American citizen Kevin Hanson has been left homeless in Dubai after suffering a stroke, losing his ability to work and becoming trapped in the UAE under civil travel bans.
“I’m 55 and stuck in the United Arab Emirates,” Hanson wrote in a plea for help. “I suffered a stroke last year and was hospitalised for two months. Now with the stroke effects I cannot obtain work, medicine or make payments. I feel lost and stuck with nowhere else to turn.”
Hanson, from Anchorage, Alaska, first travelled to the UAE for work in aviation before later moving there in 2016. His situation deteriorated after the economic downturn following covid lockdowns and the knock on effects. He was left facing travel bans.
He is now unable to leave the country and unable to work.
Hanson says the stroke left him partially blind, physically weakened and struggling with speech, balance and depth perception.
“I’m half blind now, have no balance or depth perception, and the left side of my body is all weak,” he said. “These were the result of a stroke last year. Including these issues as well as my age, I basically am unhireable in the UAE.”
His visa has since expired, leaving him in an impossible position. He cannot legally work, cannot access proper support or healthcare and cannot return to the United States while the bans remain in place.
“My expired visa doesn’t allow access to work, medical or even charity apparently,” Hanson said. “If I can get back to the USA at least I can access benefits and assistance. I basically have lost all hope here.”
After leaving hospital, Hanson says he was left sleeping on the streets.
“Until police arrested me I was homeless on the streets of Dubai,” he said. “I survived on the streets in Dubai for a few months during winter. Sleeping outside is nothing new, just with the heat now is more concerning.”
The situation worsened in March when Hanson was arrested in relation to a civil matter and jailed for 30 days. It’s illegal to be homeless in Dubai and he fears he will be arrested again.
“Financially I have nothing,” he said. “I have one change of clothes, passport and phone.”.
The US Consulate in Dubai has been contacted, but Hanson says he was told officials could only assist with his return once the travel bans were removed.
“This is exactly how civil travel bans become a form of indefinite punishment,” said Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai. “Kevin is not a criminal fugitive. He is an unwell American citizen who suffered a stroke and is now trapped in a country where he cannot work, cannot access care and cannot leave.”
“The system creates a cycle. A person is banned from leaving, then they lose employment, their visa expires, they cannot pay the debt, and they become homeless, a crime in itself.”
Stirling noted that Hanson’s case mirrors previous Americans trapped in the UAE after serious medical crises. “We represented stroke victim David Oliver, another American who became stranded in the UAE after catastrophic health problems destroyed his ability to work and support himself,” Stirling said. “These cases expose how civil travel bans can rapidly turn medical emergencies into humanitarian disasters, leaving vulnerable foreigners effectively trapped without income, healthcare or any realistic route home.”
Hanson has contacted U. S. Senator Lisa Murkowski asking for urgent help and for his case to be raised with the US State Department and US Embassy. Stirling says American officials must stop treating these cases as private civil disputes when citizens are at serious humanitarian risk. Stirling recalled, “When David Oliver suffered a stroke, the US Ambassador went out of his way to have the travel bans removed and help him return home. This is the kind of exemplary service that the worried families of Americans abroad are grateful for.”
“Kevin is not asking the US government to pay his debts,” Stirling said. “He is asking them to intervene so he can return home, receive medical treatment and rebuild his life. Consular officials cannot simply wait while a disabled American citizen sleeps on the streets of Dubai.”
Detained in Dubai is calling on the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the US Consulate in Dubai, the State Department and Alaska’s congressional delegation to urgently request a humanitarian resolution from UAE authorities.
Hanson says he wants to return to Alaska, rejoin his family and access the medical care he cannot obtain in his current situation.
“I humbly request assistance on humanitarian grounds to return back to Alaska where I can receive proper medical attention, re-join my family and have a better opportunity to restart my life,” he said.
Stirling warned that the case should concern every American living, working or investing in the UAE.
“Americans are repeatedly told Dubai is safe, modern and business-friendly,” Stirling said. “But a rental dispute, failed business, cheque allegation or civil claim can quickly become a travel ban, an overstay, homelessness and imprisonment.”
“Kevin’s case is not unusual. It is the predictable outcome of a system that gives creditors extraordinary power over a person’s freedom. The US government must intervene before this becomes another preventable tragedy.”
Americans are particularly vulnerable following crises like the world economic crisis, covid and Iran’s attack on the UAE.