# Security Clearance for Resident Visa



## aawasthi001

Hi,

I'm a Canadian citizen, born in Pakistan. My resident visa (I own a company in RAK Free Zone) was recently refused (not officially rejected) by RAK (Ras al Khaimah), but the staff at the immigration office notified me that all individuals (either currently or have been a citizen of: Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Iran) are not to be issued resident visa. I was also told that though this is not an official policy (yet), but they've been instructed for the refusals. Thus the immigration department is accepting applications for the above-mentioned countries' applicants, but are not issuing resident visa to them.

I re-applied 3 weeks ago, and spoke today with the RAK immigration department and was told my application was again denied due to security reasons. I tried to explain to them that I've traveled to UAE thrice (as a tourist), but they cannot help me.

Any idea as to how I can get this problem resolved? Is there a tel# or email address for the security department? I need to be UAE as my work is suffering.

Need help


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## w_man

Hmm - No idea how RAK works but this really sucks. Have you been talking to the Free Zone body about this only? Or have you discussed this directly with an Immigration/Residency officer?

I have a company in Media City Free Zone so I generally do most of my residency/immigration related stuff through their office (in knowledge village) but I was told that if I wanted to handle my residency matters directly with Dubai governing body - I could do so by visiting the Dubai Naturalization & Residency government office.

Is there an equivalent of this government office in RAK? If so, perhaps you can go directly to them and have this discussion as the Free Zone guys may not have any information - they are just the 'middle man'.

GL and hope this gets resolved.


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## aawasthi001

w_man said:


> Hmm - No idea how RAK works but this really sucks. Have you been talking to the Free Zone body about this only? Or have you discussed this directly with an Immigration/Residency officer?
> 
> I have a company in Media City Free Zone so I generally do most of my residency/immigration related stuff through their office (in knowledge village) but I was told that if I wanted to handle my residency matters directly with Dubai governing body - I could do so by visiting the Dubai Naturalization & Residency government office.
> 
> Is there an equivalent of this government office in RAK? If so, perhaps you can go directly to them and have this discussion as the Free Zone guys may not have any information - they are just the 'middle man'.
> 
> GL and hope this gets resolved.


Cannot visit the office in person as I'm in Canada, and not even sure if I'd get a visitor visa due to this security issue. I did call the RAK Immigration office and was informed about the security issue. They wouldn't release any information (tel# or email) for the security department so that I could get it cleared.

Hopefully someone on this forum can provide any information.


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## Andy Capp

So what you're saying is that you're a pakistani who took advantage of the fact that Canada give their passports away too easily.

Do you also realise that Canada have recently had a big argument with UAE....


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## aawasthi001

Andy Capp said:


> So what you're saying is that you're a pakistani who took advantage of the fact that Canada give their passports away too easily.
> 
> Do you also realise that Canada have recently had a big argument with UAE....


Yes, I am well aware of the landing rights dispute, and hope that my issue is not in retaliation to that.

As for easy access to Canadian citizenship, I moved from Pakistan to Canada around 15 years ago.


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## Jynxgirl

Both your passports are working against you right now.

United Arab Emirates Travel Advice and Advisories | Government of Canada

*Employment *

Terms and conditions of employment should be clearly established in writing prior to arrival in the UAE. It is customary for a local sponsor to retain an employee's passport, but this is not required under UAE law. Should a dispute arise, the UAE Ministry of Labour has established a special department to review and arbitrate labour claims. A list of local attorneys is available from the Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate of Canada in Dubai. 

This page has some numbers you can call to see if you can find the department who will review. 

UAE Ministry of Labour


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## Sparkysair

There seems to be a lot of this going on at the moment. I have a colleague in Abu Dhabi who is Lebanese and has just had her work visa revoked after a year apparently because she's a 'security risk'. She's been told she can stay in Abu Dhabi but not work and they have said it's linked to her being a Shi'a Muslim. My client is desperately trying to get a visa for a new employee who again is Lebanese but with a Canadian passport and it's being blocked. My company's HR dept are having real trouble getting visas for anyone from Arab countries apparently.


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## aawasthi001

Jynxgirl: Since moving to Canada I have maintained Canadian passport only.

Sparkysair: I have also heard similar stories + I'm in the same boat. Any idea as to how your HR dept is tackling this issue? Any contact information for the security office?


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## expatman2012

*UAE Visa Changes !!??*



aawasthi001 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm a Canadian citizen, born in Pakistan. My resident visa (I own a company in RAK Free Zone) was recently refused (not officially rejected) by RAK (Ras al Khaimah), but the staff at the immigration office notified me that all individuals (either currently or have been a citizen of: Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Iran) are not to be issued resident visa. I was also told that though this is not an official policy (yet), but they've been instructed for the refusals. Thus the immigration department is accepting applications for the above-mentioned countries' applicants, but are not issuing resident visa to them.
> 
> I re-applied 3 weeks ago, and spoke today with the RAK immigration department and was told my application was again denied due to security reasons. I tried to explain to them that I've traveled to UAE thrice (as a tourist), but they cannot help me.
> 
> Any idea as to how I can get this problem resolved? Is there a tel# or email address for the security department? I need to be UAE as my work is suffering.
> 
> Need help


I am having the same problem...
I am a US citizen, and RAK Free Zone is refusing to issue a residency/investor visa for me....RAK representative tells me that I CAN register a company in the RAK Fee Zone, however, I can NOT get a residency/ investor visa, which was usually a 3-year visa.
I was able to get both ( registering a FZE and getting a 3-year Investor visa ) in RAK last year, but this year they tell me that I can only register a Free Zone Establishment company in the RAK Free Zone, but I will NOT be able to get the 3-year investor visa, which would mean having to constantly travel back and forth to UAE for business which can become very expensive, not to mention the fact that usually when a person registers a company in a Free Zone, he/she also plans on living in UAE, close to their business.....otherwise it kind of ruins the whole idea of wanting to register a company in a free zone in RAK.
I must mention the very key fact here.... 
The reason RAK is refusing to give me an Investor visa, according to RAK representative, is that "place of birth" in my US passport is "Iran".....although I have spent most of my life in the US, my studies, work experiences, life experiences, basically my whole life has been in the US, but simply because of my "place of birth" I am now being refused the investor visa in RAK.
RAK does want the money, so I am allowed to pay fees to register the company,
RAK does not want people whose "place of birth" is not on their favorites list.
I was advised by RAK representative to consider other emirates in UAE and other free zones.
My concern, however, is that what guarantee does one have that once they invest the time and money to register a company in a free trade zone somewhere else in UAE, that in the future ( could happen anytime without warning ) that particular free trade zone in another emirate would not do the same thing as RAk is doing now....time and money invested, and then unable to have the visa to stay and take care of the company and be able to operate it closely....
Do you think things like this are going to get better or worse ?
Political stability is a must for business investment and prosperity, and such stability is starting to look questionable under some circumstances, not good for business !
I guess this is all due to the current political frictions...politicians play politics, and ordinary people have to suffer the consequences... does not seem fair but I guess that is the reality on the ground these days.
If anyone has any informative comment that could shed some light on the situation, I would really appreciate it.


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