Dubai has just wrapped up one of its biggest visa fraud cases, and the numbers are wild: 21 people convicted, 33 fake companies exposed, and fines are in the millions!

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Sounds crazy, right? Here’s what actually went down.

It all started when the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs noticed something fishy. A bunch of companies were issuing residency visas… but there were no real jobs, no real offices, and definitely no follow-through.

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These companies were basically phantom businesses, set up only to push through visa paperwork illegally

The Dubai Citizenship and Residency Prosecution has secured from the Dubai Citizenship and Residency Court a conviction and a fine totalling AED25.210 million against 21 defendants of various nationalities involved in visa fraud. The individuals were found guilty in one of the… pic.twitter.com/9eR35o3Wx7

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) June 24, 2025

People were promised jobs and legal residency in the UAE. The companies would apply for their visas, everything would seem official, and then boom, the company would vanish. No job. No paperwork updates. Just an employee now stuck in the country with an expired or invalid visa, no support, and in serious legal trouble.

Once the fraud was flagged, Dubai’s Citizenship and Residency Prosecution, led by Dr. Ali Humaid bin Khatem, stepped in. The investigation covered 33 dodgy companies and uncovered a total misuse of 385 residency visas. Most of these businesses were registered using fake addresses, which made it clear: the entire operation was set up with the intent to cheat the system.

After collecting all the evidence, the 21 suspects were sent to trial at the Dubai Citizenship and Residency Court and were issued fines totalling over AED 25.2 million!

Dr. Bin Khatem said it best: this kind of fraud isn’t just a paperwork issue. It messes with the stability of society and the integrity of the labour market. Dubai’s taking a strong stance to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

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