Working for non-sponsor needs official nod

Employees who wish to work elsewhere while on the visa of another sponsor will require prior approval of both the sponsor and the Department of Naturalisation and Residency.

The ruling was pronounced by the Dubai Cassation Court in a case where a worker filed an appeal against the verdict of the Dubai Court of First Instance, which ordered him to be deported after paying a fine of Dh3,000.

The person, who was employed at a cafe, got the approval of his sponsor to work at a medical centre, but he did not have the go-ahead from the Department of  Naturalisation and Residency.

He, therefater, moved the Court of Appeals, which upheld the lower court's verdict.

He further appealed the Dubai Court of Cassation, which then invoked the above legal principle.

The court based its ruling on the Federal Law No. 6 of 1973, amended by Law 13 of 1996, which says workers are eligible to work in another institution only with the consent of the sponsor who issued the visa, as well as approval Department of Naturalisation and Residency.

Meanwhile, the worker said he was unaware of such a rule, to which the court replied ignorance of rules doesn't absolve him of criminal intent.