UAE: No fines for expired residency permit holders

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) yesterday issued an exemption for holders of expired residency visas, saying they will not be fined.

The decision was announced during a remote cabinet meeting, during which Abu Dhabi approved a number of directives as part of government efforts to alleviate the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Penalties on expired residency visas were placed on hold until the end of the year.

READ: Dubai and Saudi impose lockdowns as Gulf states battle spread of coronavirus 

“During today’s meeting, the cabinet discussed the new precautionary measures and mechanisms for continuing government work,” the UAE’s Vice President and Prime Minister, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, said on Twitter, adding that his government had adopted “the federal draft law on mental health and the executive regulations for private health facilities in order to enhance the quality of their services.”

“We also approved other regulations on the use of information technology in health fields,” he noted.

The cabinet also ordered the country’s local factories “to support the needs of the health sector and boost the UAE’s strategic stock of necessary items.”

The UAE health ministry recently said ten people had died of COVID-19, while 1,505 had been infected.