UAE labour bans still enforced — but workers can apply for lifting

Lifting the Labour Ban in the UAE: 2026 Legal Update

The UAE labor market has transitioned from a system of "employer-controlled movement" to one based on contractual transparency. Under the current laws, the "Labour Ban" is no longer a standard penalty for changing jobs, but a specific measure for contract breaches.

1. The End of the NOC (No Objection Certificate)

In the old law, you needed your employer's permission (NOC) to move. Today, an NOC is no longer a legal requirement. As long as you fulfill the notice period specified in your contract (typically 30 to 90 days), you are free to transition to a new employer without your current sponsor's consent.

2. Abolition of the "Two-Year Service" Rule

The requirement to complete two years of service before being "allowed" to transfer has been removed.

• Fixed-Term Contracts: All employees are now on fixed-term contracts (max 3 years, renewable). You can resign at any time, provided you serve the notice period.
• During Probation: You can even change jobs during your first 6 months. If you move to another UAE employer during probation, you must give 30 days' notice, and your new employer may be required to compensate your old employer for recruitment costs.

3. When is a 1-Year Ban still imposed?

"Labour Bans" are now rare and are generally "Administrative Bans" triggered by specific violations:

• Absconding: If an employee leaves the job without notice or a legal reason (reporting "runaway" status).
• Contract Breach: Resigning without serving the notice period or leaving during probation without the required 14/30 day notice.
• Termination for Cause: If you are fired under Article 44 (serious misconduct like forgery, assault, or causing significant financial loss).

4. The "Salary Scale" is Obsolete

The old rules that allowed you to lift a ban by earning a specific salary (Dh5,000 for diploma holders, etc.) have been removed. Labor mobility is now based on Skill Levels (1–3). Professionals in these levels (Degree and Diploma holders) can typically move between jobs without any 6-month service requirements, provided they follow the resignation procedures.

5. Women Sponsored by Family

The old rule that women on husband/father sponsorship faced an automatic 6-month ban is also obsolete. The law now applies equally to all residents. If a woman on a dependent visa has a work permit, she follows the same resignation and notice rules as any other employee.

Summary for 2026

The "Labour Ban" has changed from a tool used to keep people in a company to a penalty for breaking the law. If you respect your contract and serve your notice, no ban can be placed on you.

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End-of-service benefits in UAE 'must be based' on 'last' salary

Companies operating in the UAE must give their outgoing employees end of service benefits on the basis of their last monthly salary and firms which fail to do so are violating the law, the Ministry of Labour has said.

The Ministry was responding to a complaint by an Arab female doctor who was sacked by her private employing medical company and given end of service allowances that include the monthly salary she was paid when she first joined work.

In her letter to the Ministry during an open-day review of public complaints and applications in Abu Dhabi on Monday, the doctor said her first salary was far below the wage she was getting in the following years after she was given massive pay rises.

“Companies calculating the end of service benefits on the basis of the worker’s first salary listed in the job contract despite changes in that salary are involved in an illegal practice,” the Ministry said in its response.

“Such benefits must be based on the last monthly salary paid to the worker, who should prove this by producing the last salary statement.”

The Ministry asked the doctor to contact its enquiry section to be informed on the legal measures she will take against her employers to force them to pay all her dues.

Dubai visitors can get entry visa on mobiles now

General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai initiates M-Visa service.According to a report in Gulf Today, people can apply for entry visa on the website of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai and receive the visa as an SMS to their mobile

The new service is part of the smart government initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The paper quoted Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director-General, GDRFA, as saying that the directorate has applied the mobile visa (M-Visa) service for its residents.

The GDRFA completed 35,100 transactions last year up until the first quarter of this year, Al Marri added.

Illegal Dubai residents to pay overstay fines monthly instalments

 Dubai: Illegal residents who cannot pay their overstaying fines are being urged by authorities to take part in a system that allows them to pay their fines in monthly instalments.

Residency prosecution officials with the General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA) started Maysara programme in 2011 to allow those found guilty by the Residency Court of Misdemeanours to pay fines in instalments.
Maysara, an Arabic word which means making things easier, allows illegals who are penalised by the Residency Court of Misdemeanours to make payments on their fines within up to two years.
“Maysara has come to make the life of those, convicted by the court and fined, easier. Hundreds of the requests of convicts to install their fines have been approved by the court in the past two years. Their total sum of fines reached several millions of dirhams,” a senior official from the General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA) told Gulf News.

“Convicts, who are fined more than Dh50,000 by the Residency Court of Misdemeanours can pay their fines through Maysara system,” the official said.

He said convicted persons who received hefty fines for violating the residency law by hiring illegal workers or absconded can make use of this service.

The official said Maysara was introduced to make the process of collecting the fines easier, especially convicts who cannot afford paying their fines in full amounts.

The official said that Maysara also helped in reducing the number of detainees who are fined by to remain in custody until the pay the fines in full.

“For convicts to benefit from Maysara, they themselves, their relatives, well-wishers, or legal representatives can lodge a request at Dubai Public Prosection website to have their fines installed.”

It is required to pay part of the fine as decided by the Residency Public Prosecution.

“The request will be approved by the head of Residency Prosecution or the Attorney General or his representative. The conditions for a convict to benefit from Maysara are that the ruling should be irrevocable and that the convict is financially incapable of paying the fine in full.

“The convict will be asked to sign an undertaking to commit to the instalments. The convicts should also make available a guarantor who will commit to paying the fines in case the convict failed to do so.”

The official said any application submitted to make use of Maysara must be written in Arabic.

“Applications written in any other language rather than Arabic will be rejected,” the official said.

Clients can file cases in Dubai Courts online

Dubai Courts has officially launched three innovative online services aimed at saving time and effort, and facilitating the work of litigants.

The services are online registration of cases, access to the archive of case files and pro bono legal advice, according to a press statement from the Dubai government on Tuesday.The initiative is in line with Dubai Courts’ strategic vision towards ‘leadership in court performance’. The services were officialy launched during a ceremony held in the presence of  Dr Ahmed Saeed bin Hazeem, General Director of Dubai Courts, heads of courts, heads of departments, the chairman of the UAE Jurists Association, and a number of key lawyers.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Bin Hazeem stressed the importance of the strategic partnership between Dubai Courts and law firms in Dubai, which aims to achieve justice and assist in the task of litigants to access their rights.

He said, “Dubai Courts is always keen on excellence and leadership, and aims to provide innovative and modern procedures, along with meeting the needs of litigants. Hence, an online service programme has been launched under the name ‘Al-Salfa’, allowing online case registration without the need to be physically present on the courts’ premises.”

He added: “The first-of-its-kind in the Middle East, this service allows law firms and all litigants to register cases electronically, record every detail, upload identification papers, and send them to Dubai Courts online.”

The testing of this service programme began on February 1, and was made available to law firms on an optional basis. Owing to its successful testing, the programme will become mandatory from June 1 so that all cases presented to the Dubai Courts can be registered online from anywhere in the world.

The second service programme allows plaintiffs to access file archives online and print information about their cases, judgements, decisions and other information, without the need to visit the courts to acquire the papers.

The Dubai Courts director-general said the courts department, in collaboration with strategic partners, has also launched a pro bono legal advice programme titled ‘Sure’, where volunteering lawyers can offer free legal consultations to litigants. This policy is aimed at boosting confidence in the judiciary and facilitating litigation for the public.

Director of the Cases Service Department Mohammed Al Obaidli stressed the strategic importance of these e-services, especially the ‘Al-Salfa’ programme.

He emphasised that the service will particularly save time for litigants, consequently increasing the efficiency of work and quality of service provided.

The exploitation of advanced systems, procedures and technologies to achieve speed and accuracy in case registration will help to directly fulfil the general requirements of the Dubai Courts.

Dubai Courts also honoured the chairman of the UAE Jurists Association, the law firms co-operating with the Dubai Courts, 46 lawyers who volunteered to provide advice and offered nearly 670 hours of free consultations, and ‘Al-Salfa’ programme users.

‘Al-Salfa’ is a well-known term in Emirati heritage, and refers to a person who acted as a judge in the past. — Wam