Sponsoring Parents in UAE - Ministry denies visa policy has changed

The Ministry of Interior has denied rumours that it has stopped issuing visas to the immediate relatives of expatriate residents. Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, Director-General of the Naturalisation and Residency Department, told that visas are still being issued to immediate family members, and especially to parents.

He added that a husband has the right to sponsor his wife, parents and in-laws. Wives in turn have the right to sponsor their husbands, parents and in-laws. Parents have the right to sponsor their children if they are under the age of 21. The ministry takes into consideration humanitarian and social imperatives and sometimes issues visas to children above the age of 21 who want to visit their families or continue their education.

A local Arabic-language newspaper reported yesterday that the Naturalisation and Residency Department had stopped issuing visas to parents of residents, but continued to issue them to husbands, wives and children. The report prompted panicked expatriates to call newspapers and residency department offices.

Al Menhali said there had been no change in the UAE's naturalisation and residency laws. Applicants are required to deposit a guarantee of Dh5,000, in addition to the visa application fee

Labour Ministry issues fresh warning to dormant firms

The Ministry of Labour has warned again that it would not tolerate violations by dormant companies which fail to report the closure of any of their units, leading to loss of jobs by their workers, Alkhaleej newspaper reported .Companies violating existing rules would be fined Dh50,000 for each sacked worker while all establishments sponsored by the owner of the abusing firm would be blacklisted by the government, the paper said.

The Ministry issued the warning during an open meeting organised by the Ministry of Labour on Monday for employees and private sector representative.

Officials said the Ministry had received several applications from dormant or shut firms reporting their new status and asking for permission to transfer the visas of labourers of such firms to other establishments belonging to the same owner.

“In case employers or workers do not inform the Ministry that such an institution no longer exists and that they are not employed any more, then the Ministry will transfer their visas to other establishment belonging to the employers without prior request or approval by the owners,” the paper quoted Mohammed Jameel, Director of the Guidance Section at the Ministry, as saying.He said workers laid off as a result of a shut firm must inform the Ministry within three months of the date of closure.“Should they do so more than three months after the closure, then the Ministry will consider them as jobless and violators of the residence law…in this case, we will cancel their visas and give them a work ban for one year.”

No More 6-Month Ban: UAE Labour Law Prioritizes Employment Mobility

This detailed, multi-layered article from around 2010 provides a great snapshot of the UAE's employment and residency rules during a period of significant transition (post-2005 ban lifting, pre-2011/2022 Labour Law).

All the specific ban durations (6-month, 1-year, etc.), the role of the Ministry of Interior in employment bans, the concept of the NOC, and the exact ban lifting fees mentioned are now OBSOLETE.

The current framework, established by the Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 (the UAE Labour Law), simplifies and liberalizes employment mobility, effectively removing the automatic bans described in the article.

Here is an analysis and update of the core concepts presented in the article:

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🚫 UAE Employment Mobility & Bans: The New Era (2025 Update)

The specific rules regarding automatic 6-month and 1-year labour bans imposed by the Ministry of Labour (MoL, now MoHRE) are no longer applicable under the Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. The current law prioritizes employment flexibility and simplifies the process of switching jobs.

1. The Employment Ban (Work Permit Restriction)

2010 Context (Article)	Current (2025) Law & Status
Automatic 6-Month Ban: Imposed on most workers who resigned/cancelled their visa.	ABOLISHED. The automatic ban is removed. An employee can switch jobs immediately after the notice period or cancellation, provided the termination was legal.
NOC (No Objection Certificate): Essential for avoiding the ban if leaving an unlimited contract early.	ABOLISHED. The NOC is no longer required for an employee to transfer their work permit to a new employer.
Ban Lifting Fees (AED 3,000-6,000): Paid to lift the automatic ban.	ABOLISHED. Since the automatic ban is removed, there is generally no ban lifting fee for a standard job change.
Ban Exceptions (Engineers, Accountants, etc.): Certain professions were exempt from the ban.	ABOLISHED. The list of exempted professions is irrelevant as the general ban is removed for all.

2. Immigration Ban (Entry Ban)

The distinction between the Employment Ban (MoL/MoHRE) and the Immigration Ban (MoI/ICP) remains valid, but the rules are clearer.

• Criminal/Security Ban (Permanent): STILL APPLICABLE. An entry ban is still imposed by the Public Prosecution or Judiciary for criminal offenses (theft, fraud, drug offenses, etc.) or serious national security violations. This is a permanent ban and is monitored via the Integrated Systems (including eye scanning).
• Immigration Violation Ban (Absconding/Overstay): STILL APPLICABLE. If an employee is reported as absconding (leaving work for more than 7 consecutive days without a legitimate reason), they face a Work Permit Restriction (ban) and an entry ban (often for a year) and must pay fines. Overstaying a visa also results in daily fines and may lead to a temporary ban upon exit.

3. Domestic Help (Exclusion in 2005)

The article noted domestic help were temporarily excluded from the 2005 ban lifting.

• Current Status: Domestic workers are now covered under Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 Regarding Domestic Workers. They have specific rights and contracts, and their transfer procedures are governed separately, though the overall trend is toward greater flexibility and protection.

4. Current Job Change Requirements

Under the new law, job switching is based on the notice period specified in the contract:

Contract Scenario	Requirement to Switch Jobs
Unlimited Contract (Pre-2022):	Serve the full notice period (minimum 30 days, maximum 90 days) agreed upon in the contract.
Fixed-Term Contract (Post-2022):	Serve the full notice period (minimum 30 days, maximum 90 days) agreed upon, provided the employee has completed the probationary period.
Termination during Probation:	No ban if the employee gives 14 days' written notice to switch to a new employer in the UAE, or a 1-month notice if leaving the country.

Key Takeaway: For workers who terminate their contract lawfully (serving the notice period), the automatic labour ban is eliminated, allowing for seamless job switching.

The Legal System Of The U.A.E

Practitioner's designation

Advocate. Partnerships are permitted. A local advocate must sponsor any partnership.

Professional education

Candidates must be United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals and possess a law degree from the College of Law of Al-Ain University or from a recognised Arab university. Arab lawyers with ten years' practice in another Arab country may also be admitted. Non-Arabs are now allowed to practise law in the UAE courts. Foreign law firms are permitted to establish offices but are not admitted as practitioners.

The law has recently been changed requiring practitioners to be exclusively UAE nationals. Arab lawyers who are at present licensed to practise must surrender their licence by the year 1996. However, they may still have the right of audience but in the name of a UAE practitioner.

Other professional designations

Notarial services and authentication are undertaken by the Clerk of Justice and the Registrar of Real Property, both of whom are employees of the Ministry of Justice. However, in the Emirates of Sharjah and Ras Al-Khaima these services are rendered by a Notary Public who is regulated by local laws.

In court

Separate admission must be obtained for each of the seven emirates of the federation. Advocates of 15 years' standing may be admitted to the Supreme Court.

History

The UAE is a federation established in 1971 and comprised of seven emirates namely: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al-Khaima, Umm Al-Quwain, Ajman and Fujairah. The promulgation of substantive legislation is confined to the federal institutions, but local authorities may regulate local matters. Prior to establishing the UAE each of the seven emirates passed laws and regulations, including those establishing and regulating the judicial system. For example, Abu Dhabi promulgated a law in 1968 establishing and regulating the courts and Law Number 3 of 1970 dealt with procedures before the civil courts. Dubai promulgated a law establishing its courts in 1970 and Fujairah followed suit in 1969.Ajman, Sharjah, Ras Al-Khaima and Umm Al-Quwain established their courts by laws passed in 1971. Some of the local laws still continue to be in force and effect.

At the head of the federal judicial system is the Federal Supreme Court whose function and operations are stipulated in a particular federal law. The Constitution also provides for the establishment of lower federal courts. Each of the seven emirates, however, retains the right to choose either to participate in the federal legal system or to maintain its own local system. Four emirates (Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman and Fujairah) fused their local courts into the federal system. The remaining three (Dubai, Ras Al-Khaima and Umm Al-Quwain) maintain their own independent courts. These three emirates initially based their court system on a two-tier structure while on the federal level it is a three-tier system. The Emirate of Dubai, created a further tier by establishing a Court of Cassation in addition to its courts of first instance and appeal.

In the UAE establishment of civil and criminal courts resulted in diminishing the role of the Shari'a Courts. Nevertheless, the competence of the Shari'a Courts in some emirates, particularly Abu Dhabi, was later expanded to include in addition to matters of personal status, civil and commercial disputes as well as serious criminal offences. Therefore, in addition to the civil courts, each of the seven emirates maintains a parallel system of Shari'a Courts which is organised and supervised locally.

Language

The official language of all legal proceedings is Arabic.

Reading

Al-Baharna, HM. 'United Arab Emirates'. International Encyclopaedia of Comparative Law, Vol 1, 1973. Pages U53-57.

Amin, Dr SH. 'Legal Systems of the Gulf'. Lloyd's Maritime & Commercial Law Quarterly, February 1983. Pages 71-85.

Ballantyne, WM. Legal Development in Arabia. Graham & Trotman, London, 1980. 125 pages. ISBN 0 86010 167 3.

Mahmoud, Sabah. UAE Company Law and Practice. Medina Publishing, London, 1990. 230 pages. ISBN 1 873210 00 0.

Professional associations

Lawyers Society, c/o Ministry of Justice-Islamic Affairs (Awqaf), PO Box 753, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Tel: (2) 652 224. Fax: (2) 316 003.

Dubai Lawyers Society, c/o Court's Department, PO Box 4700, Dubai, UAE. Tel: (4) 285 151. Fax: (4) 624 099.

Enforcement of Foreign Judgments

by Sabah Al-Mukhtar, LLB, MA, Attorney-at-Law (practising in London)

The Federal UAE Code of Civil Procedures No 11 of 1992 ('CPC') contains the rules on conflict of laws and private international law provisions. The Civil Code No 5 of 1985 also contains rules on conflict of laws and private international law provisions (Articles 10-28). However, the CPC sets out the process to be followed for enforcement of foreign judgments, orders and instruments.

Article 235 of the CPCestablished the principle that foreign judgments, orders and instruments may be enforced in the UAE under the same preconditions attached to them in the country of origin. It also provides that the enforcement process is commenced by means of an application to be made to the court of first instance in whose jurisdiction the enforcement order is being sought.

The application made in this instance is the same as that of commencing an ordinary suite before the court. That involves all the normal formalities such as a statement of claim, registration, payment of fees, procuring a writ of summons.

Before the court makes the enforcement order it must be satisfied that a number of conditions are met. These, inter alia, include:

a. the UAE court did not itself have the competence or jurisdiction to hear the case and that the foreign court was the proper court having the locus standi under the law of the court;

b. the foreign court had the jurisdiction and competence to hear and decide the case;

c. the parties were properly served and represented in the hearing;

d. the judgment is based on the merits, in conformity with the lex fori and is final (res judicata); and

e. it was not contrary to UAE public policy or to a previous UAE court judgment.

Article 238 of the CPC provides that the provisions of the code in this regard will be subject to any treaty that the UAE is a signatory to. The UAE is a signatory to the regional Arab Judicial Treaty of 1983 (otherwise known as the Riyadh Treaty) to which the 21 Arab countries are signatories. The Treaty affords favourable treatment to decisions of the courts of the Arab member states by treating such judgments as domestic and are automatically recognised in the UAE.

How to get Labour Permit for a firm in UAE

Once the firm has got the license and a computer card the next step would be Labour Permit. The company would require an approval from MOL to get labourers skilled/unskilled to UAE.

B1-Group Labour Permit

Definition

It is a service provided by the Ministry to any firm wishing to bring in more than 50 workers without the need of giving individual details in the first stage. The company should give details of number of workers, nationality and the profession. After approval the company will be granted a period of six months to complete formalities for the approved group labour permit.

Implementation Stages

Stage 1: Approval of group permit

Stage 2: Submission of individual labour permits under an application called (approval for completing the group labour permit procedure)

Stage 1: Approval of group permit

1. Submission of an application mentioning nationality, profession, gender and number of people, along with the prescribed fees and required documents for the approval of group labour permit.

Application Form

Application for group labour permit

Conditions

• The company will present documents justifying the need for workers (e.g. list of projects, building permits, contracts, etc.)

• The company must have a clear track record free of any violations. Specifically, it must fulfill the following:

 No labour cards un-renewed for more than two months or labour permits un-renewed for more than six months

 The salary security reports need to be submitted (as per the requirement of the Ministry).

 Its record is free from persistent group labour disputes arising from unpaid wages, lack of suitable accommodation, or any other employer obligation stipulated by law.

It should not have employed illegal workers of any kind or if the trade license has not been renewed for two months then they should not have any workers employed in that firm.

• The other firms of the owner must not have on records any labour cards not renewed for 3 months or labour permits not renewed for 6 months or any violations registered against it.

• The authorized person should have a digital signature card

Documents Required

• A valid trade license.

• List of projects as per the contract should include the name of parties, subject, budget of the project, starting date, ending date and service / quality level.

• Copies of contracts, duly translated if in a foreign language, and attested according to Ministry’s regulations, if they are sub-contracts.

• Copies of building permits from the municipal authorities (if the firm is contracting company)

• Copies of ownership or lease agreement for office or workers’ accommodation (for existing workers)

• Copies of ownership or labour accommodation lease agreement (for workers to be imported as per group permit). It is required to indicate the number of rooms and whether they are suitable to accommodate the workers, together with photographic illustrations. In case no accommodation is available, the Ministry may, on approval by the Undersecretary or Assistant Undersecretary, accept an undertaking from employer to provide the same. After the final approval, the permit will be granted subject to the satisfactory report from the Inspection Department.

• List of company’s machinery and vehicles which can also includes transportation rental contracts mentioning the number of buses which need to be approved by the traffic Dept.

• Settlement of expired labour cards, labour permit and license of other firms owned by the applicant attested from Labour Establishment.

• A sketch drawing of firm’s site and workers’ accommodation, along with photos of the company and facilities.

• Company’s pay-roll for the last two months (excluding the month the application is filed and for the month preceding it).

Steps to Follow

1. Type the group permit application for submission, together with the fees and necessary documents (no application will be typed for group labour permit if the firm has any violations as per the records in the Ministry).

2. The application would be approved and attested by the Ministry with an undertaking letter stating that the owner /authorized person would submit all the required documents and abide to all the conditions necessary for the completion of group labour permit procedure.

3. If all the documents and conditions are fulfilled, the application is typed with following documents attached:

 An undertaking by the owner that he takes responsibility of fulfilling all conditions and documents required for group labour permit.

 A statement mentioning work details and percentage of worker.

4. Submit the application with required documents at the counter in the Inspection Department at the Ministry HQ in Abu Dhabi or Dubai or the concerned Labour office.

5. The application is vetted, scrutinized and checked for complete documents . The following documents need to be submitted:

 Statement mentioning work details and percentage of work.

 Copy of contracts (translated in Arabic) and attested as per the requirements of the Ministry in case of sub contract. Copy of building permit needs to be attached if it is a contracting company.

 Copies of ownership or labour accommodation lease agreement (for workers to be imported as per group permit). It is required to indicate the number of rooms whether there are suitable to accommodate the workers together along with photographic illustrations. In case no accommodation is available the Ministry may, on approval of Undersecretary or Assistant Undersecretary, accept an undertaking from the employer to provide the same on approval of group labour permit.

6. The applicant will be given a receipt for the submitted documents and it will mention that he will have to provide any other document if necessary (on request by the staff at Ministry counter).

7. Once all the documents are completed, the firm is notified for the date of inspection to assess the volume of work and ensure the firm’s compliance with inspection conditions. The Inspection Department will then submit its report.

8. The application will then be referred to the Permits Committee for processing and would be either approved or disapproved based on documents and the inspection report. The application then is referred to the Assistant Undersecretary for the final approval.

9. Following the final approval / disapproval the application is referred to the Permit Dept’s. Counter for issuing a letter of approval or apology incase of rejection. If approved the applicant is informed to pay the fees in one installment and to submit individual labour permit.

10. If the approval is subject to any conditions specified by the Inspection Department, the applicant needs to fulfill this condition (before the payment of fees is done).

Where to Apply?

All applications will be submitted to the Inspection Dept. at the Ministry HQ in Abu Dhabi or Dubai or the concerned Labour Office.

Fees

Documents Fees (in Dirham)

Group Labour Permit Application Category A Category B Category C

200/worker 200/worker 200/worker