Visa extension for redundant expats, more entering Dubai than leaving

In a bid to stem the supposed exodus of expat talent from Dubai, the government has unveiled plans to extend the visas of redundant workers for up to six months.

A number of financial services firms in the Gulf have announced moves to cut their cloth in the face of reduced revenues this year. Under UAE law, once you lose your job you have one month to find re-employment before being forced out of the country.

By June, however, this is likely to change, according to Saqr Ghobash, the minister of labour. Now, expats will be given at least three months, but as long as six, to find a new job, with more highly skilled roles likely to be afforded the maximum amount of time.

He's also keen to point out that there are more people entering Dubai than leaving it. 662,000 visas were issued in the six months to March 2009, while the still rather hefty number of 405,000 were cancelled.

In recent months Dubai's appeal has been tainted by stories of expat workers fleeing the emirate after having been made redundant.

But Ghobash believes even this is over-stated. In a rather bizarre denial of the trend, he told AFP

that foreign workers weren't losing their jobs, but were merely being sent home for holidays.