Author name: Amber Catherine

Thanks to the new Work Bundle platform, which was released on Wednesday, the processing time to complete all required paperwork to get work permits and resident visas has been shortened from nearly one month to five days. According to authorities at a news briefing, the integrated approach will also cut down on the number of documents required from 16 to five and the frequency of visits to service centers from 7 to 2. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (Mohre), the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP), the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the Department of Economy and Tourism, and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) are just a few of the government entities whose procedures are integrated into Work Bundle. Prior to its implementation in other emirates, it is initially launched in Dubai. The Work Bundle platform, according to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President, Prime Minister, and ruler of Dubai, will “facilitate, simplify, and shorten the procedures for residency and work (permits) in the country.” “62 million working days that were previously used for the renewal of residency and employment contracts inside government frameworks are expected to be recovered via the new Work Bundle platform. It is anticipated that this project will reduce 25 million procedures annually, which will result in significant savings for the public and private sectors, he continued. He gave orders to government agencies and ministries in the United Arab Emirates last month to eliminate at least 2,000 procedures and slash processing times in half within a year. Which services fall within the Work Bundle’s integration? All employment services, including renewal, cancellation, medical examination, and fingerprinting, can now be completed on a single platform. The platform is accessible on the “Invest in Dubai” website and mobile app during the initial phase. After then, it will be made available on the “Work in UAE” website as well as several other government digital platforms. Which government agencies are using the Work Bundle platform together? The entities are DHA, Mohre, ICP, and GDRFA. The Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and Digital Dubai, which provide the digital services and infrastructure connecting government agencies, are supporting the project. How might Work Bundle help workers who are based overseas? Completing the single application and granting the employee a work permit are the first steps in hiring a new foreign worker. After that, the worker needs to finish the residence requirements, which include getting a medical checkup and getting an Emirates ID card. In the meantime, the owner of the business must complete the unified application for the renewal service. The employee then completes the Emirates ID issuance process and the medical checkup.

The court in Dubai punished a manager of a company Dh100,000 for cheating the Nafis program. The manager was charged with breaking Emiratization regulations, and the Dubai Public Prosecution brought the matter before the judge. The manager of the company was charged with hiring two Emirati women and misusing two work licenses for purposes other than those for which they were issued. The facility attempted to be eligible for government assistance under the Nafis program by fabricating contracts to falsely claim compliance with Emiratization regulations. The women only had four months of employment at the private company, and their primary goal there was to get the Dh5,000 monthly government stipend. The manager will be penalized Dh100,000 by the court for the charge brought against it. The number of workers multiplied by the fine will be applied. Additionally, a notice was sent to the two employees asking them to refund Dh20,000. A recent investigation by the Ministry of Human Resources revealed that 1,077 private enterprises had been impersonating Emiratization in the United Arab Emirates since the latter part of 2022. The authorities punished these companies for recruiting 1,818 people who had broken the law in an effort to outhire competitors by employing Emiratis without authorization. When it is established that a UAE national works in a nominal position with no real responsibilities to meet the establishment’s required Emiratization targets, or when an Emirati is rehired in the same establishment to evade data and reap the relevant benefits of Emiratization, it is considered fake Emiratization. Penalties for violating law The severity of the penalties imposed on companies that violate the law ranges from Dh20,000 to Dh100,000 each instance. The violation must be severed in order for it to be referred to the public prosecution. The MoHRE reaffirmed that the rules of the Nafis program and decisions pertaining to Emiratization are clearly broken by false Emiratization. The Ministry’s smart application or the MoHRE call center at 600590000 can be used to report any breaches pertaining to emiratization.