# Repaying employment Visa fee after resigning



## Newlook89 (Dec 28, 2015)

Hi All,

Apologies if this has been answered previously but I have had a search and can not find exact answers from 2015.

I have received an offer letter of employment but I have a concern. It is stipulated that I will have to pay the full cost of the Visa if I resign within a year. Apparantly the cost could be anywhere between £9000 and £12000 AED is this correct?

Also I wanted to know if the situation would be any different if I resigned within the 3 month probation period, would I still need to pay that amount or anything at all?

I am not planning to leave before a year but I have to consider the repercussions if I did leave if I find that the job was not as expected. I would not like to be tied down in such a situation.


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## Jay21 (Jul 7, 2014)

Newlook89 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Apologies if this has been answered previously but I have had a search and can not find exact answers from 2015.
> 
> ...


Thanks for asking this question, as I have the same query. I have not yet joined my employment but my draft contract stipulates the same condition for resignation within an 18 month period. I understand this is pretty standard. They apparently also bill you the repatriation costs, site visit costs, and any other professional registration fees etc if this applies. it would be good to know what the financial 'hit' would be if we were to want to make an early exit.


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## Newlook89 (Dec 28, 2015)

Jay21 said:


> Newlook89 said:
> 
> 
> > Hi All,
> ...


Hi Jay21, yes this is a very important thing for me to consider before I leave as I would hate if in the situation where I want to leave I am faced with hefty fee's which would mean returning to the UK broke or even worse I can not afford to pay the balance!


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Although this is quite common, it is not legal to charge an individual for visa processing fees, however, other costs such as relocation/moving may be reimbursable. The documents you have received are letters of appointment/offer letters. Your contract that stands here is known locally as an 'Arabic' contract and you will only receive this once your visa is processed. It will not contain these terms. Be warned, however, that if you sign any document to say that you agree to reimburse for x, y or z, then you will probably have to pay the company back.

In terms of repayment, there are two types of visa contact - limited and unlimited. If you are employed on a limited contract, you will have to reimburse your employer if you leave before the two-year visa period. This is on a sliding scale according to how long you have worked. Equally, if your company terminates your employment before the end of the contract, they will have to pay you. The unlimited contract does not contain these terms.


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## Jay21 (Jul 7, 2014)

BedouGirl said:


> Although this is quite common, it is not legal to charge an individual for visa processing fees, however, other costs such as relocation/moving may be reimbursable. The documents you have received are letters of appointment/offer letters. Your contract that stands here is known locally as an 'Arabic' contract and you will only receive this once your visa is processed. It will not contain these terms. Be warned, however, that if you sign any document to say that you agree to reimburse for x, y or z, then you will probably have to pay the company back.
> 
> In terms of repayment, there are two types of visa contact - limited and unlimited. If you are employed on a limited contract, you will have to reimburse your employer if you leave before the two-year visa period. This is on a sliding scale according to how long you have worked. Equally, if your company terminates your employment before the end of the contract, they will have to pay you. The unlimited contract does not contain these terms.


Hi Bedougirl, I have been sent a draft contract which is an 'unlimited' contract but contains a clause which says that various costs are repayable if i were to leave before an 18 month period of employment. I think I will have to sign that, so would be bound by it.
If what you say is correct (not that I doubt it), could you tell us which law (or specific section of employment law) this is stated in? It would be good to see the wording of this. Also, can some companies be exempt from this law and make up their own contracts? thanks


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Jay21 said:


> Hi Bedougirl, I have been sent a draft contract which is an 'unlimited' contract but contains a clause which says that various costs are repayable if i were to leave before an 18 month period of employment. I think I will have to sign that, so would be bound by it.
> If what you say is correct (not that I doubt it), could you tell us which law (or specific section of employment law) this is stated in? It would be good to see the wording of this. Also, can some companies be exempt from this law and make up their own contracts? thanks


Hi Jay,
Please find below a link to the UAE Labour law.

http://www.gulftalent.com/repository/ext/UAE_Labour_Law.pdf

Please note that this law only applies to private companies in the UAE - not government employees. This means that some companies can in fact be classed as "government" and although their contract might mention that it follows UAE Labour law - if push comes to shove, you find that they are not actually under the Ministry of Labour for complaints and contract grievances.
In that case - their contract seems to be the rules that are followed.
Cheers
Steve


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## Jay21 (Jul 7, 2014)

Thanks Steve!


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## Standanista (Sep 26, 2014)

Stevesolar said:


> Hi Jay,
> Please find below a link to the UAE Labour law.
> 
> http://www.gulftalent.com/repository/ext/UAE_Labour_Law.pdf
> ...


Just to add to Steve's good advice, the issue of which law applies to government contracts is sometimes not clear, and the outcomes of past cases brought to court in the UAE have set conflicting precedents, from the few I'm aware of.

As a rule of thumb, if you don't have a labour card you're not covered by UAE Labour Law. In a Dubai government job, you would normally come under the Dubai Government Human Resource Management law No. (27) 2006 and amendments. However, a court may choose to decide that Federal law overrides an Emirate's (in this case Dubai's) local law in certain cases. Also, jobs which are in theory public sector but in practice some distance removed from Ministry or Authority level may be treated by a court as private sector for the purposes of which law applies.

The best thing is to check your contract, get the Arabic version translated and, once you're in the job, find out the story of how things have gone for past leavers by talking to current colleagues.

Coming under local public sector rather than Federal law is not necessarily a bad thing, by the way, as some terms may be more beneficial (and some not). The above Dubai law is less prescriptive than Federal law, for example, by saying that your "other" benefits are as stipulated in your contract. At the end of the day, it's important to know your contract, the key points of the law which apply to it, and (most importantly in my opinion) what's happened to folk on similar contracts who have left your organisation in the past. This latter point particularly applies to any penalties you may incur for leaving a fixed-term contract early, plus whether or not you're entitled to an annual increment or end of service gratuity.


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## Newlook89 (Dec 28, 2015)

BedouGirl said:


> Although this is quite common, it is not legal to charge an individual for visa processing fees, however, other costs such as relocation/moving may be reimbursable. The documents you have received are letters of appointment/offer letters. Your contract that stands here is known locally as an 'Arabic' contract and you will only receive this once your visa is processed. It will not contain these terms. Be warned, however, that if you sign any document to say that you agree to reimburse for x, y or z, then you will probably have to pay the company back.
> 
> In terms of repayment, there are two types of visa contact - limited and unlimited. If you are employed on a limited contract, you will have to reimburse your employer if you leave before the two-year visa period. This is on a sliding scale according to how long you have worked. Equally, if your company terminates your employment before the end of the contract, they will have to pay you. The unlimited contract does not contain these terms.


Thank you, do you know if there will be any difference if I resign during the probation perood?


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## Newlook89 (Dec 28, 2015)

Period*


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