

The first week of the UAE’s eight-week visa amnesty programme – in which people who have overstayed in the country are given a chance to regularise their stay or leave without penalties – is drawing to a close. The amnesty applies to anyone in the country with a visa that expired before September 1, though it does not apply to those who entered the UAE illegally.

The last time the country held a visa amnesty programme, in 2018, 105,000 people, a little over 1 per cent of the population, took advantage of the opportunity. The presence of so many overstayers was simultaneously a source of concern and a symptom of the country’s dynamism. The UAE is a welcoming destination for those seeking opportunity, but its pro-migration policies make it tempting for many to circumvent the rules to extend their stay. In some cases, those policies are also exploited by unscrupulous agencies and even criminal networks.

The result is a strain on elements of law enforcement, the labour market, and, not least, the lives of those who have overstayed. Anyone living in another country, without legal documents such as a valid visa, falls into the shadows. They often lack health insurance and are vulnerable to exploitation. Most overstayers are jobseekers, but some are victims of fraud or, in extreme cases, human trafficking. Fearful of penalties if they approach authorities, some end up separated from their families back in their home countries for years. The National interviewed such people in the UAE at the country’s visa amnesty centres this week.

The damage done to people’s lives by prolonging such a situation makes visa amnesties an important part of the policy toolkit. They allow authorities to understand better who is in the country and why, and also help to bridge gaps in the labour market. This week, some amnesty centres have played host to job recruiters looking to hire from the pool of those wishing to remain in the Emirates.

For a country poised for continued population growth and an accompanying economic boom over the next decade, managing policies to continue as an attractive destination for foreign workers is critical.

Visa amnesties are ultimately a stopgap, and UAE policymakers know this. In recent years, the country has introduced a host of new legislation and regulations that make it easier for people’s presence in the Emirates to remain above-board, and to prevent those whose stay would be unsustainable from entering. The introduction of jobseekers’ visas is one such measure, as is the 10-year golden visa for those who merit more flexibility in the labour market. This year, authorities stopped those who arrived at UAE airports on visitor visas without a return ticket or sufficient funds.

Migration is one of the most complex portfolios for any government. A host country’s policies towards newcomers is a reflection of its own aspirations. It is a theme as old as the history of human migration itself: people move to new places in search of a second chance, and they tend to thrive when they are given one, as the UAE has made evident.