How do I check if I have been reported absconding?

Doesn't matter what he fabricated, you left without completing your contract.
I'd give moving back a miss as you could end up in trouble.

Fred,

I wasn't asking for your commentary, thanks. I was asking for legal advice from a professional, or the contact number of a professional.

Please don't waste peoples' time with your uniformed opinion.

As you wish..

The country has a serious problem with people breaking labour laws and literally thousands  are are arrested every year.
Going back is likely to see you immediately deported, possibly after the 100 riyals fine and one month in prison.

Hi Casper67,

Although three years have elapsed since your exit, there can be no sure way of knowing if there are any 'lookout notice' issued against your name and passport number.

One can never say anything until and unless one gets apprehended on landing in any of the GCC airports - if there is a criminal lookout notice issued.

One way to circumvent this issue is to change your passport number, Also make sure that the name is not exactly the same as in your earlier one; change a spelling or add or delete some alphabets. That way you can bypass the machine filters against any lookout notices - even if there is any.

Your profile says you are an Emirati. Obviously, it is a mistake.

Hi Sumitran,

I am in a similar situation from the UAE and wanting to go to Bahrain now. Could not a person contact immigration in the UAE or other GCC countries?

Do they keep it a secret hoping people will come back unaware? It seems like they would have to tell you if you asked. No? I don't know the laws very well. Would not a person have the right to know their legal standing in a country?

I guess I have to accept this isn't Europe.

Hi Brad80,

If there is a police case against a person, then it is assumed that the person in question is an offender of the laws of the land. It is also assumed that the person has done something illegal to have warranted the involvement of the law enforcement authorities in his / her case.

Whether the said person is really an offender or not is secondary. It is up to the person to clear the complaint by providing acceptable evidence of his / her innocence. Until this can be proven the person against whom the complaint has been given is seen only as an offender of the law, In other words, considered guilty until proven innocent. Not unlike in many other parts of the world where a person is considered innocent until proven guilty.

This is how the system works here and across most of the Middle East. As expatriates, we have no say in the matter whatsoever.

Like you have said, the reason for a 'lookout' is to catch the suspect unaware. If a suspect can log in to the ROP website and see that he / she is being wanted by the law, wouldn't it defeat the very purpose ?

Sumatran,

thank you for your response. If a person was simply labeled as "absconding" without any of the criminal things you mentioned, is there still a GCC "look out"? I am pretty sure my employer did not report any kind of stolen money, etc.  In my case, it was 2015.

Hi Brad80,

The lookout notice is issued only if there is a criminal case filed against the expatriate. Not otherwise. 

Even in cases of criminal complaints, the charges should be grave enough to warrant the arrest of the expatriate.

Petty thieving and such minor misdemeanours cannot be classified under the lookout category.

Hi Sumitran,

thank you for your response. If I left Dubai in 2015 and was only classified as an absconder, can I go back as a tourist? Am I now blacklisted from Dubai? I do not owe any money and my employer might have reported me, but they were not malicious like the OP's boss.

Hi Brad80,

The laws of the UAE and the Sultanate are very different. They don't even have the NOC rule. Nor any of the many other labour rules which are followed in Oman. So you really do not have much to worry about.