# Weird Situation | Visa for girlfriend



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

Hi guys, 

Here is a weird situation. I am living in Dubai and currently working for Emirates. I have been for nearly three years. My contract with Emirates ends this December. While I am positive that they will renew it, I cannot be too sure. 

Here's the crazy part though. I met a girl while working here this year. She joined Emirates in October last year. Unfortunately, due to some circumstances, she was terminated from Emirates as she did something rather stupid. She has until 20th September to remain in Dubai and then she has to leave. 

I want her to stay with me and I am considering getting married to her so she can stay. What will the procedures be like? 

1) Can I get a VISA for her even though I only have a few months left on my contract? 
2) Does she have to go back to her country before applying for her VISA again?
3) Can she work when she is here? Will any company sponsor her if they know she got terminated from Emirates? 
4) What are my options here to staying together? 

My current salary is around 4,000 AED + accommodation, although I am currently staying in accommodation provided by Emirates. 

Thank you all.


----------



## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Well first off, getting married for convenience to someone you only just met, is a really REALLY silly idea. Plus I don't think anyone here would marry you after such a short amount of time being together.

Emirates wouldn't process a spouse visa so close to your visa/contract ending - why would they go to all that expense and hassle for just a few months, to then have to do it all again.

2 - depends what nationality and passport she holds.

3 - depends what she did and if Emirates are putting an employment ban on her or not.

4 - if she's of a nationality that can do visa runs, just do that until she can find other employment.

I think 'love' is clouding your judgment on this one. You need to step back and look at it all logically.


----------



## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

why doesn't she just do a visa run? Leaves Dubai comes back and then has 30 days plus grace period


----------



## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

iggles said:


> why doesn't she just do a visa run? Leaves Dubai comes back and then has 30 days plus grace period


Depends on the passport. Not everyone is allowed to do that.


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

We are not sure if Emirates placed an employment ban on her or not, but I am concerned whether Emirates will go to the hassle of finding her a residency visa when they themselves terminated her.

I thought I would be able to handle the Visa on my own. If I can do the Visa process, does this mean I would need to find another place, because clearly she can't be staying with me at the Emirates accommodation, but do I need to do move prior to starting the process or can it be after?


----------



## Windsweptdragon (Aug 12, 2012)

JustAnotherU said:


> We are not sure if Emirates placed an employment ban on her or not, but I am concerned whether Emirates will go to the hassle of finding her a residency visa when they themselves terminated her.
> 
> I thought I would be able to handle the Visa on my own. If I can do the Visa process, does this mean I would need to find another place, because clearly she can't be staying with me at the Emirates accommodation, *but do I need to do move prior to starting the process or can it be after?*


The visa process? Or the getting married so you can get a visa process? 

You are definitely not going to be able to support two people on the salary mentioned. If your girlfriend has aspirations of staying she needs to get a job, if she does that she will get a visa, which means you don't need to make quick decisions on your marital status. 

If I were you marriage would be low down on list priorities. Finding out about bans would be highest. If you decide to get married here you are months away from being in a position to get a visa.


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

Windsweptdragon said:


> The visa process? Or the getting married so you can get a visa process?
> 
> You are definitely not going to be able to support two people on the salary mentioned. If your girlfriend has aspirations of staying she needs to get a job, if she does that she will get a visa, which means you don't need to make quick decisions on your marital status.
> 
> If I were you marriage would be low down on list priorities. Finding out about bans would be highest. If you decide to get married here you are months away from being in a position to get a visa.


Hi, thank you for your reply. She does want to stay, but I'm afraid she has no other choice than to go back right now. Also it's very hard to find a job in Dubai.


----------



## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

Whats her nationality? Why have you ignored this question. Its quite vital to your options.

Anyway, from my experience (not personally) a "ban" doesn't mean a "ban", just means your visa is expired and you get another job


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

iggles said:


> Whats her nationality? Why have you ignored this question. Its quite vital to your options.
> 
> Anyway, from my experience (not personally) a "ban" doesn't mean a "ban", just means your visa is expired and you get another job


She is a Mauritian. I don't think she got banned. It's not so easy to get another job though. She has until 20th September until she has to go back. 

What are my options?


----------



## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

JustAnotherU said:


> She is a Mauritian. I don't think she got banned. It's not so easy to get another job though. She has until 20th September until she has to go back.
> 
> What are my options?




Looks like she needs a visa and can't do a visa run, so not looking good. Marriage is the worst case. Her best case is to ring MOL find out her options, and apply for other jobs.


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

She has until 20th September to go back to her country. Let's say I get married to her before then and apply for a residency visa. Will she be able to stay here with me?

Then she can start to look for jobs. I think it's easier to find jobs while you are already in the country rather than being in her country. 

So, how do I go on about doing thins in a way that she doesn't have to go back to her country in a month?


----------



## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

You won't be able to get married in a church here, not in less than a month. They usually expect the couple to have been together for a reasonable amount of time. 

Church is the only option for Christians (I assume you are not muslim?) here. 

Your best option is if your girlfriend can manage to get a job. You should check first if she has a ban or not. It might be difficult to lift it.


----------



## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

Also regarding marriage, do you have all the correct documents

Getting married in the UAE - The official portal of UAE Government

Expatriates can also get married in the UAE, provided either the bride or the groom has a valid UAE residence visa. The other party must undergo a medical examination before their marriage.



Both parties need to provide:

Birth certificate
Original passports and copies of the residence/visit visas, as the case maybe
a marital status certificate stating whether the applicant is divorced, single or widowed attested either in the applicant's home country (by the respective foreign ministry and the UAE consulate) or in the UAE (by the applicant's consulate and the UAE Foreign Ministry)
and a Pre-marital Mutual Check Certificate

Ring MOL find out her options, but for your partner she will have learnt a very big lesson (for whatever she did wrong)


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

Thank you guys. 

Her termination decision hasn't been finalised yet since she has a right to appeal against it which she will, but to be honest, it's not looking good for her. 

I also think, that she will get an employment ban. Based on this: Dubai Visa Ban - Labour and Immigration Ban in Dubai UAE

She hasn't even been here for a year and they terminated her for something quite compromising. I think she is getting the ban. 

So some more questions:
1) If she does get a ban, there's no other option than for her to go back, right?
2) If she doesn't get a ban, what's the likelihood of her getting a new job in the customer service department after getting terminated from Emirates? I am assuming, not so much. 

I have no idea what to do and this is all stressing me out a lot.


----------



## Windsweptdragon (Aug 12, 2012)

iggles said:


> Both parties need to provide:
> 
> Birth certificate
> Original passports and copies of the residence/visit visas, as the case maybe
> ...


Even if you choose to get married somewhere it is much easier, like The Seychelles for example, as a minimum you will need to show:

Birth Certificates (do you have these with you, if not they will need to be couriered to you). 
Passports 
Affidavit of single status, I believe from both of you if you're not members of commonwealth (this is a notarised letter from a lawyer to state that you are single). 

Add to the above that to get and stay there will be fairy expensive (even with Emirates reduced flights). How much savings do you have? Enough to cover all of above if your girlfriend has no income and no savings?


----------



## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

I wanna know what she did wrong


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

iggles said:


> I wanna know what she did wrong


Sent via PM


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

Windsweptdragon said:


> Even if you choose to get married somewhere it is much easier, like The Seychelles for example, as a minimum you will need to show:
> 
> Birth Certificates (do you have these with you, if not they will need to be couriered to you).
> Passports
> ...


I have some savings at this point. Around 25 000 AED but I don't know how much all of this is going to cost me. My girlfriend has around 15 000 AED in savings.

What do you mean by staying there? You mean in Seychelles? It will be hard for me to leave the job anyway. So there's no other choice than maybe get married in December after I resign from Emirates (Contract over)


----------



## Windsweptdragon (Aug 12, 2012)

JustAnotherU said:


> I have some savings at this point. Around 25 000 AED but I don't know how much all of this is going to cost me. My girlfriend has around 15 000 AED in savings.
> 
> What do you mean by staying there? You mean in Seychelles? It will be hard for me to leave the job anyway. So there's no other choice than maybe get married in December after I resign from Emirates (Contract over)


By staying I just meant the amount of time you would stay in a hotel. In order to get married and then for marriage certificate to be attested you need at least a week. 

I wouldn't go blowing all of my savings on this if I were you, last thing you want at start of having to support someone until they are employed.


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

You are right and unfortunately she doesn't have access to special tickets (10%) now like me. The only ticket I can get her is at 60%. This is going to cost me a lot of money.


----------



## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Even if she has an employment/ labour ban, she MAY be able to get a job if a freezone company sponsors her. Of course she needs to find a job first. Not looking good.

Are you planning on staying in UAE after your contract gets over? She can always come back from Mauritius on a tourist visa for 30 or 90 days. Probably cheaper than getting married in a hurry.


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

rsinner said:


> Even if she has an employment/ labour ban, she MAY be able to get a job if a freezone company sponsors her. Of course she needs to find a job first. Not looking good.
> 
> Are you planning on staying in UAE after your contract gets over? She can always come back from Mauritius on a tourist visa for 30 or 90 days. Probably cheaper than getting married in a hurry.


That is the plan, yes. Unless something better comes along in another country in the next few months. 

The plan is for her to stay here with me for the next few months. Maybe, I will be here in the UAE next year. If yes, I don't think there's any other way than for her to get married to me and then find a job here. Certainly, it's much easier for her to find something while she is here. She is 23 and doesn't have much experience apart from around 2-3 years in customer service.


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

Just so everybody can chime in on this. My partner shared some confidential information, she shouldn't have to a third-party and she got terminated for it. She will, most likely, have an employment ban. 

Thank you all for the help.


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

... and to all of you who are wondering, she really wants to go ahead with the wedding thing too. So here is a summary. 

1) My contract with the company ends this December. I don't think there's going to be any problem about them renewing my contract. I plan on staying here.
2) She was terminated from her job last week which is less than a year since she was hired. 
3) I am positive, there will most likely be an employment ban on her, so she will not be able to work. 
4) My basic salary here is 3853 AED with 1810 AED for accommodation. I don't think supporting her is going to be easy if she comes here on a residence visa without any job, but we have some earnings saved up for the first few months prior to her getting a job.
5) She is 23 and I am 25. She is from Mauritius and I am from Ukraine and we are both non-muslims.

I would really appreciate if you guys can give me some pointers. Thank you.


----------



## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

I'm wondering if you can sponsor her on your salary? I don't think it's enough. Also, don't you need an Ejari lease to provide sponsorship to spouse and relatives?


----------



## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

iggles said:


> The other party must undergo a medical examination before their marriage.


This is only for muslim marriages. Doesn't apply to Christian marriages.

Employment bans can be overturned - for a fee of course, usually 3-5k.

But as I and others have said, if you plan on doing the marriage route, no church will marry you here as they like couples to have been together for at least 2 years and you have to attend counselling sessions beforehand and they decide whether or not they are willing to marry you. So if you intend to carry on with that, a better option would be to go somewhere, that you can have a quickie civil ceremony.

Have you considered though, that given the circumstances that your GF was terminated, that if you then married her and tried to sponsor her, that it would put your job in jeopardy? They would surely red flag it. Just something else to also be aware of.

Why doesn't she go and apply to Etihad, Fly Dubai or Air Arabia? The latter two pay more than Emirates anyway.


----------



## Windsweptdragon (Aug 12, 2012)

JustAnotherU said:


> ... and to all of you who are wondering, she really wants to go ahead with the wedding thing too. So here is a summary.
> 
> 1) My contract with the company ends this December. I don't think there's going to be any problem about them renewing my contract. I plan on staying here.
> 2) She was terminated from her job last week which is less than a year since she was hired.
> ...


You really have very few options. Your total salary is less than 6000 AED per month. Even if you manage to get married in the next four weeks (which as everyone has shown will be extremely difficult and potential cost a substantial amount of money) where will you stay after that? Will Emirates let your wife stay in your room in what I presume is shared apartments? If not you will have to rent somewhere else, for a room in an apartment somewhere you're looking at a minimum of 3000 AED per month. If you do that you won't get an Ejari certificate, that was vital in getting a visa for my wife. 

Do you get picked up by Emirates bus to go to work? If so you'll have to get to the bus still or pay to get to work somehow?

I don't think anyone here is 'against' you getting married as such, but you have to look at things realistically. At the moment you playing with a lot of 'ifs'. Until you know she is banned or not you can make no plans. If you are contemplating not staying here after December, I would wait and see if her absence makes your heart grow fonder or not. It is essentially 3 months away now. 

I wish you all the best, but I don't see how you can make this work in your current situation. Please keep us updated though, it would be nice to see a happy ending.


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

BedouGirl said:


> I'm wondering if you can sponsor her on your salary? I don't think it's enough. Also, don't you need an Ejari lease to provide sponsorship to spouse and relatives?


I am not sure about Ejari lease..




Chocoholic said:


> This is only for muslim marriages. Doesn't apply to Christian marriages.
> 
> Employment bans can be overturned - for a fee of course, usually 3-5k.
> 
> ...


Not sure she will get a job at Etihad, Fly Dubai or Air Arabia if she has been terminated at Emirates right? Wouldn't they know about it if they check with the MOL? 




Windsweptdragon said:


> You really have very few options. Your total salary is less than 6000 AED per month. Even if you manage to get married in the next four weeks (which as everyone has shown will be extremely difficult and potential cost a substantial amount of money) where will you stay after that? Will Emirates let your wife stay in your room in what I presume is shared apartments? If not you will have to rent somewhere else, for a room in an apartment somewhere you're looking at a minimum of 3000 AED per month. If you do that you won't get an Ejari certificate, that was vital in getting a visa for my wife.
> 
> Do you get picked up by Emirates bus to go to work? If so you'll have to get to the bus still or pay to get to work somehow?
> 
> ...


Maybe I should just wait yes


----------



## JustAnotherU (Aug 22, 2015)

Hey guys, 

Just another thing I wanted to know, am I going to get into trouble if somehow the authorities think we are getting married just because of the visa? I do really like this girl, although we haven't been together for really long. 

Was just having this thought today.


----------



## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

JustAnotherU said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> Just another thing I wanted to know, am I going to get into trouble if somehow the authorities think we are getting married just because of the visa? I do really like this girl, although we haven't been together for really long.
> 
> Was just having this thought today.


no.
they just care about the piece of paper.

Its not as if you are going to claim citizenship or anything.


----------



## Jinx (Jul 2, 2010)

I can't offer you advice on the whole marriage thing.. although my husband and I were married in Dubai after dating only 9 months, so it's possible, but they WILL be interviewing you guys to find out the info...

But I can offer you some life advice if you wish to take it.... use your benefit of being able to travel to visit her a few times in MRU. If your relationship can withstand the test of distance, then perhaps you can take the next step and plan a proper marriage. Sure, it seems like the end of the world right now, but a big life decision like this needs just a bit more time! Not like I am judging since we only had 9 months  but I hope you understand what I mean.


----------

