Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) has dismissed recent social media posts about an alleged “overstay announcement” as unfounded rumors. The posts, circulating on WhatsApp, falsely claimed that new policies would permanently abscond and blacklist passengers overstaying by more than five days.
“Dubai immigration has announced a final overstay policy change effective immediately. Any passengers overstaying more than 5 days will be permanently absconded without prior notice,” one of the misleading posts read. It further warned that those overstaying would be deported with a lifetime ban.
Despite the posts’ poor grammar and typographical errors, they urged travel agents to urgently inform customers of the alleged new rule to avoid severe consequences. “Please ensure compliance to avoid severe consequences,” said another post addressing “customers.”
In a Gulf News report, GDRFA clarified that these posts were not issued by them. “The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai urges the public not to follow rumors and to obtain information from official sources,” the GDRFA stated to Gulf News. The authority also encouraged residents facing residency issues to communicate through official channels for proper solutions.
Dubai resident Amal Gireesh shared his experience, saying he received the posts from several travel agents while inquiring about updates for a visitor he knew. “I was wondering how this could be true when the GDRFA logo in the post itself is not correct,” he noted.
