Introduction – Why is this post important?

Travel bans in UAE are very common when we compare to other western countries.

The 90/10 ratio of foreigners to local nationals may be a good reason to understand this preventive measure. With a population of 10 million people, approximately 9 million are expatriates with many of these expatriates leaving after short stays and new expats reaching the hub of the region.

This fluctuation may be the reason behind the implementation of travel barriers in these main scenarios:

  • Debts
  • Criminal cases
  • Immigration over stays;

The most troublesome scenario for regular expatriates is the existence of debts out of loans or credit cards. This is because you do not need to be a criminal or irregular but still face the consequences that criminals or potential criminals face. Whether or not this is in line with most civilized jurisdictions is another question which is being addressed already by the UAE and out of the scope of this publication.

Developments on Decriminalisation of Debts

Before moving to how to check for travel banks in the UAE, it is worth making a special note to the fact that the UAE has decriminalized debts to a certain figure but it does not automatically remove travel bans in place before the law but it is indeed possible to remove them if meeting the requirements and within the framework of the new conditions.

How to Check Travel Bans UAE?

The most important question, to start, in the removal of travel bans, is how can I find out if I have a travel ban in the UAE.

The answer will be based on whether or not you or the applicant are/is in possession of an Emirates ID and still in possession and control of the mobile linked to the Emirates ID.

If no Emirates ID or phone line in possession, there’s only one option which would be giving a Power of Attorney to counsel in the UAE to do the check up.

If the Emirates ID and phone line is accessible it is however possible to access the information through the following links:

Abu Dhabi – Travel bans UAE

Access Estafser here.

It looks like this:

Travel Bans UAE
Travel Bans UAE

For Dubai bans we can check the Dubai Police website here, which looks like this:

Travel Bans UAE
Travel Bans UAE

As a warning note it is also important to stress that some migratory blocks cannot be accessed through the above links, but it is always a practical way to start for UAE residents or former residents.

In the instances when the above is not available due to the reason of the ban or the fact that applicant is not a resident or has not longer the line linked to Emirates ID, the sole possibility will be to do the checkup through a power of attorney. The good news is that powers of attorney can be processed electronically through UAE online Notary system without the need to execute abroad and legalize at different authorities, reducing significantly time and costs, especially because some inquiries are most of the time urgent.

We hope this post will help you understand how travel bans can be checked in the UAE and we remain available for any questions regarding this post of general application.

For more information published in English you can visit all our publications at this link as well as the videos in English of our Managing Partner Maria Rubert.

*The information on this page is not intended to be legal advice. This article is intended to provide an initial introduction to the visa amendments in the UAE.