UAE visit visa holders who overstay will face heavy fines

Visitors or tourists, whose visit visas have expired after 1 March, will have to face fines starting 11th September.

An Amer call center agent said the penalty for overstay is Dh200 for the first day. “The exact fine amount will be calculated by the immigration authorities at the airports. The fines are Dh200 for the first day of overstay, Dh100 each consecutive day, and Dh100 as service fees.”

However, the exact date of the calculation of overstay fines is yet to be determined. The agent said, “Only immigration authorities will be able to tell how the amount will be calculated, based on visa information”.

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Another agent said, “We have not received any intimations about an extension of visa validity”.

The UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) had announced in August a one-month extension for visitors whose entry permits expired after March 1. However, the extension has ended on 11th September.

“The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship extends the grace period for holders of expiring entry permits, starting from August 11 for a period of one month, with the aim of enabling them to leave the country with exemption from all fines during this period,” the ICA announced earlier in a tweet.

On the other hand, the UAE had announced in July that “holders of the visit or tourist visas that expired after March 1 must leave the UAE within one month from July 11. That is by August 11”.

Afi Ahmed, managing director of Smart Travels, has said that a majority of people staying on a visit visa have already enjoyed extensions.

He said, “We had no last-minute applicants. Earlier, between August 8 and 9, the agency saw 5,000 to 6,000 new applications. This month, we had about 595 applications. I’m not sure if those who did not extend have left the country.”

Harish Kumar, managing director of Jubilant Group, added: “Unlike last time, we didn’t have a lot of last-minute applications. A large segment of our customers is Indians. They have all changed their status and many have also applied for the one-month extensions. We have seen a few last-minute applications from members of the Nigerian community.”