Hi everyone, newbie here! I used to work in Dubai. I got laid off due to crisis, i've got unpaid credit cards and personal loan when i left Dubai. Banks kept on calling my mom. She told the recovery agents that i was still in Dubai, of course she lied. Banks told her that Dubai Immigration will be alerted and I will be brought straight to the jail once I attempt to leave the UAE.
Now, im going to travel to Libya soon. I'm just waiting for the ticket that will be issued by my sponsor. I'm worried that if I have a connecting flight/stopover in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi airport, the airport police will apprehend me. Im scared to set foot again in the UAE. Was there an incident where someone was detained in the UAE because of unpaid loans/credit cards when he/she made a stopover in any of the UAE airports?

Not a personal experience but this might be of use to you.
http://www.expatechodubai.com/new-to...ed-your-debts/

I wouldn't go near the UAE with debts there.

I would have to second Yoshi's advice in this case, personally I would very much try my best to avoid the UAE if I was in your shoes.

The article brings up some great points, however if the debt amount wasn't something extraordinary I doubt they would go as far as getting the Interpol involved

The UAE does have very good relationships with their neighboring Arab countries, so if you can, I would try to avoid the immediate gulf region all together as they share information in many ways. I am not sure how interlinked their immigration computers are, but I would not be surprised if they crosscheck arrest warrants, Libya and the North African part of the world should be safe though.

The transit part can be a hit or miss, generally they would not pick you off an aircraft unless they have a lot of time on their hands or you are wanted for something serious, this generally takes place at passport control. But you never know. If yo believe that you need to visit that part of the region, I would strongly suggest to contact your creditors and perhaps setup a consultation with a local law firm.

Avoid the UAE even for transits if you want to minimize the risk of ending up locked up as a debtor. Avoiding the GCC may make sense too, but it is very unusual for debtors to be extradited to the UAE.

Think about the risk/reward.


Risk - possible jail time

Reward - possibly better flights (price/convenience ??)



It seems pretty clear that flying through the UAE is not worth it.

This is pretty clear

What if the Debtor has left the country?
Under the UAE criminal procedures law, if it can be shown that the Debtor has left the country, it is possible for the Creditor to obtain a Court judgment in absence of the Debtor. After receiving the judgment, as part of the execution process, the Debtor may be blacklisted at the migration department, meaning in future he would be stopped immediately upon arrival to the UAE. This would include any occasion in which the Debtor was transiting through Dubai on route to another country.


OP, did you check if there is an Interpol letter out for you yet?