Content Recap:
1. Leaving UAE with Personal or Car Loan
When a bank gives you a loan in the UAE, they ask for a security check for the amount of the loan. The bank also keeps copies of signed agreement reports that explain the terms and conditions in more detail. If the due date passes, the debt will be collected in a strict way without telling you. But if you leave the country, your banks will send all of the security checks back to the bank in UAE.
What happens if you don’t have any money in the bank? In UAE, it is a crime to have security checks that can’t be cashed because you don’t have enough money in your account. So, the bank might file a criminal complaint against you, which would make you a fugitive. The agreement you signed with the bank also gives them the right to sue you in court. If you are outside of UAE, the court may order that you be locked up as soon as you get back.
You can still leave UAE with a personal loan, but you have to follow their rules for making payments when you’re not there. First, you have to call the company you owe money to and explain what’s going on. You can ask for a new payment plan that fits your location and how much you can pay each month.
If you have a good history of paying back loans, the bank may let you leave the country with their money. But the bank might need some extra paperwork to process your request. Before they let you leave the country, they always write everything down so you can’t just ignore them.
2. Leaving UAE with Mortgage
If you own a home in the United Arab Emirates, you might have to pay off your mortgage before leaving the country. Some banks want you to pay in full, but others let you leave and set up a payment plan from somewhere else.
If the bank wants you to pay the full amount, you have three choices, which are;
- Paying the whole mortgage balance using your means
- Selling the property to repay the mortgage
- Re-financing with a non-resident mortgage through a different bank.
If you have a mortgage and want to leave UAE, the terms and conditions you and the bank agreed on will apply. But you can change your mortgage from one for a home to one for a business. To pay your mortgage while you are away, you will have to sign an agreement with the bank and keep your UAE bank account open.
But this bank account for non-residents will be with the same bank as your mortgage. You will need to make sure that this account has enough money in it to pay for your mortgage. On the other hand, the bank might put you on a list of people who haven’t paid their bills. If you rent out the property, make sure the rent goes into the account so that the debt can be paid off.
If you don’t pay back your mortgage in UAE, you could lose your home, just like if you didn’t pay back any other loan. How you pay your mortgage doesn’t matter to the bank. So, you can use any of the above methods as long as they don’t break the rules of the financial institution.
3. Leaving UAE with Credit Card
If you don’t pay your credit card bills, you’ll have to pay more in interest and other fees. What happens if you leave UAE without paying off your credit cards? If you don’t pay your credit card bills once or twice, you may have to pay high interest rates or late payment fees. On the other hand, if you don’t pay your bills for a few months, the bank can sue you.
The Central Bank of UAE says that if you don’t pay your credit card bill for six months in a row, the bank will put you on a list of people who haven’t paid their bills. Without your permission, the bank can use any legal method to get its money back.
If you don’t do what the bank wants, it can send debt collectors to get in touch with you. Debt collectors will track you down as far as your house and remind you to pay off your credit card debts. Also, if the bank takes the blank checks but there are no funds in them, the bank can press charges against you.
According to the laws of the UAE, people can be fined and put in jail if;
- Give cheques with no or less drawable balance.
- Withdraws all or some of the balance, making it insufficient for settling the credit card debt.
- Give the wrong signatures to prevent withdrawal of cash.
If the bank brings charges against you, you also can’t leave the country. You won’t be able to enter or leave the country. If you have already left the country, you will be held when you come back into the UAE. What can you do if you have credit card debts and want to go back to UAE?
You have to ask the country’s authorities if there are any charges against you or if you are not allowed to travel. After you know your status, you can take your time to talk to the bank about other ways to solve the problem without using sanctions. Before you go back to the UAE, give yourself time to pay off the debt completely. So, you’ll be free of debts and able to legally work in and out of the country.
Consequences of Trying to Leave UAE with unsettled Debts:
As we’ve already talked about, leaving the UAE with debt is a risky thing to do. If you have debts and want to leave the country, it is usually a good idea to talk to your lenders. Below, we talk about what will happen if you leave the UAE while you owe money.
UAE Immigration Officers Blocks your Movement
Not unless you move quickly enough before the bank tells the court about you and puts a travel ban on you. If you want to travel safely, make sure your loan payments are current and that the government hasn’t put you on a wanted list for loan default. Also, immigration officers are told right away so they can stop you from leaving the country without paying off your debts.
Your UAE Bank Remains Activated
If you owe money to the UAE government, you can’t close your bank account. The bank account becomes a non-resident account, which lets you keep paying your loan while you’re out of the country. You can only close your bank account if you have paid off all of your debts and still don’t want to use it.
You May Have a Case to Answer
Getting taken to court and being charged with a crime is the worst thing that can happen. If you are a foreign investor in the country, it wastes your time and hurts your reputation and business brand. If the bank presses charges against you for not paying back your loan, you could go to jail or have to pay a big fine. So, it’s smarter to pay off your debts or use your power to convince the bank to give you more time.
Direct Deductions and Auctioning
No matter where you live, the bank may find other ways to get their money. They can take their loan right out of your pay without telling you. When you don’t follow their rules, they take this step.
The bank may also send auctioneers to your home to get their money back. You can sell anything valuable to pay off your bank debt. I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if you couldn’t control your own property. So, the best thing to do is pay off your debts instead of trying to avoid them.
Measures to Take to Re-enter UAE After Defaulting:
Many people want to go back to the UAE after leaving for business elsewhere. There is still a chance that you’ll be able to go back and keep running your business. Here are the steps you need to take to get into the United Arab Emirates again.
If you decide to leave the UAE for another country, it’s best to find someone you can trust to keep running your business there. Find someone you can trust to handle your money. You will need to give the bank a power of attorney or a well-written letter. So, even though you have debt, you will be able to leave the country because the bank will hold someone else responsible for your money.
You can easily go back to your country because no case has been filed against you. Then, you can take care of your businesses.
Get Clearance Certificate
When you have paid off all your debts and want to go back, the bank should send you a clearance certificate to show that you are no longer “wanted” for defaulting. Also, the bank needs to clear your name with the national police and immigration to let them know that you are now free.
Also, make sure you get a letter from the police saying that they dropped the charges against you. If you need to involve the embassy, you should be patient and follow their rules before you go back to your country.
Once the bank clears you, make sure to get it in writing so you have something to show as proof. If you have a lawyer, they will handle the paperwork and it will be legal for your name to be cleared.
If the person you made the deal with leaves the bank, you have to follow the written agreement. You will have proof that the bank stamped and signed it on a certain date. So, no one will have to start paying back because they didn’t have enough proof that they were cleared.
Negotiate the Repayment Method
If you’re not in the UAE and you owe money there, you decide to talk to the financial organization about the payment terms so they’ll let you go back. You need to hire a good lawyer to represent you in the negotiation if you want to win. Also, having a legal team there makes sure that everything agreed upon at the table is put into action, which is good for both sides.
If the bank agrees to your terms of payment, you won’t be able to leave the country and you won’t have to pay the fees. Even though it costs money to hire a lawyer, it’s worth it because you’ll be free.
After you clear things up with the bank and the police, you can go back to the UAE. No creditors will come after you, and you won’t have a record of not paying back loans. It’s nice to know that the bank can still give you a loan after you’ve paid off the first one.
Bottom Line:
You might want to leave UAE for any number of reasons, including changes in the economy, illness, homesickness, or anything else. As we’ve already talked about, it’s against the law to leave the country with debts, especially if you haven’t told the bank.
Unfortunately, leaving won’t help because the government will still find other ways to get their money back. All the banks in the world will know that you owe UAE money, which means they can come after you without your permission. So, the safest thing to do is work out a fair deal with the bank to pay off your debts and be free to go back to the country.