Q: Hi, I have been terminated from employment and my employer said that they will keep my visa until 7 November to give me time to find a new job. If I don’t find a new job by then, they will cancel the visa anyway. It is unlikely I will secure a job by the 7 November deadline. I understand you have a 30-day grace period to change your status after visa cancellation. My plan is to change to a tourist visa. My question is, if I want to go back home (U.K.) for a while (say 20 November to 4 Jan) and continue applying for jobs from England, what do I need to do regarding my visa? If I exit the country on 20 Nov (within the 30-day grace period) is that sufficient? I’ll still have my apartment, bank account, etc. here. To formerly ‘exit’ after residence visa cancellation, do these also need to be exited/closed? Or is it as simple as I need to exit within 30 days of 7 Nov. so I can fly out mid-November and when I come back in Jan I just get a tourist visa?

Q: Hi, I was terminated on 1 May. I was on probation at that time and had completed almost 5 months. I have been told that I will be given 2 months' salary and my visa will remain valid for 3 months to search for another job. On my request to extend my visa for some more time, HR Head discussed with management and after 2 days, the HR executive told me that my visa can be extended for 1 more month i.e. it will remain valid for 4 months on 1 condition that my 2 months salary will remain on hold till that time. I said yes, but later, I realized that it won't be possible for me to survive. So, I called HR Head on the same day and said no to this and asked to find a mid-way solution. When I haven't got any response, I requested them to release my 2 months' salary as per process and keep my visa valid for 3 months. Today I got a response: "We regret to inform you that we are unable to proceed with your request, as the company's policy will not enable us to issue any payment until the work permit and visa are canceled."

Q: I have been terminated from an unlimited contract in a company at ADGM. The company is paying me 3 months' notice pay as per my contract and not giving me the option to work during the notice period. They want to cancel my employment and residence visa on the termination date and not the last date of the notice period, as my last working day will be the termination date. I need my visa to be kept open till at least the notice period end date but not sure what is the law on this.

Q: My visa was canceled on December 9th, how long can I stay in the country? As per the change in the rule, will I be able to stay 6 months?

Q: Hi, An employee resigns during the probation period in the private sector of education, and the two weeks notice period has been served. 1. How long can the employee remain in the country to find another job? Does the employee need to leave the country for three months and then return? 2. Can the employee change the visa status to tourist with a border run and stay in the UAE to find a job? Thank you

The UAE has adopted a major reform in its legislative system that brought about 40 new laws and amendments to the company law, criminal law, personal status, among others. The amendments aim to develop the legislative structure in various sectors, the labor law being one of these, was the most recent. We try in this article to shed light on the changes introduced with the new labor law and their significance on both, the employer and employee.

The UAE government introduced the new Unemployment Insurance Law under the Federal Decree-Law No. 13 of 2022 Concerning the Unemployment Insurance Scheme for Unemployed People. The law aims at providing a sort of financial support in case of unemployment for a brief period, probably to help employees who got terminated find another job and avoid failing in other financial obligations.

The provisions of this Decree-Law, known as "New UAE Labor Law", govern labour relations in the private sector of the United Arab Emirates. The New Labor Law repeals the previous UAE Labor Law (Federal Law No. (8) of 1980).

The provisions of this Law, known as "UAE Labour Law", govern the relationship between employers and employees and other labour matters in the United Arab Emirates. There are special labour related regulations applicable in some of the free zones in the UAE.

This Decree sets the rules and conditions for the termination of fixed-term (limited) or unlimited (not term-bound) employment contract between employer and worker in the United Arab Emirates.