“Dear Steve,
I was in dubai for more than 15 years, and had to leave dubai in pain and on sad grounds due to sever financial hit and serious family matters. I had bank loans and credit cards which I could not manage to pay for 6 monts nnow and tha banks kept on calling. I wanted to go back to dubai as I have a job offer, but the banks have already filed a police case against me. I also want to start paying back to the banks and card companies, but the situation the banks has created and the law of dubai does not give me strength and I am helpless. Now since I have got a job in USA and I am scheduled to travel to new york my flight is via dubai and I am very scared. I have seen people dieing in dubai jails and they dont even let your relatives know what has happend to you.
Just want to know that if I have bank loans and credit card loans in dubai, and Ihave left Dubai almost 8 months now. I am scheduled to travel to USA and my flight is via dubai. Will I be arrested at the airport as my next connection is only after 3 hours
Sheikh”
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Dear Sheikh,
The consumer debt situation in Dubai is archaic. Yes, people do go to jail in Dubai for debts and I think you should take the issue seriously knowing you have a police case against you. Will you be arrested on your layover to New York, quite possibly.
I am sure that the border control agents in Dubai will make an attempt to check you out as you pass into the country. Nobody has any way to know if they will detain you and arrest you.
The Dubai jails are full of debtors and I’ve not heard of one of them dying from their stay. As crazy as this sounds, the quickest way to clear your debt in Dubai is to actually go to jail. Most go for only a couple of weeks, some a month or so. It really depends on how much debt you have. I’ve even heard the story of one person that used their holiday leave to go do their jail time so their boss never knew.
The advantage of going to jail is when you get out, the debt is cleared. It is almost like the advantage of bankruptcy available in many other countries. In Dubai, bankruptcy is spelled j-a-i-l.
The smart move would be for you to contact a lawyer in Dubai and work out a solution to clear your debt as quickly as possible or to get specific legal advice about your upcoming border crossing.
Currently, for a defaulting your loan amount, the police case can be made with 3 unpaid installments. That can be cleared by paying an amount ranging from 3000-50000 to clear the bounced cheque depending on your loan amount. Then the bank can file a civil case and you will be blocked from travelling. If you still don’t pay your dues, you can be jailed for AED100/day repayment. So if you have a loan of 100,000, you will spend 3 years in jail until your loan is cleared or you may be pardoned during Eid or National day and loan paid by the government. I don’t know if you will be cleared to work again in UAE, but for sure you will be black listed for life from any loan.
Scary.
The Best Airport to Transit to Europe or any other countries is Ethiopia – We cannot accept that now Dubai and Emirates are heading with a monopoly situation regarding passengers in Transit with the risk of being arrested for minor case while you were staying in UAE.
Abu Dhabi police is a total mess and on top of that they dont not speak English
Hi Armin, Thank you for your supportive advise. I am already in NYC now. How your friend got arrested? Was he also suppose to pay to the banks? How much was his loans? I know for the fact now that all the airlines are using advance passenegr informafortion system, and this is something UAE is using to target people. Infact this system is for aviation security and to stop terrorism. But UAE is using it harrassing.
Avoid emirates or dubai next time i know a friend that got arrested in dubai when he was on transit. They in fact do random checks and are implementing new systems to find people on the wanted list.
He has been in jail for more than a year and is waiting his trail/jail sentence since the courts are over way to busy.
hi steve, true it was.I was in transit for 4 hours, but it was very stressfull that each minute. 100 times I ckecked my watch and just wanted to board and sit inside the aircraft.But realised one thingthat it is safe to transit via dubai than cross the immgration. Thank you for all your support and advise.
Rgds
Sheikh.
Hi Steve, I am in newyork now. I took the same flight via Dubai, and did not have any problems. I safely reached.
Rgds
Sheikh
Thank you for the update. I’m glad it worked out okay. I bet it was a stressful experience.
Steve
Hi Mary, its easy to suggest and heavy to face. Some one who suffering and have nothing left even to live may not have any answer to your advise. However, you have no right to give any comments about persons character. I hope you dont face the same I faced and am facing. Godforbid, If you face the same, I would be of help with good and supportive words to you.
While I sympathize that extraneous situations can cause debt, returning before you pay off those debts is just risky and placing your freedom in jeopardy. If you have no other means of clearing the debt and it is not that high, just do the jail time. I’ve been to Dubai many times and it is a beautiful country and you need to respect their laws. I’m a little put off that the questioner is not really trying to resolve the problem but rather skirt the problem. Resolution to your debt is the only option if you ever want to revisit Dubai. On the flip side, resolution to any debt is the best option anyway even if you no longer wish to travel to Dubai – it shows great character.
Mary,
Yes, as ironic as it sounds, once you peel away the negative first impressions of doing the time, without any other legal options, just doing the short time seems like the most logical solution outside of repaying the debt or coming to some mutually acceptable repayment plan with the creditors. Sometimes just facing these issues head-on is the most difficult path to take emotionally. Denial is a magic potion.
Steve
hi steve,
I also found out that during transit one has to just change the gates. What will you suggest and advise, is it still a risk?
sheikh
I have no idea.
Steve
Why are you telling this guy to do things when he could go to jail for a very long time?
Nathan,
OK, so if you did not like my suggestion to deal with the debt within the system that exists, I open to hear your suggestions of how he can resolve the debt, not hide from it. And you can’t say ‘pay it’, if he could have done that he would have.
Steve
Hi Steve, Thank you for your prompt response to my querey. I am very confuse now. I will let you know the progress after I decide next. I need to travel in 2 weeks time, and must change my travel plan after your advise. sheikh