Working on husband’s visa in UAE

With the economic scenario becoming increasingly grim in the middle east, it is becoming necessary that both the husband and wife work in the present day. But finding work is also difficult as companies shy away from providing new work permits. Faced with this confusion, wives heaved a sigh of relief recently, with the new regulations from the Labour Ministry.

Married couples can sponsor each other for a residence visa in UAE, which does not necessarily include either a work permit, labour card, or an employment visa. However, according to latest regulation by the Labour Ministry in 2011, residents in the UAE, under the sponsorship of their spouse, can now work without a permit.

The law stipulates that residents listed on the visa of their spouse, will only require a written permission from their spouse (husband or wife) to secure work, in other words an NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the spouse. Husbands can act as sponsors for their wives, and the other way round.

Earlier, if a husband was sponsored by his wife, he would require a separate work permit application to receive employment in the UAE. Only husbands, whose wives were into professions such as medical and teaching fields, were exempted from such a rule.But now, an expatriate woman planning to work with husband’s visa in Dubai, will only need to obtain a labour card from her employer, which should be renewed every year.

If one wants to change jobs in such a situation, it is easy to cancel the labour card and get a new one from the new employer while still continuing the residency status.Your visa will neither be cancelled nor transferred. In such situations you would no longer require an NOC as NOC is usually given by the sponsor which in this case would be your spouse. This works better for the companies also, as they no longer need to pay for the visa charges or the 3000Dhs guarantee. It is mostly the companies in the Free zone which employs wives without changing their visas, but on providing labour cards. At the same time, one should keep in mind that there could be companies in the freezone where the rules could be different.

Working On Husband’s Visa In UAE

The new regulations allow the wife to work even if there is a stamp in the passport saying `Housewife- not allowed to work.’ The husband can sponsor the wife to be a resident of Dubai and the company the wife is going to work for, has to apply for the labour permit for the wife. One cannot work in the UAE without the labour permit.

The case maybe that women come to UAE on their spouse visa and can change their mind once in the country. Many women choose to go onto their husband’s residency sponsorship as they potentially get better benefits from a husband’s company by having a family status allowances for flights, accommodation, school fees and medical coverage. But the new stipulation has benefited the lives of many an expatriate women, as it allows them to earn a small livelihood and thus help their family at large.

Wives need not exit the country if they are planning to move from their husband’s sponsorship to their employer’s visa.The PRO from the company you will be working for should be able to give you the NOC in such an instance.

So in summary- if you are on your husband’s residency sponsorship, you can work- as long as you get a labour card/ work permit from the company you are going to work for and your husband issues an NOC letter.

Even when these laws prevail, we often find some women taking up casual work or part time work on what they call their husband visa without the labour cards. This exposes them to a wide range of potential issues. Not only is it illegal and both the company and the worker can get fined, have a labour ban placed on you or even deported, but if a dispute over pay arises, the woman will have no legal recourse to make a case or claim as she is not officially employed. So the Labour Law will not protect her in this case.