ABU DHABI // Chinese diplomats have asked immigration officials to exempt Chinese business leaders from paying a Dh1,000 (US$272) visa deposit when arriving in the UAE. Regulations introduced in July demand that all visitors pay the refundable deposit as part of an effort to prevent people from staying longer than their paperwork permits. The counsellor for the Chinese Embassy, Li Lingbing, met the acting director general of the federal Naturalisation and Residency Department, Brig Gen Nasser al Minhali, at the embassy on Sunday to lobby for the cash guarantee to be scrapped for top executives.
A source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the half-hour meeting was amicable. Chinese officials want the deposit requirement be lifted for business people travelling on public affairs passports, which are granted to government officials and top executives at China's state-run companies, the source said. Holders of regular passports would still have to pay the deposit. It was not clear what reason was given for why the exemption should be granted.
The Chinese government issues four different types of passport: standard, diplomatic, PAP and service, which are provided to military personnel. A decision on whether to grant the Chinese request is expected by the end of the month. The UAE is China's largest trading partner in the Gulf region, with exchange between the two countries rising from US$3.9 billion (Dh14.3bn) in 2003 to US$20.4bn last year.
The country is increasingly reliant on workers from China and the Philippines as the traditional foreign workforce, predominantly from India, are lured home by higher salaries sparked by a boost in the construction, information technology and retail sectors. The UAE is already home to more than 200,000 Chinese nationals, 85 per cent of whom live in Dubai. More arrive daily. The number of Chinese people living in the UAE has doubled in the past four years and Chinese officials expecting numbers to double again by 2010.
Citizens of 33 countries are exempt from providing deposits upon arrival in the UAE. Others must obtain either 30-day visas with Dh500 deposits, or three-month visas for Dh1,000. chamilton@thenational.ae