Dependant visa status when the sponsor is changing job - Q&A - Legal Advice Middle East

Question

Q: I have got another employment opportunity. I will not be able to hold my wife's visa while my new visa gets issued. What will happen with her current job? A: The permit is granted to her based on the fact that she is a UAE resident. She does not have to terminate her employment contract…

Ahmed Elnaggar · Accepted Answer

Dear Questioner, Based on your above question, your wife is currently holding a dependent visa as "housewife not allowed to work", which means you - at some point - had to grant her a No Objection letter to allow her to work legally with her current employer. I assume she holds a work permit issued by the relevant authority at her workplace. Because of your new job, you must cancel your - "you and your wife" - current employment and residence permit and apply for a new one in Abu Dhabi. Please note that upon the cancellation of your wife's residency permit, it is automatically understood that she is not allowed to work based on the work permit she has anymore. This is because the permit is granted to her based on the fact that she is a UAE resident. However, she does not have to terminate her employment contract because of the cancellation of the visa. She should inform her employer - and the relevant authority whether MOHRE or the Free Zone Authority - of the situation and her employer should choose between one of the below solutions: - Put her on leave or work from home during the days she is waiting for the issuance of her new work permit. She will have 28 days limit to stay inside the country waiting for her new dependent visa to be issued. during that time she can maybe work from home. - The relevant authority may grant her special approval to continue working during the waiting period "which is highly difficult to get if her permit is through MOHRE".

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