# Repayment of visa costs



## ThomasC (Jul 5, 2012)

Hi,

I resigned from my job last Sunday, the day after my 6 months probation finished. I have been in dispute with the company all week as they are requesting visa costs back. 

In my contract it says that in the event of unsuccessful completion of the probation the employee will be required to pay the full cost of the visa. I resigned a day after the probation finished but they are still requesting I pay back.

Furthermore, I was not paid the Aed 1,000 WPS allowance, as per the contract, for the first three months, then for months 4-6 I was paid it then asked to repay it to the company (along with the rest of my colleagues). Does this mean they are automatically in breach of the contract and am I liable for any costs?


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## earthworm88 (Jun 14, 2013)

"Authorities in the UAE have publicly stated on many occasions that an employer cannot recover recruitment costs from an employee. Ministerial order 52 of 1989, Article 6, makes it quite clear that anyone seeking a job cannot be charged a fee nor can an employer ask an employee to cover this expense, even if they do leave sooner than expected. Likewise no employee should be asked to pay for their residency visa or labour card...." 

Can a UAE employer recover recruitment costs from an employee? | The National

I think it may be best to seek advice at the Ministry of Labor and file a complaint against your ex-employer if they continue to harass you.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Except earthworm88, the cost of a visa isn't a recruitment cost - its an employment cost and there is a difference. The former is designed (according to our HR) to stop companies billing people for being brought into the country e.g. effectively coming in already owing a lot of money.

Once they are in, its not unreasonable to recover costs of employment such as arranging a visa etc, but the costs must be those expended in the country by the employer and not any monies paid to the employer by the employee.

That said, the OP should just go straight to the MOL with all their document and it'll get sorted toute suite


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## earthworm88 (Jun 14, 2013)

Apologies....tried to find the specific law article to support this, but not having any luck. However, a few HR people I know had verified that they are not allowed to recover any visa costs regardless of when the employee was terminated as instructed by their legal team. 

Here is an excerpt from a newspaper article:

"Abu Dhabi: No employer is allowed to withhold any amount from an employee's salary or *deduct visa fees* or any other charges, according to a Labour Ministry official.

Obaid Rashid Al Zahmi, Assistant Undersecretary at the ministry, told Gulf News that visa charges should be paid only by the employer. "It's against the labour law to deduct money from the employee for any charges," he said...."

Employer cannot deduct visa fees | GulfNews.com


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## ThomasC (Jul 5, 2012)

*Thanks*

Guys,

Thanks for all the help, much appreciated.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

earthworm88 said:


> Here is an excerpt from a newspaper article:


The article and the examples quoted are all about during the period of employment and not about termination situations. Its about companies making unauthorised deductions while working there, and as the taking of money in advance as a method of extortion.


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