Expats living in the UAE will be able to secure visas up to the age of 65 years as a result of new labor laws.
The Ministry of Labor in the United Arab Emirates revealed that the retirement age will be raised from 60 -65 as part of widespread labor law changes throughout the country.
Humaid bin Dimas, Assistant Undersecretary, Ministry of Labour for Labor Affairs, said: “The ministry will unify fees for issuing work permits for those until the age of 65. This is in accordance with the classification of categories and new facilities.
“The fee for renewal of labor card for a period of two years will be Dh300 for the first category. The fee for second category employees, which include three levels, will be Dh600, Dh1,500 and Dh2,000 respectively,” he said.
“Employees under the third category will have to pay Dh5,000 for renewing their labor cards. Similarly, a unified fee of Dh5,000 will be applicable for issuance of labor cards for those more than 65 years with a validity of two years,” he added.
The changes are the latest of a set of law modifications aimed at freeing up the country’s labor market. Also announced last week was the news that labor card validity would be reduced from three years to two years. Expatriate workers will no longer be required to provide a no-objection certificate from their former employers in order to acquire new work. Expatriates, many of whom have been previously forced to leave the country for six months as a result of their employer’s refusals to provide such certification, welcomed this news.
Officials from the Ministry of Labor revealed that the new laws were aimed at empowering the expat labor market: “The government believes that it should maintain this asset [experienced workers] in the country and seeks to build a transparent relationship between employer and employee,” he said.
“More decrees are coming, to maintain a healthy relationship between employers and employees,” he added.
The Ministry began accepting applications for over 60-permits on the 1st January 2011.
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