A list of 57 occupations have been put on a blacklist that bans expats from bringing their families to live with them in the UAE.
The move is part of a Government initiative to reduce the number of people breaking visa laws.
Among those who will be unable to bring family include: make-up artists, cooks, bakers, car washers, grave diggers, tailors, waiters and falcon trainers, UAE daily The National reported on Thursday.
A total of 25,313 visa violators and infiltrators have been caught since an amnesty period ended in Nov. 2007, according to Brig Gen Nasser al Minhali, the acting director of the Naturalisation and Residency Department.
“Our main concern is violators. Ninety per cent of the banned professions do not fit the naturalisation and residency laws anyway. I understand that everyone wants their family to be close to them but I have a responsibility to fight violators,” he told the paper.
Low-income employees were often not able to pay visa fees for their families, which turned them into illegal immigrants, he said.
“When we identified the 57 occupations, we found a big accumulation of violators between them,” he added.
The authorities have also stepped up policing with a 24-hour, toll-free tip line to report absconders and illegal immigrants.
Residents who overstay their residency visas are fined 25 dirhams for each day, while people who overstay other types of visas are fined 100 dirhams for each day.
Those caught by authorities without a valid visa are deported immediately.
A 50,000 dirham fine is imposed on employers who recruit foreigners without gaining work permits.
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