How to Transfer Residency visa from one passport to another in 2024?
If you are an ex-pat that is living outside your home country, then you will see that it is a complicated deal dealing with your country’s government and having different paperwork and bureaucracy. This is especially true if you are residing outside of UAE or you do not have the necessary documentation. This article will provide ex-pats to help them with the transfer of residency visas from one passport to another.
What is a residency visa?
The residency is permission given to an ex-pat to stay and work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is a legal permit to stay and work in the Kingdom and this is issued by the Ministry of Interior.
The residency visa is official permission of the Saudi government to live and work in the country. It allows people to stay in a country for a certain period, without the need to apply for a work permit or citizenship.
READ ALSO: HOW IS POSSIBLE TO GET A VISA FOR DUBAI AND SAUDI ARABIA
What is a Transfer of Residency Visa?
The Transfer of Residency Visa is a special visa issued by the UAE government that allows expatriates to reside in the country for a longer period.
And if you are an ex-pat in the UAE, you are entitled to a free-of-charge ‘transfer of residency’ visa if you are willing to get rid of your previous passport and get a transfer of residency visa on your new passport.
However, the transfer of residency visa is free-of-charge and it is not part of your tax bill. So you can apply for it at any time, even if your old passport has not expired yet. Thus, the rules regarding the Transfer of Residency Visa are relatively simple, once expatriates have fulfilled certain basic requirements.
Which documentation is needed to transfer a residence visa from one passport to another?
The UAE residency visa is issued for either one or two years, and it can be transferred to a new passport under several circumstances. The first is when the expatriate is changing jobs and the second is when the expatriate is getting married, and his/her spouse is sponsoring the residency visa. There are many other circumstances for this transfer, but they are not as common as the circumstances mentioned above, but you need to follow some required documents to transfer the residency visa from one passport to another, such as;
- Emirates ID copy.
- Copy of a residency visa
- Copies of passports
- Two passport size photographs
- An authentic passport
- Copy of the old passport
- A copy of the visa that will be applied for.
- The original bank statement
- A copy of the employer's letter of authorization.
- Copy of employee ID:
- Copy of property ownership document
- A copy of the Emirates ID
Moreover, there are a lot of benefits to transferring your visa, including that it helps you get a new passport. The UAE has a very strict policy when it comes to resident and non-resident passports.
Also, if you are a non-resident and you want to get out of the country, you can’t travel with your original passport. Since you may travel, you will need to get a resident visa and a new passport.
READ ALSO: HOW TO APPLY DUBAI 6 MONTHS VISA
What is the significance of transferring a resident visa from one passport to another?
Whenever you want to move from one country to another, it is very common these days. People are frequently changing their places of residence to live in a country where they can get better jobs, study abroad, or build a better life for their families. In general, the process of moving to a new country is a very complicated and time-consuming one. It takes a significant amount of paperwork and time.
To make this process a little easier, a lot of developed countries have a simplified process of introducing residency visas for immigrants who want to move to the country.
And if you are looking to transfer your residency visa to a new passport, the process can become quite confusing. There are several requirements for transferring a residence visa to a new passport. It is possible, and there is a clear process that you need to follow. However,
- According to a new law enacted by the Dubai government, residents of Dubai are now required to transfer their visas to their new passports.
- The law was enacted to reduce the city's crime rate, as residents are now required to update their visa information in their passports.
- The law is currently being implemented by the government, and it is now required to transfer the visa to your new passport.
READ ALSO: APPLYING DUBAI VISA FOR GCC RESIDENTS
Conclusion
The Transfer of a Residency visa is an essential document for people who are changing their residency. The document is issued to the individual who wants to change their residency.
If you plan to transfer your visa from one passport to another, you have to apply for your new visa before your current one expires, otherwise, you might have to leave the country due to being subject to the regulation.
If you’re moving to Dubai with your family, you should apply for a family visa before your residency visa expires and if you want to change your visa status, you will need to apply for the new visa application.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are an expatriate living in the UAE, chances are you have had to renew your passport at least once. Some expatriates transfer residency visas from one passport to another as a part of their effort to get a new passport with a better visa or passport. This helps the expatriates keep their foreign passports, and they do not need to change their names. This is a huge benefit, especially if they hold dual citizenship and have a relative who is a citizen of the UAE. However, they do not need to get a visa to travel outside of the nation.
If you’re moving to the UAE to open a business, to invest in real estate, or to work and live there permanently, transferring a visa is a fairly complex process. The visa you obtain is specific to the passport in which it was issued, so it can only be transferred to the same passport. If you’re moving to the UAE on a visa from one passport and want to transfer it to another passport, you must first cancel the current visa in the old passport and apply for a new visa in the new passport. If you don’t cancel the visa in your old passport, you won’t be able to get a new one.
The Fast Track Service is designed to assist applicants who need to manage the process of transferring the visa from one passport to another. This service is available for applicants who are applying or have already applied, for the following visas: Student Visa; Working Holiday Visa; Long-Stay Business Visa; and all Resident Return Visas.
In recent times, if you have just entered the UAE and now you have a problem, Your passport is due to expire within a few days, and you don’t have a new passport yet. What do you do? The most common problem with expired passports is definitely when you are asked about the validity of your passport at the airport. The UAE immigration officers can ask you whether you have a valid passport or not. If you have an expired passport, you will need to have an exit visa in order to leave the country. The UAE immigration officers can ask you for an exit visa as well, but you have to have a valid passport in order to get it. This means that you have to get a new passport first, and then get an exit visa.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a popular immigrant destination, with a friendly lifestyle and the opportunity to experience many new things. The UAE has a number of residency visa types, each with its own unique set of rules and regulations. One of the most popular visas is the retirement visa, which is issued to ex-pats who are at least 50 years old. A retirement visa is a great option for ex-pats who want to retire in the UAE. This type of visa is also ideal for retirees who are in the process of moving from one passport to another and would like to transfer their visas from one passport to another.
Emiratis and GCC nationals are required to hold a valid passport valid for at least one year from the date of arrival. The Ministry of Interior has issued a statement that the validity of an existing passport should not be less than one year from the date of arrival in the UAE. Citizens are required to have this prerequisite to pass through immigration upon arrival.
If you want to use your visa on another passport, you will need to link the two passports together. Linking your visa to your new passport online is not allowed. However, they do not need to get a visa to travel outside of the nation. You need to apply online visa application. You must submit both passports due to the visa application. Your new passport number will be printed on an authorization stamp. You must then return to the Immigration Bureau with the endorsed passport and present the receipt that you received when you paid your visa fee. They will then print out a new visa stamp in your new passport.
After staying in the UAE for five years, you can get a UAE Residency Visa. You can renew the visa every three years. If you want to change your job before 6 months, you should submit a change of sponsorship application to the MOL, and then wait for the MOL response. If you want to transfer your visa from one passport to another, you should submit a visa transfer application to the MOL.
Changing employment visas in the UAE is a straightforward procedure, and if you intend to change your employment visa status to another type of visa, you must have the original visa card and the visa transfer form signed by the sponsor. You must apply online. Your visa application will take a few days to be processed.
If you are a resident in the UAE, you must enter the country on your valid and current passport. This would mean that when you come to renew your visa, you will need to use the same passport. If you apply for a visa with a different passport and arrive in the country and try to use the new passport, your visa will be canceled and you will be deported. To avoid this, you must first transfer your visa from your old passport to your new passport, as long as both passports are valid and you are a UAE resident.
You must connect your new passport to your previous passport while applying for a new passport. You must also provide a good cause for shifting your visa as well as your previous passport. However. to transfer a resident visa from one passport to another requires multiple attempts. For example, you will have to wait for 6 months if your old passport has an expiry date that is less than 6 months old. You will also have to wait for 6 months if your old passport has an expiry date that is more than 6 months but less than 12 months. If your old passport has an expiry date that is more than 12 months old and you are within 12 months of the expiry date, you will need to wait for a period of 12 months.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has stated that visa and passport renewal applications will again be accepted. In the UAE, your passport and visa must be valid for six months after your stay, and you cannot enter or exit the country with a visa or a passport that has expired less than six months prior. This allows expatriates to exit the country with an expired passport and visa, providing they renew their visa and passport within 30 days.
The UAE residence visa is actually a non-transferable residence permit. It will be issued to the passport holder, who must be the same person as the applicant. The Emirates ID is a smart card that is used to record your information in the UAE government database. Your Emirates ID records your criminal history, Emirates ID information, and your passport number. If you change your passport, you need to update your Emirates ID to reflect the passport you are currently holding. You should update your Emirates ID within six months of changing your passport or you will be fined.
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