The UAE imposes strict law on forgery, which also applies to expatriates working in the country.
Offenders may face dismissal from work without notice and gratuity, deportation and a lifetime employment ban.
An Abu Dhabi-based expat could face these consequences as he has recently been put under trial at the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court for allegedly forging a tenancy contract to obtain a residence visa and to bring his wife to the UAE.
The expat’s wife successfully completed her fitness test for the Emirates ID at the Abu Dhabi Residency and Foreigners Affairs Department.
However, authorities at the immigration office tagged the official document as fraud when the Syrian man returned to get a visa stamp for his wife’s passport.
The accused denied that he purposely forged the document, but revealed that he obtained the tenancy contract from a man working at a typing center for Dh3,000.
“The man told me that he could get a tenancy contract for me and that I can use the document to sponsor my wife and obtain the visa,” the man explained.
The court has requested the presence of the typing center employee for the next hearing.
