Overstay, Grace Periods and Fines in UAE Law: Article 64 and Cabinet Resolution 89 of 2022 Explained

“the Chairman may, at any time, cancel any visa or residence permit prior to the expiry of its term, for reasons related to the public interest or in case the Foreigner violates the provisions of this Law by Decree”Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021, Article 10

In plain English

The ICP Chairman can cancel a visa or residence before its end date for two kinds of reason:

1. The public interest.
2. The holder has broken the immigration law, its Regulation or the resolutions under it. (Two serious crimes, smuggling people and forgery, are dealt with through the courts instead.)

“shall be subject to an administrative for each day he resides illegally in the State as of the date of the expiry of these periods. The value of said fine shall be determined by a Cabinet resolution.”Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021, Article 11

In plain English

If your visa or residence is cancelled or expires, you must renew it (where that is allowed) or leave within the time the Regulation allows. If you do neither, you pay a fine for every day you stay illegally after that time. The Cabinet sets the amount; today it is AED 50 a day (see Resolution 89 below).

“The ICA Competent Authority shall have the power to suspend granting Visas to the Guarantor or the Host Party of the Foreigner if it is proven at any time that the provisions regulating the entry of the Foreigners have not been complied with.”Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2022, Article 61

In plain English

• ICP tracks foreigners who stay past their visa, and those whose residence or temporary work permit expires without being renewed or regularised on time.
• If a sponsor or host breaks the entry rules, ICP can stop giving that sponsor new visas.

Example

A company brings in visitors who then stay illegally. ICP can block the company from issuing further visas until the problem is fixed.

“Those who employ The Foreigners without a Permit to do so”Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2022, Article 62(2)

In plain English

ICP carries out inspections to find people breaking the law, especially:

1. People who enter illegally, and those who smuggle or help them.
2. People who employ foreigners without a permit.
3. Employers who bring workers in but do not employ them, letting them work for others instead.
4. Workers who work for someone other than their sponsor.
5. Anyone committing other immigration violations.

Under Article 63, ICP works with the other authorities to run these inspections together.

“on condition that they do not exceed in their entirety a period of (6) six months from the date of cancellation or expiry of the Residence Permit”Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2022, Article 64(1)

In plain English

ICP charges a fine of no more than AED 100 for each day a foreigner stays illegally. The fine starts the day after one of these ends:

1. The time allowed to stay after a residence is cancelled or expires (the grace period). A resolution sets this period for each category of resident, but it can never be more than 6 months in total.
2. The permitted stay on a visa that cannot be renewed.
3. 7 days after an exit permit is issued to someone who broke the immigration law.

The Cabinet issues the list of violations and fines. That list is Resolution 89 of 2022, below.

Example

Samir’s Dubai residence is cancelled on 1 June. With 60 days of grace, his last legal day is 31 July. If he is still in the UAE without a new status on 5 August, he owes 5 days at AED 50: AED 250.

“An individual who has left the State and has been outside the State for more than (3) three months, and his identity card has expired after the date of his departure from the State.”Cabinet Resolution No. 89 of 2022, Article 4(1)(a)

In plain English

These people do not pay the fines in the table:

1. Someone who left the UAE, has been away for more than 3 months, and whose Emirates ID expired after they left.
2. Someone whose residence or ID expired because they were deported by order, administrative decision or court ruling, or because their passport was held for a pending case. They must prove this with a letter or receipt from the authority concerned.
3. A new Emirati citizen, for the period before citizenship and the family book, when no ID card had been issued.

The ICP Chairman can also waive all or part of any fine for humanitarian reasons or other reasons he considers right.

Example

Grace leaves the UAE in January for a long family stay abroad. Her Emirates ID expires in March while she is away. Because she has been outside for more than 3 months and the card expired after she left, the late-renewal fine does not apply.

“Financial fines shall be imposed for the violations listed in the Annex to this Resolution.”Cabinet Resolution No. 89 of 2022, Article 2

In plain English

• Article 1 defines its terms, including “establishment”, “civil facts” (birth, marriage, divorce, death) and “identity card”.
• Article 2 says the fines are those in the annex (the table above).
• Article 3: ICP collects the fines, which go to the federal treasury.
• Article 5: exemptions are recorded in ICP’s electronic system.
• Article 6: the ICP Chairman issues the rules for applying the fines, including their timing and mechanism.
• Articles 7 and 8: anything contrary is repealed, and the resolution applies from 3 October 2022.

“settle the situation of violators of the provisions of this Law by Decree, its Executive Regulation and the resolutions issued in implementation thereof, organise exemption cases, and impose fines on administrative violations”Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021, Article 35

In plain English

• Article 34: the Cabinet decides which acts are administrative violations and what sanctions apply. This is on top of the criminal penalties in the law. Resolution 89 of 2022 is one such decision.
• Article 35: the Cabinet can settle the situation of violators, organise exemptions, and set fines for administrative violations. This is the legal basis for the UAE’s periodic amnesty and grace schemes.