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13 December 2024

2 month jail, Dh100k fine for hiring illegals

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By Staff

The UAE’s top court has overturned a ruling by a lower court to fine an employer Dh50,000 for hiring an illegal migrant, saying the court failed to comply with the law involving two months in prison and Dh100,000 fine.

A court in Sharjah had earlier acquitted the employer and sentenced the worker who had sneaked illegally into the UAE to one month in jail and ordered his deportation.

But the prosecutor appealed the sentence on the grounds the UAE’s federal law includes a punishment of two months in prison and Dh100,000 against any employer who recruits or shelters illegal migrants.

An appeals court abolished that verdict and fined the employer Dh50,000, prompting the prosecutor to appeal again with the Federal Supreme Court (FSC).

According to the Dubai-based Arab language daily Emarat Alyoum, FSC overturned the previous ruling and sentenced the employer to two months in prison. It also ordered him to pay Dh100,000 fine in accordance with the federal labour and immigration laws.

“The FSC said that it found the court’s ruling in convicting the employer was right but it failed to fully enforce the law by imposing a fine of Dh50,000, which is far below the penalty set in the law… it also failed to imprison the employer and this is considered a violation of the labour and immigration law on the part of the court,” it said.