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: What are the consequences of not leaving the UAE after employment visa has been cancelled but within 30 days grace period? The employer bought a one-way ticket home under the agreement prior to cancellation that the employee will go back to the home country. Can the employer file any case in immigration because the employee decided to look for jobs in UAE instead?

Q: Is it still possible to change my status from a visit visa to a resident visa after getting a job without leaving the UAE? And how is it done? MJ

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.

An interview-format article covering the topic of filing an employment court case in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

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).

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.