Workers can sign job offers and obtain visas abroad soon: Ministry

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) together with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratistion (MOHRE) 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 came following a presentation Saqr Ghobash, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, came across to review mechanisms of the offshore service centers in issuing work visas. The meeting was held recently at the MOHRE HQ in Abu Dhabi, witnessing the attendance of many officials from both ministries.
Ghobash suggested that establishing such centers guarantees offering quality services to customers, following as well the directives of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in that matter.
During the meeting, Saqr Ghobash stressed the importance of starting such projects, to be able to recruit workers into UAE’s private sector following the worker’s complete aware observation to his job offer and the attached annexes, which highlights their rights, duties and terms and conditions of employment and all privileges he is entitled to during his period of service, and of course presented in the language he can understand well.
“Such cooperation and partnership between both ministries ensures a transparent contractual relation between employers and workers which prevents any attempt to replace any job offers upon the arrival of the worker to the UAE, especially since the first measures required to recruit workers from abroad shall be supervised by the UAE government through the Foreign Affairs and international cooperation Ministry,” Ghobash said.
Adding, “The fulfillment of the initial contractual agreements within such service centers, according to the newly launched decrees which began earlier this year, has a beneficial outcome on the employers as well, especially since informing the workers about their job offers and its annexes then ensuring getting a signature on the job offer to complete the transaction, falls under the direct responsibility of the employer.”
For his part, 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 phase, the first phase includes the opening of four centers in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Kenya and Bangladesh.”
“The second phase, 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, the third phase 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, avoid deportation and medical quarantine costs post the medical examinations which could be done at these centers, also prevent the arrival of foreigners that had already been sentenced to deportation and finally confirm the identity of the person arriving to the UAE through a clear high-quality facial image and an eye-scan done at the center”.
He also added that “The project helps contribute to improving the level of customer services through its ability in alleviating overcrowding, help reduce the time needed to process applications and enhance connectivity with smart electronic gates at all ports of entry, plus provide an electronic copy of the employment contract to the workers which then shall be signed prior to visiting the center and before reaching the UAE for work.”
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 and Maher Al Obed Assistant Undersecretary for inspectional Affairs, Saif Al Suwaidi, Assistant Undersecretary for Services and Support, and a number of officials and concerned parties from the ministry, the meeting was also attended by Faisal Saeed Zouaydi and Nabeel Saleh Al Dhahiri representing the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry.
Employers are required to submit a detailed job offer prior to recruiting the 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.