Expat workers to sign job offers before arriving in UAE: Ghobash

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation together with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratistion have started taking necessary arrangements enabling workers to sign job offers back home through Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation service centers to issue entry work visas.

This was revealed during a presentation by Saqr Ghobash, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, to review mechanisms of the offshore service centers in issuing work visas. The meeting was held recently at the MOHRE headquarters in Abu Dhabi, which was attended by officials from both ministries.

Ghobash suggested that establishing such centers as per directives of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, guarantees quality services to customers.

The minister stressed the importance of starting such projects, to enable recruiting workers into UAE’s private sector, who are fully aware of their job offers and the attached annexes with regards to their rights, duties, privileges as well as terms and conditions of employment. And, of course, it is presented to them in the language they can understand well, he added.

"Such co-operation and partnership between the two ministries ensure a transparent relation between employers and workers, thus preventing any attempt to replace job offers upon the arrival of employees to the UAE. Especially so, since the first measures required to recruit workers from abroad shall be supervised by the UAE government through the Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Ministry," Ghobash said.

"The fulfillment of the initial contractual agreements within such service centers, according to the newly launched decrees that began earlier this year, also benefits employers since informing the workers about their job offers and its annexes before getting their signatures on the job offer, falls under the direct responsibility of employers," he added.

Visa-issuing centers

Ahmed Saeed Al Dhahiri, Assistant Undersecretary for Consular Affairs at the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry, said, "The ministry shall open visa-issuing centers according to a plan based on three phases. Phase I includes the opening of four centers in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Kenya and Bangladesh."

"Phase II, which will be completed this year, will include the opening of 10 other centers, including four centers in India and the other in Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Senegal and Nigeria. While Phase III  shall commence during the current and the next year by opening three other centers in India, and three in Pakistan, in addition to two others in Egypt and Nigeria," Al Dhahiri said.

Visa issuing centers, Al Dhahiri points out, shall provide administrative services associated with the issuance of entry permits to the UAE, which includes service such as validating entry documents, medical examinations, and fingerprinting.

"Such centers has a major milestone effect, it will reduce fraud or identity theft cases by verifying the attendee via the passport, in addition to reducing the spread of infectious diseases into the UAE, avoiding deportation and medical quarantine costs post medical examinations which could be done at these centers. It will also prevent the arrival of foreigners that had already been sentenced to deportation and finally confirm the identity of people arriving to the UAE through a clear high-quality facial image and an eye-scan done at the center".

Al Dhahiri said, “The project helps contribute to improving the level of customer services through its ability in alleviating overcrowding, helping reduce time needed to process applications and enhancing connectivity with smart electronic gates at all ports of entry, plus providing an electronic copy of the employment contract to workers.”

The meeting was attended by Mubarak Al Dhahiri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation; Humid bin Deemas Al Suwaidi, Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs; Maher Al Obed Assistant Undersecretary for inspectional Affairs; Saif Al Suwaidi, Assistant Undersecretary for Services and Support; Faisal Saeed Zouaydi and Nabeel Saleh Al Dhahiri representing the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry; and a number of officials from the ministries.

Employers are required to submit a detailed job offer prior to recruiting workers into the country, which contains a comprehensive description of the rights and duties of each side towards each other and in a language they can understand.

The ministry also obliges the employer to attach the job offer with the work permit application after signing it from both ends, then the labour contract shall be extracted from the ministry’s database when the worker arrives to the UAE which shall be signed by both parties to officially register the case at the ministry and issue the legal work contract which shall not be modified unless both agree to doing so before the ministry and of course without affecting the workers’ rights.

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