United Arab Emirates

The new system of entry and residence aims at attracting and retaining global talents and skilled workers. 

Employers are prohibited from confiscating employees’ official documents and workers should not be forced to leave the country following the end of their work term. Employers shall bear the fees and expenses of recruitment and employment and shall not recover them directly or indirectly from the employee. 

The “100 Million Meal Campaign,” a food distribution campaign, was launched to support labourers and vulnerable families adversely affected by the pandemic during the holy month of Ramadan by providing meals and food parcels to them. Inspection visits were undertaken to worker housing camps to ensure proper implementation of precautionary measures and the cleanliness and sanitation of dining halls and common areas. Inspection visits were also extended to shops frequented by labourers, medical clinics and buses that carry them to work sites.

The UAE adopted Cabinet Resolution No. 22 of 2019 to supplement Federal Law No. 10 of 2017, establishing more protection for domestic workers by establishing their right to terminate their employment in the case of sexual harassment or physical or verbal abuse by the employer or if the employer fails to meet contractual obligations. Thus, the law protected domestic workers’ right to retain their personal documents receive mandatory time off, and have access to avenues of investigation and prosecution of contractual violations by employers or recruitment agencies.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) launched the “Early Leave” initiative in coordination with the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Civil Aviation Authority and the National Emergency and Disaster Management Authority to enable foreign workers in the private sector residing in the UAE who wish to return to their home countries during the COVID-19 lockdown/precautionary measures period to do so by bringing forward the date of their annual leave or by agreeing with their employer to take unpaid leave.

Ministerial Resolution No. 281 calls on all private establishments to limit the number of employees working on premises and labourers working on sites to not more than 30 per cent, with the implementation of social distancing and protective and sanitization measures, and to refer suspected COVID-19 cases to the health authorities.

Ministerial Resolution No. 279 aims at regulating the contractual relationship between employers and employees over the period during which precautionary measures for controlling the spread of the coronavirus pandemic are in place. It only applies to expatriates working in private sector companies that are registered with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.

The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship announced the extension of the exemption for “violators of the law of entry and residence of foreigners” and the extension starts from 18/8/2020 to 11/17/2020 whenever the violation occurred before 1/3/2020 and includes exempting them from all fines imposed on them, provided they leave the country.

The council of ministers approved on 31 March an amendment to decision No. 30 for the year 2019 pertaining to admitting the family members of foreign workers into the country, changing the requirement for admission from the profession of foreign workers to their income level.