ABU DHABI – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has extended a two-month grace period to foreign residents who have overstayed their visas. The amnesty, which begins on September 1, will allow visa violators to regularize their status or depart the country without facing financial penalties.
The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Port Security announced the initiative on Thursday, emphasizing a desire to provide leniency to those in violation of the country’s immigration laws. The authority will waive fines and simplify procedures for those seeking to rectify their residency status or exit the UAE.
Details on the amnesty process, including eligibility criteria, will be released in the coming weeks.
Under normal circumstances, visa overstayers in the UAE are subject to daily fines. In a recent overhaul of the penalty system, the daily fine was reduced from Dh100 to Dh50 for all visa categories.
The length of a residence visa in the UAE varies based on the type of visa and the visa sponsor. While sponsored visas typically last one to three years, self-sponsored visas can extend up to five or ten years.
The amnesty period offers a reprieve to foreign nationals who may have inadvertently overstayed their visas due to various reasons.
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