The photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Major General Saeed Rakan Al-Rashdi, Director-General of Foreigners Affairs and Ports at the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, said during the briefing that the crisis contributed to restricting the movement of individuals to renew their visas, and accordingly the decision was reached to exempt all violators of residency and other visas provided that the offender desires to leave the country and return to his homeland.

He added that this decision includes residency violators, entry permit and visa violators under which fugitives from their sponsors and work contract violators are included where the violation may have occurred before March 1, 2020.

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He made it clear that these exemptions will not be used in case the violator wants to modify his status and stay in the UAE.

The Director General confirmed that the lead time for this project is 3 months from May 18, 2020. The advantages of this project are the exemption from fines incurred by residents in general and visitors wishing to leave the country, exemption from the identity card fine, exemption from departure fees, which includes the fee for a departure permit, cancellation, and fee for paying the exit circular, exemption from the fine of extracting an employment contract or renewing a work permit, knowing that these categories will not be prevented from entering the country again in the event that they obtain a new employment contract.

The questions submitted by the accredited ambassadors and consuls were answered through the electronic system, and a press conference will be held on Thursday, May 21, 2020 to explain more details about this project.