# Housemaid visa run question



## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

colleague of mine is in the process of sponsoring a housemaid who is currently in the uae on a tourist visa, and in AD the rule is that immigration will not issue the pink entry permit unless she exits the uae first... unlike dxb where you can get the pink permit while she is still here but she still has to exit the country to change status...

as is common practice of sending housemaids to kish island on a visa run, he does not want to because of the horror stories of women being taken advantage of there... and sending her back to her home country is not an option as that country has currently banned maids working in the gcc... its nepal if anyone is super curious...

sending to mct is not an option because they wont let her go to mct unless she already has a pink permit to come back (which she would if she were being sponsored in dxb but not ad)... its a weird cycle...

so here is the question...

i understand she has to exit, but does she actually have to board the flight?

in other words, he books her a ticket back home... she uses the ticket to cross immigration, and then just does not board the flight... waits airside... while he processes the pink permit (which can be done in a few hours)... and then drops it off at the visa counter at the airport, and she just picks it up from there and comes back to immigration on the arrivals side?

would this work? or is there any known requirement that the maid has to physically leave uae airspace?


----------



## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

Not sure how this would work logistically as airport outbound and inbound passenger streams are kept totally separate - so going through departures and then trying to get through to arrivals would most likely not be possible.

In the case of an aborted departure the person who chooses not to board the flight would have to seek airline and security assistance in getting back into the landside part of the airport and I guess they would frown upon using this method just to get round visa issuance problems.


----------



## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

hmm good point... i never actually paid attention... 

fact that she has a nepali passport limits the options on where she can be sent... cant send her back to nepal because they wont let her exit the country again... and the only other options seem to be india (which is expensive) or kish island...

from what i hear kish island is pretty horrifying considering most people who go there are doing visa status change runs, and some get stuck there for days on end sharing rooms 8 -12 to a room because there are a limited number of flights and you cant "prebook" the return, you can only do it once you actually get to kish...


----------



## Froglet (May 7, 2014)

This is actually quite an interesting idea. On the one hand I think it could work. Why not, right? But on the other hand I am sure people have tried this before. They will probably look in your passport to see if you are allowed to enter back (if you have a visa) and if you are not allowed to enter they'll probably question you as to why they should let you get back to the arrivals area...


----------



## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

There's only one airport I know in the region where in and out streams are combined and that's Kuwait. It's a potential security nightmare.


----------



## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

LesFroggitts said:


> There's only one airport I know in the region where in and out streams are combined and that's Kuwait. It's a potential security nightmare.


Abu Dhabi as well, till a few months back.

If India is an option, return flights to India can be less than a 1000 Dhs esp. if taken during the day, and more so from Dubai. Mumbai on Indigo/ Spicejet/ AIr India / Air India express might be cheap?


----------



## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

thanks rsinner, ill inform him thusly...


----------



## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

sorry, follow up question...

a call to the ad helpline and he was told that because she is on a tourist visa, he needs to get approval from an administration official first before he applies for the housemaid entry permit at which point he can then actually go to a typing center and apply (which i would assume would be after she has left the country)...

has anyone done this before? how exactly is one supposed to get approval of an application even before they apply? sounds daft... would it be walking in to immigration and asking to see an administration official to get approval? do you have to show him/her something?

call center lady apparently just kept repeating "get approval" to all manner of questions asked in multiple ways... while in no way providing any insight as to how said approval needs to be obtained...


----------



## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

get a new house maid, why waste your time and money on this. Get a housemaid that has a valid visa without the additional hassle and cost


----------



## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

its not ours... ours is sri lankan... 

his wife likes this one and has her heart set on it... so it shall be...


----------



## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

imac said:


> its not ours... ours is sri lankan...
> 
> his wife likes this one and has her heart set on it... so it shall be...


get a new wife, why waste your time and money on this. Get a wife that cleans and cooks her self without the additional hassle and cost


----------



## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

Why doesn't her sponsor and her go to immigration, one visit, starts 7am, all done by lunch time. If the guy's wife can go so much the better, the queues are a lot shorter.

Why people even bother to ring call centres here is beyond me. Look, you don't get any relevant info from an agent, they just want to get rid of your call asap as the more they take the more they get paid. Don't even start me on the shear futility of emails either.

If you want something done, get off your spotty backside and go and get it done, IN PERSON, it's the only way here.


----------



## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

iggles said:


> get a new wife, why waste your time and money on this. Get a wife that cleans and cooks her self without the additional hassle and cost


Like the Russian?


----------



## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

The Rascal said:


> If you want something done, get off your spotty backside and go and get it done, IN PERSON, it's the only way here.


esp. in Abu Dhabi, as there seems to be no set process for anything.


----------



## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

he is planning to go on thursday morning along with the prospective maid in tow and with their respective passports...

would have been interesting if anyone had done this "special approval" before though, because now i am curious as well...

or i wait until thursday afternoon and find out...


----------



## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

iggles said:


> get a new wife, why waste your time and money on this. Get a wife that cleans and cooks her self without the additional hassle and cost


soft hands... they *do* make a difference...


----------

