Exit Permit & Travel Ban in UAE

The UAE does not operate an employer-controlled exit permit system. Unlike Kuwait's July 2025 rule requiring employer approval before a worker leaves the country, UAE workers can travel freely in and out of the country with a valid passport and residence visa. This right has been in place since earlier labour reforms and was carried forward under FDL 33/2021.

• No employer exit approval required. You can leave the UAE on vacation or permanently without asking your employer for permission. The airline ticket decision is yours.
• What you do need: a valid residence visa (or valid cancellation and a grace period) and a valid passport. If your residence visa has been cancelled, your status must be regularised before you overstay.
• Visa cancellation on departure. When employment ends, the employer must cancel the work permit and residence visa through the ICA (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security).
• Grace period: 30 days after visa cancellation to either find new employment and transfer, or depart the UAE. During this window you are not overstaying.
• Overstay penalties (commonly cited figures): AED 50/day for the first 6 months, then AED 100/day. Overstays beyond 180 days may result in a re-entry ban. These figures are widely reported but not independently confirmed here from the official ICA gazette — verify with ICA directly before relying on them.
• Court-imposed travel bans are a separate judicial instrument, distinct from employment. UAE courts or federal authorities may impose a travel ban for unpaid civil debts, criminal proceedings, cheque-bounce offences, active court cases, or immigration violations. These must be lifted by court order or settlement.
• Labour dispute travel bans typically target the employer, not the worker. In high-value labour cases, the court may impose a travel ban on the employer to prevent flight before workers' claims are settled. Workers are not generally subject to employment-related travel bans under the current regime.
• Employer retaliation through visa cancellation: under the old kafala framework, employers could cancel a worker's visa to force departure. Under FDL 33/2021, cancellation without proper notice is itself a violation — and you can file a MoHRE complaint to halt forced departure during a dispute.

Worked example. Maria, working in Dubai, resigns with the contractual 30 days' notice. At the end of the notice period, her employer cancels the work permit and residence visa through ICA. Maria has 30 days' grace to either transfer to a new employer or depart the UAE. She does not need the employer's permission to buy her airline ticket, and she does not need an exit permit. She books the flight herself.