Signs of Recession in Dubai as 86 percent more residency visas are cancelled
Dubai cancelled 86 percent more residency visas in January this year compared with the same period in 2008, official figures revealed on Tuesday.
Data from Dubai’s Ministry of Interior Naturalization & Residency (DNRD) shows that 54,684 residency visas were cancelled during the month of January, compared with 29,418 in January 2008 – an 86 percent increase.
This translates to approximately 1,764 every day, higher than the 1,500 cancellations reported in the media during the past three weeks.
However, the number of new residency visas issued in January was higher than the number cancelled, with 88,423 visas being approved, said the DNRD.
Yet, this figure is down from January 2008, when 93,957 residency visas were issued.
The DNRD confirmed that the figures were for new residency visas only and did not include renewed ones.
Private sector visas were the most cancelled type of visa, said the DNRD.
In October 23,287 private sector employment visas were cancelled while 25,609 were in November and 23,814 in December.
Domestic help visas were the least cancelled with just 2,686 cancelled in October while 3,031 and 2,906 were cancelled in November and December respectively.
According to the latest figures, the total number of inbound and outbound travelers exceeded 6.6 million during the last quarter of 2008, compared to 5.8 million for the same period the previous year.
From Arabian Business
