An employee stops coming to work and stops answering. PROXPAT helps employers do this properly: the right report, at the right time, with the documents MOHRE actually asks for.
Page last updated: . Requirements, government fees and processing times are set by the relevant UAE authority and can change.
Absence From Work Report in the UAE: What an Employer Can and Cannot Do
When a worker stops attending and cannot be reached, the UAE has a formal route: MOHRE’s absence from work report, still widely called an absconding report. It is not a punishment button and it is not a shortcut to closing a file. It is a notification to the Ministry, with conditions attached, and filing it at the wrong moment or without the right evidence usually costs the company more than waiting would have.
This page sets out what MOHRE publishes for the service and what it does not cover. If the employee has resigned normally, this is the wrong page — see visa cancellation. If they have already been cancelled, see after cancellation.
Please note: the conditions, fees and timings below are taken from MOHRE’s own service page. This is a summary for planning, not legal advice. Cases involving disputed wages, end-of-service or termination should be taken with proper advice.
What MOHRE Publishes for This Service
| Item | What the service page states |
|---|---|
| The main condition | Absence from work for a period exceeding seven days within the country must occur |
| Employee location | The employee must be physically present in the country |
| Other conditions | Payment of any work permit fines, if applicable. The employer reports to the Ministry when unable to locate the employee or contact them |
| Fees | No fees are charged for this service |
| Completion time | 2 working days |
| Channels | Website and mobile application |
| Who it is for | Employers and employees |
Two details in that table do most of the work. The absence has to exceed seven days, and the employee has to be inside the country. A report filed on day three, or for someone who has already left the UAE, does not meet the published conditions.
The Documents MOHRE Asks For
- The employee’s entry and exit movement report from the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, with a report period not exceeding 30 days from issuance.
- A document confirming the employee’s status inside the country from the competent authorities, if that information has not reached the Ministry’s systems.
The movement report is the part employers underestimate. It is what establishes that the person is still in the UAE, and because it expires 30 days from issuance, a report pulled early and used late is not accepted. Order it when you are ready to file, not when you first start worrying.
Before You File: The Questions Worth Asking
A report is a formal step against a person’s record, and it is not the right tool for every disappearance. Before filing, it is worth being able to answer:
- Has it actually been more than seven days? Count attendance, not calendar days of silence.
- Have you tried to reach them, and can you show it? MOHRE’s condition is that the employer is unable to locate or contact the worker.
- Is there a reason you already know about? Hospitalisation, a family emergency abroad, a passport held somewhere, a dispute about unpaid wages. A report filed over a wage dispute tends to come back as a complaint.
- Are their dues settled and documented? Anything unresolved on the company side is better fixed first.
- Are there fines on the work permit? MOHRE lists payment of work permit fines among the conditions.
Please note: if the employee has left the UAE, or the absence is under seven days, the published conditions are not met. Filing anyway wastes the two working days and leaves the underlying problem where it was.
What the Report Does Not Do
This is where employer expectations most often part company with reality:
| What employers expect | What is actually true |
|---|---|
| It cancels the visa | It does not. The work permit and residence cancellation is a separate process with its own conditions |
| It frees the quota immediately | Quota follows the permit position, not the report |
| It settles the money | Wages, end-of-service and any dispute are handled through the labour complaint route, not through this notification |
| It is irreversible | MOHRE publishes a separate service for cancellation of an absence from work complaint, so a report that was filed in error or resolved afterwards can be withdrawn |
| It protects the company automatically | Only if the conditions were genuinely met. A report that does not meet them is a weak position, not a strong one |
What Happens on the Company File
Practically, an open case is another item on the establishment record, and establishment records are what every other transaction is checked against. The same principle that governs the rest of a company’s government file applies here: unresolved items tend to surface later, in the middle of a transaction that has nothing to do with them.
For the worker, the consequence is set by law rather than by the report. Under Article 50 of Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021, a foreign worker who leaves work for an illegitimate reason before the contract ends is not granted a new work permit for one year from the date of absence, with exemptions for groups such as family-sponsored residents and Golden Visa holders. See our labour ban guide.
That is the argument for closing cases properly rather than leaving them open. If the worker returns, or the matter is resolved, MOHRE’s cancellation service exists for exactly that. See UAE labour law for employers for the wider obligations around termination and dues.
The Order to Handle It In
| Step | What it involves |
|---|---|
| 1. Record the absence | Attendance records, and dated attempts to contact the employee |
| 2. Wait out the seven days | The published condition is absence exceeding seven days within the country |
| 3. Check the company side | Work permit fines paid, dues documented, establishment file clean |
| 4. Order the ICP movement report | Valid for 30 days from issuance, so order it when ready to file |
| 5. File through MOHRE | Website or app; no fee; 2 working days |
| 6. Deal with the permit and visa separately | Cancellation follows its own process and conditions |
| 7. Withdraw if resolved | MOHRE publishes a cancellation service for the report |
How PROXPAT Helps
Checking whether the conditions are actually met
Work permit fines cleared before filing
ICP movement report ordered inside its validity
Filing through MOHRE channels
Cancellation of the report if the matter resolves
The separate permit and residence cancellation
Quota position after the case closes
Employer obligations checked alongside
Companies that hire regularly usually keep this kind of case inside a monthly PRO retainer, because it arrives without warning and needs to be handled in order.
Frequently Asked Questions
The transactions this usually touches.
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Handle It in the Right Order
PROXPAT checks whether MOHRE’s conditions are actually met, clears the company side first, and files with the documents the Ministry asks for — or tells you when filing is the wrong move.