COVID-19 :: No Fines for Expired Residence Visas (UAE)

The leaders of United Arab Emirates (UAE) want to transform the country fully to be the Homeland of Humanity. It can be a model country because it thrives in diversity, where people from 220+ countries blend as they instill into the minds of all residents, local and expatriates, the value of tolerance.

As I have stayed here for more than a decade, I know that most expatriates will surely agree with me that once you have experienced living here even if you have some down moments, you'd feel like you were a native of it, like it were your own homeland. There is humanity.

"Humanity", according to Wikipedia, "symbolizes love and compassion towards each other."

As the UAE is a connecting point for many flights and a business hub to many nationalities, it is open to the world, of course, with some restrictions parallel to standard international policies. But when the enemy cannot be captured by the airport and port scanners, it is terrible. The unexpected attack of a horrible invisible pathogen is unimaginable! It shows us that uncertainties are certain -- they are real. It knows no label as to color, age, economic status, educational attainment, job, nothing. It shakes us all. It scares and terrifies us. But it unites us all like one big family, humanity. Never in history has humanity fought this kind of fight. In this crisis, we see how love and compassion can move one another to stand together to defeat the enemy.

I got nervous because I am away from my family. But the leaders here assured us all that they are prepared to handle this -- best of the best healthcare personnel, facilities with equipment powered by artificial intelligence, right stock of supplies to be needed, etc. They did not mention bags for the dead, not at all. Somehow those words of assurance can calm the worrying minds -- that every sick one will be treated.

To contain the 2019 novel coronavirus, the UAE government has very strictly controlled its borders since its outbreak. Many flights have been canceled. Many economic activities have been put on halt, paralyzing many businessmen and employees. Needless to say, tourism, which is the next target source of big revenues, is the most hurt -- considering that in the industry category, there are many businesses within its map.

The government is round-the-clock flexible and there are some changes in the rules as the officials deem it fit for the situation, so if you are here you must update yourself from time to time and verify the source of information.

With the bad news on COVID-19 taking the stage and claiming many lives (as of writing, 5 April 2020 at 9:49 PM, confirmed cases -  world - 1,237,420 and deaths - 67,999 and for UAE, 1,505 confirmed cases and deaths - 10), the UAE government quickly announced some stimulus package plans and relief measures to help the people.

I salute and respect the government more when it was announced that those infected with coronavirus can be treated without having to worry about expenses, even if they have no insurance, and even if they are visa violators. This is a very good humanitarian move because we do not know the stories behind visa violations. (Come amnesty time, many stories will be heard, mostly heartbreaking ones. Many of them are those whose visas could not be processed in the past because of some financial issues -- unpaid personal loans and credit cards and abuses of their employers.)

There is a very good news today, as published in Gulf News -- The  UAE cabinet has just approved a move to exempt expired residency visa holders and Emirates IDs from fines until the end of 2020. This is a very big relief measure for many visa violators and for many employers who cannot cancel their visas due to fines because of some financial issues and other related challenges.

It is not clear to me yet if it covers all expired visas before 2020. I highly hope and pray it does. We say it in Filipino  -- "Sana all" which means "I wish all." 

The UAE Cabinet chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, accordingly said that,

The UAE today is moving as one team and cooperating as one family. All individuals are helping and supporting one another to cross this exceptional period the world is facing today. We thank God for this good spirit, for this safe country, and for such a great and united people.

This statement has a positive contagion effect. I have witnessed how people here cooperate with the government in the lockdown areas. Many people are in shared flats, staying at home to save lives and help flatten COVID-19 curve. It is very challenging how to maintain sanity and protect mental health when one used to go outside freely to work, go to supermarkets/malls, have fun,  and relax somewhere else.

The coronavirus seems like an equalizer -- when those with and without a visa are in the same place --  like they were in prison, with limited mobility. The pain is more on the visa violators because they already have struggled with it for some time or a long time, and now the pains of others they can feel, too, deeper -- as they have no protection and therefore, very vulnerable. What more if they are in 50's, and with an underlying health condition?

It seems like an equalizer, yes, because those medical frontliners feel like they were in prison, too. See this touching interview with Dr. Laura Ucic, New York physician, by the CNN. They are tied to their oath to the profession, glued to their call of duty, and once their feet are there, they are ready that any time they may be infected, too -- and they will be confined in the hospital, and worse, die without any family member. Not even their remains can be sent home. That is pure courage at its best in the worst situation! (How many times I cried watching and hearing them, loud and clear.) I humbly beg God to give them the support and love they need from their families, communities and countries (residence and/or origin), and the world.

This is a very, very tough time that everyone must take seriously. Everybody is doing his best to save his and others' lives in whatever manner he can. Everybody understands the importance of a very solid support system, of hearing "I got your back".

Every person must feel he really belongs and no one is left behind in its truest sense, not just in spoken or written line. Everyone must have an easy access to the healthcare system, because once again, we have proven that health is wealth, and healthy people means a wealthy nation. Each one must have an access to the banking system because things will go digital -- as cash notes transfer from hands to hands (and can be a cause of virus transmission) and unsafe to carry in a big amount. These are only possible when he has a valid residence visa when in a foreign land.

By being a legal resident, he can also do online jobs (the trend now, with "StayHome" and "SocialDistancing" advisory hashtags), register a side business while employed so he can sustain himself,  take some courses to upgrade skills or do mentoring/coaching, join organizations and do networking, step up as a disaster team volunteer, write and/or self-publish a book, paint and join/hold an art exhibition, join local and international contests, perhaps join Big Raffle Ticket, suggest ideas freely and more. These all contribute to the well-being of a person as living a normal life gives freedom and happiness.

If a huge amount of money can be spent by the government and philanthropists in things, why not in lives 'here and now' as we are all living souls in transit on earth, preparing for the final home and destination? 

This pandemic teaches us one lesson -- that nothing else matters but life. That the priority must be life, human lives, and if in any way we can touch others with love and compassion, we must do it while we still have time on earth. People are basically good, but most often than not in these days of materialism, some of us get bad because it seems like a survival-of-the-fittest game. This pandemic teaches us that we can live with the basics.

There are those who have overstayed for some time because at certain points in their lives,  things get out of control -- unimaginable. They do not know what to do, stuck with no money to get through, and wrapped by their bigger-than-life fears. It is a good thing that they have survived and stretched themselves like a rubber band, without losing sanity. We understand them better when we are in their situation. We cannot say to them, "You must have done this or that," because they have their own past, present, and future programs -- and they did what they thought was right given their situations and mind frame normally with fogs in their darkest hours.

Many of them have loans/credit card payables, and in the past visas could not be approved unless they were totally cleared, but how can they pay when they do not have a job? New prospective employers changed their minds after learning that the previous visas of the selected applicants were not canceled by the previous employers because of big fines due to financial challenges and it really happened, or is happening.

(I think this also contributed to losses of banks because people get jailed when they could not pay as they could not find jobs because of the red flags behind their names when their visas were applied for processing.)

Some investor visas also expired because they cannot renew the trade license due to big expenses including big fines for renewal. Perhaps this time, there will be positive changes in terms of reduced government fees in trade license renewal, quick time and ease in processing, minimized cost for office -- if possible a cost next to nothing for those who can go for a virtual office, and a bank account without required maintaining balance regardless of financial challenges while in a pandemic-plagued period and in a reboot stage. It will be better, too, if the investor can add many activities that he can connect with each other, according to his interests and passion, which are permissible within the bounds of local and international laws. If the government can offer unprecedented relief measures to investors who are interested to activate their trade licenses which expired up to a decade ago (or even beyond*) and residence visas that expired in the past, it will add life to the economy in preparation for Expo 2020 Dubai. They have managed to stay afloat despite the challenges without harming anyone, and this is another thread of stories of resilience, of getting stronger and emerging better than ever after the crisis.

We are all like warriors onboard keeping our ship floating amidst the storms and tidal waves. Every single life matters and each one has a productive role to play. We only need the right stimuli to get the right reaction. Nobody wants to be lazy. We all want to work -- and work really hard because all of us have the BIG WHY -- why we are here. All expatriates want to return home with happy stories because time not spent with the family back home cannot be lived again and it is only through stories of triumphs and 'bridging life'  can they somehow justify those lost moments.

If everyone would have a valid residence visa and ID, the government can offer online courses related to healthcare, disaster and emergency preparedness to all, so everyone can participate be in the second, third, fourth and so on lines of defense, like the reserves in the military, or backup in whatever way they can be of selfless public service. We can tell all that we are all the first line of defense -- because the first defense actually is our very own immune system. We are waging a war against something, humanity against coronavirus, which cannot be captured by a scanner or traced by GPS and which moves very fast from host to host (average -- 1 infected person : 2.6 target hosts) in a wide horizontal direction, that's why it is 'pan' (pandemic).

The move of the government to waive the fines for expired residence visas and Emirates IDs is a game-changer. Life is like a jungle. We have to respond to some disasters that put men's lives at risk and rescue them as we are a part of Humanity and we are in the Homeland of Humanity.  (Watch Netflix movie -- "Jungle".)

People with valid residence visas can be gainfully employed or in business, occupy the buildings, residential and commercial, and all, of course, buy consumer products and/services. (Almost all Filipinos love to buy products here and send them home, even if some products are made in the Philippines.) Their overall spending helps fuel economic growth and combat recession. Their combined diverse talents and innovative creativity will help this nation in its journey to remarkable greatness.

May we all passionately move as one family in the Homeland of Humanity, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Together we rise above this -- as one team, one family, humanity.

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*I suggest this way because I am happy when I read stories on businesses that have withstood the tests of time -- those with "Established in <year long time ago>" or "Since ____" in their labels or business profiles. The startup owners learn from their lessons.

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Photo credits:  Pixabay