I do not intend to renew my work visa,as my contract expires soon. I have accepted a better job offer from another country. I do still however have financial commitments (loan) at a local bank which I intend to continue to honour, but have heard very draconian and scary stories of Bahrain wrt this. Apparently if you inform the bank of this, they can just slap a travel ban on you that then leads to more problems. I have some concerns and need advice from anyone that knows or have been through this.
1. If all payments are up to date at the time of visa cancellation will I be allowed to leave through the airport without being stopped, as I understand banks can only apply for a court order for a travel ban if you are in default of payments, which I will not be in, and intend to keep honouring the commitments.
2. Some people say to make an arrangement with the bank, but again there are stories of banks then just applying for travel bans, even if you did the honorable thing of informing them.
3. It seems with all these scary stories around, its better to only contact them after leaving in order to arrange for the continued payments.
4. Do banks know when your visa is cancelled and can they put a travel ban on you even if you are not in default of any payments at that stage.
Ive heard from some friends that they left without any problems after their contracts ended and made arrangements with the bank to continue paying, but I also heard some stories of people arriving at the airport only to find out they cant travel.
Any advice would be appreciated.
ADVICE pls..
The situation varies from bank to bank and on case to case for each individual. If you have been terminated from your job without immediate future employment prospects and miss a few payments; understandably the banks will be worried about your risk level. But that is not the case for you so you are, to an extent, able to reassure them of future payment plans.
Having said so:
1) Yes you can leave
2&3) You can do it either way. That depends on your comfort level. You can do a mix & match as well e.g. go and tell them day before you leave close to end of business. A travel ban has to go through execution courts before it can be applied and it takes time
4) No they don't
Personally, having worked and lived in the GCC for a while; when it comes to loans, I either never take them or if I have to, never from local banks. You get better service and save money of course - but face many other issues once you leave these shores.
Thank you so much for the information...
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