Hiring friend’s maid easy

Hiring friend’s maid easyBy Ahmed Abdul Aziz (Our staff reporter)/KHALEEJ TIMES1 May 2008

ABU DHABI — Ever wondered, and wished, how you could’ve hired the maid of your friend/acquaintance going home, for a short period? May be till only the time they flew back! Well, it’s now in the realm of possibility.

According to Colonel Nassir Al Awadi Al Minhali, Director of the Abu Dhabi Naturalisation and Residency Department (ADNRD), domestic helps can be hired on a temporary sponsorship transfer basis from one sponsor to another, for a maximum of three months. There is a catch though. This transfer can be effected only once during the residency period of the domestic helps, who include housemaids, drivers, cookers, nannies, and farm workers. Al Minhali told a Press conference held at the ADNRD office here that the temporary sponsorship transfer would be done after the endorsement of the NRDs, and after the concerned officials have studied the applications received from sponsors.

The original sponsor must submit the passport of the domestic help to the NRDs officers after the endorsement to issue a temporary sponsorship permit.

Shaikh Saif bin Zayed, Minister of Interior, has recently signed a decision to this effect, which aims at weeding out the illegals. The decision also aims at facilitating the procedures to find domestic helps.

“As the peak summer approaches, it’ll soon be time for families to travel abroad. They can let their maids work temporarily with another sponsor. The decision applies for all emirates,” Al Minhali pointed out.

Responsibility
The temporary sponsors would be responsible to pay all the dues and other financial entitlements to the maids, as well to provide them with suitable accommodation, food and medical treatment during the three months.

Al Minhali also explained that the temporary sponsors would be held responsible in case the maids abscond.

To avoid the punishments, the sponsors must file absconding reports to the NRDs.

AT A GLANCE
· 90-day temporarily permits

· Cannot be renewed

· Costs Dh500

· Original sponsor can give permission only once for each maid during the residency period

· Temporary sponsors face responsibility in case maids abscond

· No-Objection Certificate (NoC) from the original sponsor is a must

· Companies’ workers are not allowed

WHO CAN ISSUE IT?
· Nationals and expatriates whose salaries are above Dh6,000 a month

· Professionals only (doctors, engineers, accountants, bankers, officers, journalists)

· Government departments’ staff