DUBAI: A top Dubai civic body official clarified that the medical fitness certificates, issued by municipality-run clinics would be accepted by Ministry of Labor once a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the municipality with Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS), comes into force.
Medical fitness certificate is a must to get a new employment visa stamped in the passport or to renew a visa in every three years.
Currently, medical fitness certificates issued by municipality clinics are being rejected by the Labor Ministry, after a UAE Cabinet decision stipulated that municipal clinics would not be allowed to conduct medical tests for residence and labor visas. The decision that was taken in April specified that the ruling would be enforced from July 1. According to the decision, medical facilities run by the Preventive Medicine Department at the Ministry of Health, Dubai Health Authority and Abu Dhabi Health Authority are responsible to issue medical fitness certificates.
While explaining the issue that has already affected hundreds of expatriate labors in Dubai, Zohoor Al-Sabbagh, director of Public Health Services Department at Dubai Municipality, said as per the MOU, the medical fitness certificates issued by the Dubai Municipality clinic would carry an official logo of DOHMS which would, then, be accepted by the Labor Ministry.
"We had discussed the issue with the DOHMS and the Dubai Health Authority and had signed an MOU in order to facilitate the medical screening process for expatriate employees and laborers. This will, in effect, take some pressure off the health establishments run by DOHMS and was aimed at offering better services for the public," she said.
Al-Sabbagh added that during the discussions with DOHMS and DHA, it was agreed that the municipality's e-clinic service would be utilized by both parties in order to facilitate the residence permit applications for the expatriates.
Under the e-clinic service, results of the medical fitness tests for obtaining residence visas and work permits carried out at the Dubai Municipality clinics are directly transferred to the Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department (DNRD) on the same day.