Location, Location, Location-Avoiding UAE Labour and Immigration Pitfalls
Type
E-journal
Date
11 Jun 2012
Jurisdiction
United Arab Emirates
Taxonomy
Contract & Conditions of Employment, Rights & Duties of Employees & Employers, Immigration Issues Relating To Employment, Expulsion, Nationality & Citizenship, Sentencing Powers & General Principles of Sentencing, Visas, Work Permits, Residence
Copyright
LexisNexis
Relevant company
Clyde & Co
Legal reference
Federal Law No. 6/1973, Federal Law No. 8/1980
Analysis
With the large proportion of expatriate workers in the UAE, employers are alive to the need to obtain authorisation for work permit and residency visa purposes in order to lawfully engage their employees. However, such authorisations will not only be employer specific but are usually also restricted in terms of location; an issue many employers often disregard.
As an employer, the issue of where your employees actually perform their work may not come high on your list of priorities. Providing employees are correctly sponsored for UAE residence visa (UAE Visa) and work permit (Labour Card) purposes, should it matter where these employees are actually based? The short answer is a resounding yes and, to the UAE Ministry of Labour (MOL) and General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners' Affairs (Immigration Authority), it can matter a great deal.
This article seeks to clarify the rules relating to where employees, who are legally sponsored by an entity 'onshore' in the UAE (meaning not in a free zone), are permitted to work.
What does the law say?