Home help should be screened as soon as they arrive in UAE, health authority said
Dubai processed almost one million new and renewal visa applications during the first six months of this year, half of which were new residents.
A total of 992,322 medical fitness tests were carried out by Dubai Health Authority (DHA), and of those, over half (512, 871) were for renewal of existing visas, while 478,451 new visas were issued.
The medical fitness test is a mandatory requirement for residency, employment and education visas.
Speaking to Gulf News, Maisa Al Bustani, director of Medical Fitness at the Dubai Health Authority, said residents who employ house staff should get their employees screened as soon as they arrive in the UAE.
“Mandatory screening for housemaids includes hepatitis B, HIV, TB, syphilis and pregnancy test. The housemaid also receives all three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine, if she does not have it already.
“We advise people to get their house help screened as soon as they arrive in the country,” he said.
This additional screening is also required for drivers, cooks, gardeners, nannies and those working in the food industry, beauty parlours and health clubs owing to the sensitivity of their profession, Maisa said.
He added that the DHA also provides a mobile medial fitness service for companies with a large number of employees.
Real shame that we do not get the number of residents visas that were canceled or expired during the same period so that we could see the net growth or decline in residents.
Would also be great to get a breakdown on the salary levels of the new residents as this type of data would help companies better plan their future growth strategies.
Would be great to see the demographics for the visas issued. This place is once again starting to become over crowded and the city cannot handle it. We need tougher restrictions on issuing residency visas.
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