Labour Ban in the UAE: When a Worker Cannot Get a New Work Permit

The Two Situations That Carry a One-Year Ban

Both clauses give the Ministry power to exclude job categories, skill levels or workers, and the Implementing Regulation uses that power. The exemptions are set out below, and they cover several common situations, including family-sponsored residence and Golden Visa holders.

What is not on the list matters as much. A worker whose contract ends and is not renewed, whose employer ends the contract without a reason attributed to the worker, or whose contract ends under Article 42 or 45 of the Decree-Law may transfer to another employer under Article 27 of the Implementing Regulation. A properly closed job change is not a ban case.

Probation: Moving to Another Employer Inside the UAE

Probation is capped at six months from the start of work, and it can only be used once with the same employer. An employer ending a contract during probation gives the worker at least 14 days’ written notice (Article 9(1) and (2)).

A worker on probation who wants to move to another employer in the UAE has to:

• notify the original employer in writing, at least one month before the date they want the contract to end (Article 9(3));
• and the new employer compensates the original employer for the costs of recruitment or contracting with the worker, unless otherwise agreed.

No ban attaches to this route. What attaches is a cost, and it lands on the hiring company. If you are recruiting someone who is still on probation elsewhere, agree the compensation position with the previous employer before you apply for the permit, not after.

Probation: Leaving the UAE

A foreign worker who wants to end the contract during probation in order to leave the UAE has to give at least 14 days’ written notice (Article 9(4)). If they come back and obtain a new work permit within three months of departure, the new employer pays the same recruitment-cost compensation to the original employer, unless the worker and the original employer agreed otherwise.

Whichever party ends the contract without following Article 9 pays the other compensation equal to the worker’s wage for the notice period, or for what remains of it (Article 9(5)).

The ban is the last step: a foreign worker who leaves the UAE without abiding by these provisions is not granted a work permit for one year from the date of leaving (Article 9(6)). A worker who gives the notice and leaves properly is not in this position.

Unlawful Absence From Work

The second ban follows the worker who stops coming to work. Under Article 50 of the Decree-Law, a foreign worker who leaves work for an illegitimate reason before the end of the contract term is not granted another work permit for one year from the date of the absence. Any other employer who is aware of it may not employ that worker during the year.

The employer’s part is the notification. Article 28 of the Implementing Regulation says the report is made when the absence has exceeded seven consecutive days, without the employer knowing where the worker is or being able to reach them, using the form the Ministry sets. How that works in practice, including the ICP movement report MOHRE asks for, is on our absence from work report page.

Please note: a report filed to get ahead of a wage dispute, or for someone who has simply resigned, is the wrong tool. The ban exists for workers who leave for an illegitimate reason; it is not a way to settle a disagreement.

Who Is Exempt

The Implementing Regulation sets the exemptions separately for each ban. They overlap, with one difference worth knowing:

The wording differs too. For the probation ban, Article 11 says the Ministry may exempt workers under those rules. For the absence ban, Article 28 lists the same groups as exceptions. In both cases the practical point for a hiring company is the same: a candidate on a family-sponsored residence or a Golden Visa is usually outside the ban, and it is worth asking before you assume a problem.

When the Block Sits on the Company, Not the Worker

One block applies to the company rather than the worker. Under Article 4 of Ministerial Decree No. (46) of 2022, an establishment that fails to pay the fines for late issuance or renewal of work permits may neither apply for new work permits nor renew expired ones until the fines are paid.

If the fines stay unpaid for more than four months, the suspension extends to every establishment or company owned exclusively by the owner of the violating establishment, provided the partners are the same. One neglected file can stop hiring across a group.

Article 3 of the same decree lists the cases where an employer is not treated as late, among them a worker who has been outside the country for more than six months, a worker deported or in custody, a worker whose complaint the Ministry has referred to court, and the death of a sole owner-manager, for up to three months until a legal representative is appointed. Keeping permit renewals on a compliance calendar is what stops the fines accruing in the first place.

What This Means When You Hire

In practice a ban shows up when the new work permit application is made. Asking these questions first saves a refused application and the time lost behind it.

What This Means When Someone Leaves

• Resignation during probation, staying in the UAE: expect one month’s written notice, and recruitment-cost compensation from the new employer unless you agree otherwise.
• Resignation during probation, leaving the UAE: 14 days’ written notice; compensation applies if they return on a new permit within three months.
• Walk-out during probation: the party that ignores Article 9 owes compensation equal to the wage for the notice period (Article 9(5)).
• Absence exceeding seven days, at any stage: the absence from work report under Article 28 of the Implementing Regulation.
• Every exit: the work permit and residence still have to be cancelled in order. See visa cancellation.

The wider termination rules — notice, end-of-service and the cases in Article 45 where a worker may leave without notice — are summarised in our labour law guide for employers.

The Sources

Read on MOHRE’s website on 21 September 2026. MOHRE marks its English texts as not an official translation.

• Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 and its amendments — Article 9 (probationary period), Article 49 (transfer after the contract ends), Article 50 (unlawful absence from work).
• Cabinet Resolution No. (1) of 2022, the Implementing Regulation — Article 11 (work permits after a probation termination), Article 27 (transfer of workers), Article 28 (reporting absence from work).
• Ministerial Decree No. (46) of 2022 — Article 3 (cases not treated as late), Article 4 (suspension of non-compliant establishments).

How PROXPAT Helps

Companies that hire and release staff through the year usually keep this inside a monthly PRO retainer, so the questions above are asked before an application goes in rather than after it is refused.