Committing crimes, wherever in the world, is punishable by law. Some crimes may land individuals behind bars for certain number of months or years, but there are unlawful acts that can result to the deportation of expats.
For foreign workers, including Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), there are laws that can result to the ‘point of no return’ in the UAE.
The Federal Law No. 6 of 1973 and Federal Law No. 17 of 2017 define the types of crimes that require judicial judgment of deportation.
Here are three crimes that could result to banishment out of the UAE, which every OFW should know:
Note: Originally written in the October 2018 issue of 999 Magazine, the official monthly publication of the UAE Ministry of Interior, published under New Perspective Media.
1. Infiltration and forgery
In July, the Sharjah Criminal Court ordered the deportation of a man after serving his jail time. He had forged a document—a fake marriage certificate—in order to bring his partner to the UAE. He initially admitted to forging the document, but later claimed that the issued marriage certificate by his home country was fake.
Article 31 of Federal Law No. 17 of 2017 states that “Every alien who has been arrested after having illegally infiltrated or entered, and any foreigner who commits the act of contravention of the provisions of the law shall be punished by the same penalty. In all cases, the Court shall order the deportation of the alien from the State and the confiscation of funds obtained from any activity during the period of his residence.”
Likewise, the Article 34 (3) of Federal Law No. 17 of 2017 states that “Any person who forges a visa or entry permission or license or a card for the purpose of entering the country or residing therein, or any document in order to avoid the provisions of this law, or uses unknowingly any forged document, shall be punished by imprisonment… and the court may order his deportation from the country.”
2. Cybercrime
In June 2016, the Abu Dhabi Court held the administrator of a pirate website for illegal uploading and streaming of copyrighted television series, movies, and misusing the intellectual property rights of a satellite provider. The court convicted with six-month imprisonment sentence and was later deported to his home country.
The Article 42 of Law No. 5 of 2012 on Combating Information Technology Crimes states: “The court shall order the alien convicted of any of the offenses set out in the law to be deported after the execution of the sentence, namely imprisonment of fine.”
3. Discrimination or hatred
Discrimination against and dissemination of hatred are considered criminal acts. Federal Decree No. 2 of 2015 criminalizes acts of contempt and violation of the sanctity of religions; hate speech; and discrimination based on the religion sect, race, color, or origin.
If found guilty, individuals who commit such crimes may be deported out of the country.
In accordance with the legislation in the UAE, the decision to deport a tourist or foreign resident would be taken if he or she committed crimes related to:
– Sexual assault
– Prostitution
– Promotion of narcotics and drugs
– Fraud
– Libel
– Ideas that threaten social peace
– Violation of the community values in the UAE
Ultimately, the name and identity of the person deported from the UAE is added to a banned list, so police forces and immigration officials are aware of who is not allowed to re-enter the country.
Someone who attempts to do so can be put back on a plane or be detained.
