Dubai issues more residency visas than it cancels - official

zoom

DUBAI POSITIVE: The emirate's chief economist has said that more people are coming to work in Dubai than are leaving. (Getty Images)

The number of residency visas being issued in Dubai remains a “net positive” figure, despite anecdotal reports of huge numbers of expatriates fleeing the country, according to the chief economist in the Dubai government.

Raed Safadi told a meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Dubai on Sunday that the emirate issued 59,000 visas every month – which breaks down to almost 2,000 visas a day.

This figure “had come down in December”, Safadi admitted, but added that a net of 1,000 visas were issued every day in January.

His comments were sparked by media reports during the past three weeks that visas were being cancelled at a rate of 1,500 a day, amid claims that thousands of expatriates were leaving Dubai as a result of the global economic crisis.

“Yes, we have cancelled a lot, but at the same time a lot have been issued,” Safadi told the conference.

However, delegates called for more clarity from the government on such figures in the future, to prevent the spread of rumours.

“The problem here in the region is that the absence of regular official data is encouraging the generation of these rumours,” said Marios Maratheftis, regional head of research at Standard Chartered.

“People find it easier to come up with rumours because it is very difficult to get hold of the official number,” Maratheftis added.

Safadi admitted that government data needed to be made more readily available, stating that “in the data front we are not very forthcoming”.

This was due to “the simple reason that the mechanisms to produce these data are not in place”, he said.

“On a daily basis, we do not have the means to actually tell you that there are 500 new jobs being created in such and such sectors,” Safadi added.
 
“This is a dynamic economy - every single day there are hundreds of jobs being destroyed, but there are hundreds more that are being created."

Arabian Business has repeatedly asked the Dubai Ministry of Interior Naturalisation & Residency during the past three weeks for clarification on the number of residency visas being cancelled versus the number being issued on a daily basis.  
 
However, as yet there has been no response.

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Are all these 1000 or 2000 Visas new entries to Dubai
Posted by Muhammed Irfan, Dubai, UAE on Tuesday 10 February 2009 at 19:40 UAE time


All the expatriates living in Dubai need to renew their visas. so is Mr Safadi including those numbers as well in his calculations or not?

Need for Stabilisation
Posted by Varghese Jose, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE on Tuesday 10 February 2009 at 17:11 UAE time

The bubble had been growing at a very rapid pace especially during the past few years. We could hear wise men throw caution to the air but being optimistic it never really dawned upon us that the bubble is going to burst so soon. Dubai has been expanding at an alarming pace and was being projected as a place fit for those who had big pockets and belonged to the genre we would call 'sophisticated'. The majority of people who worked in Dubai were living in Sharjah, Ajman OR further North because they could not afford to live in the garden of eden. We are going to witness a reality check and there will be stabilisation in everything that was wrongly priced. It is a rude lesson but inevitable.

With a table spoon of salt
Posted by Arun, Dubai, UAE on Tuesday 10 February 2009 at 15:59 UAE time

During my visit to the Immigration last week for renewal of visa for my family , I had a chat with the guys who work at the typing centre. Apparently I was the first perrson during the last 2 weeks to apply for renewal - all the others they came across were coming in to get applications typed for cancellation.

A dog is a cat ... official!
Posted by bagof on Tuesday 10 February 2009 at 15:45 UAE time


... and will last expat to leave Dubai please turn the lights out

View all comments (43) >>

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM