Certificate of Good Conduct Not Compulsory for Transfer of Visa in UAE

A certificate of good conduct is not compulsory for those who wish to transfer their residency visa within the United Arab Emirates, according to a new circular issued to Amer and Tasheel centers in Dubai, reported Gulf News.

The circular specifies that a good conduct certificate is not mandatory to transfer the sponsorship visa for foreign workers in the UAE. Also, those workers who are already working in the country will not require the certificate to change to another job.

The new circular, issued by the immigration department in the UAE following instructions by the Interior Ministry, exempts workers who are transferring visa inside the country.

The UAE government had announced in January that new job seekers looking to obtain a work visa in the United Arab Emirates will have to produce a “certificate of good conduct,” effective from Feb. 4 this year.

“This service allows customers to obtain a Criminal Record Verification ‘Certificate of Good Conduct’ for the purpose of work, study, immigration, naturalization, marriage, permission or license, rehabilitation, changing of name,” according to a statement from the government.

The certificate still needs to obtained by employees from other countries who want to continue working in the UAE from their home countries.

Workers from different countries, including India, are struggling to get the certificate due to the long waiting time, expensive procedure, and lack of clarity.  Indian job aspirants who are on a visit visa to the UAE have been informed that the waiting period to obtain the police clearance certificate is 40 days, Khaleej Times had reported earlier, citing a study conducted by it. To obtain the certificate, some workers are going to application centers and then to the local diplomatic missions, and waiting in long lines.

Indian citizens who wish to acquire the certificate can get it from BLS International, a company that provides government-to-citizen services.

According to UAE Central Bank figures released in December, Indian expatriates sent the maximum amount of remittances back home from the United Arab Emirates during the third quarter of 2017. Foreign residents in total sent Dh121.1 billion to home countries between January and September 2017. During the third quarter of the year, Dh43.3 billion was sent by expats to their home countries, of which Indians sent Dh15.46 billion.