Dubai authorities have intensified efforts to address the issue of individuals working on visit visas, leading to a significant reduction in the number of people overstaying their visas.
Safeer Mohammed, general manager of Smart Travels, reported that company premises have been frequently inspected, and inspection teams have visited office towers multiple times in recent months. “While working on a visit visa has always been illegal, the authorities are now ensuring that everyone is strictly following the rules,” he said.
This crackdown follows the conclusion of a generous visa amnesty program that ran from September to December 2024. The amnesty allowed overstayers to either legalize their status or leave the country without facing penalties. During the program, thousands of individuals resolved their visa issues.
However, after the amnesty ended, more than 6,000 violators were arrested in January during a series of inspection campaigns, according to a top official.
Mohammed pointed out that these enforcement measures have significantly reduced the number of visit visa overstayers. “Since January, we’ve seen the number of people overstaying their visit visas reduced to less than 10 percent,” he noted.
