Application forms for residency visas are available from the Immigration Department, and they must be typed in Arabic. Submit the application along with the essential documents, medical certificate and Dhs.100. All visa payments need to be done with e-Dirhams, which can be bought online at www.e-dirham.gov.ae, at vending machines inside the Immigration Department, or at typing shops. Alternatively, you can complete applications online at www.moieserv.ae.

It is essential that you fill out the names of your parents (including your mother’s maiden name) in the specified section. Once the application is approved (this may take up to a month), you will be issued with a permit of entry for Abu Dhabi and you must exit and re-enter the country. When you arrive back into Abu Dhabi airport, you submit the entry permit to passport control and your passport will be stamped. Alternatively, you can pay an additional fee of Dhs.500 to avoid the ‘visa run’. You may be required to have an iris scan, which will be done by the Immigration Department at Abu Dhabi airport. You should then submit your original passport to the Immigration Department, along with the original passport of your nominated sponsor, your medical certificate, four passport photos and Dhs.300, in order to get your permanent residency stamp. This can take anywhere from 10 days to two months or longer.

Once you have your residency stamp in your passport, your sponsor or employer may insist that they need to keep your passport. However, this is illegal as your passport is a personal document that belongs to the issuing government, and you should keep it with you at all times. Unfortunately though, some employers insist on holding your passport and there is little you can do to assert your right to keep it, apart from complaining to the Ministry of Labour.

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Previously the residency application proves involved obtaining a health card that entitled expats to use government hospital facilities. However, it is now compulsory for employers to provide health insurance for all workers. The type of policy you are entitled to varies according to your salary bracket, but it is illegal for the employer to pass any of the costs on to an individual. You are entitled to choose which company you use for medical insurance. There are over 30 approved companies to choose from in Abu Dhabi. See www.haad.ae for more details. Should you prefer, you also have the option of taking out a more comprehensive policy yourself.

Eventually, your new UAE National ID card will be used as proof of identity, your labour card, your driving licence, proof of health insurance for all medical facilities, e-payment, eGate, and transportation.

To work in the UAE you are legally required to have a valid labour card. The labour card can only be applied for once you have residency, but for employees on company sponsorship the process starts way before that. Before you are even granted an employment visa to enter the country, your company will have to get approval from the Ministry of Labour. You then enter on an employment visa, get a health card, take the medical test, and get the residency stamp in your passport. The company PRO then takes all of the relevant paperwork to the Ministry of Labour where the actual labour card will be issued (even though it has ‘work permit’ printed on the back).

The card features your photo and details of your employer. You’re supposed to carry the card with you at all times but it is highly unlikely that you will ever be asked to produce it. The process can also be quite slow, and it’s possible you may not receive your card for a few weeks, or even months, after starting work. The labour card costs Dhs.1,000 (paid by your company) and is usually valid for three years. It must be renewed within 60 days of expiry. Failure to do so will result in a fine (which your company will be liable for) of Dhs.5,000 for each year the card has expired.

If your employer is arranging your residency you will need to sign your labour contract before the labour card is issued. This contract is printed in both Arabic and English. It’s not necessarily your agreed ‘contract’ as such – most employees will sign a more comprehensive contract. Unless you read Arabic it may be advisable to have a translation made of your details, since the Arabic is the official version in any dispute.

However, if there is any discrepancy, the judge would want to know why your company got the details wrong in the first place.

Work is in progress to integrate the UAE National Identity Card with the Ministry of Labour and Health sector, which will enable card-holders to use it for a Labour Card, as an e-signature service for companies, and as a health insurance card.

To find out more about the application process, visit www.mol.gov.ae or call 02 665 1890.

Working On Family Sponsorship

If you are on a family residency and then decide to work, your employer, not your visa sponsor, will need to apply for a labour card. You’ll need to give your employer the usual documents including a letter of no objection (NOC) from your sponsor (usually your husband or father), your passport with residency stamp, attested certificates (if appropriate), passport photos, and usually a photocopy of your sponsor’s passport. The Labour Card will cost your employer Dhs.1,000, and must be renewed annually.

Holiday Jobs

Expat students who wish to work during the summer holidays should apply to the Department of Naturalisation & Residency for a permit allowing them to work legally.

The Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) has been given the responsibility of initiating a system in which all residents, nationals or not, must be in possession of a UAE ID card. The process is ongoing, with new centres opening up to deal with the administration. The aim is to secure personal identities and cut down on things such as fraud.

The card will eventually replace other cards, such as your health card and labour cards, but expats will still have to apply for them until the identity card is firmly introduced. The fee structure for the ID card is Dhs.100 for nationals, and the card will be valid for five years. Expat rates are linked to the length of residency visas; a resident with a one year visa will pay Dhs.100, up to two years costs Dhs.200, and three years is Dhs.300.

Under the threat of fines, suspension of bank accounts, and denied access to government services for late applicants, Nationals and expats have flooded to registration centres. Widespread confusion, reported problems with the website, jammed phone lines and four-hour queues at registration centres has seen various deadlines f appear and then be extended. A deadline for expats of 28 February 2009 has come and gone, but with thousands unable to secure even an initial appointment by that time, there appears to be some leniency from the authorities. The latest position is that expats will not be fined until December 2010, but they will lose access to certain government services if they miss the deadline. The best option is to check www.emiratesid.ae and local newspapers for the latest updates.