Four separate clocks run in every UAE company, and none of them warn you. PROXPAT tracks them so a renewal never turns into a fine, a suspension, or a hire you cannot complete.
Page last updated: . Requirements, government fees and processing times are set by the relevant UAE authority and can change.
The UAE Company Compliance Calendar: What Expires, When, and What Each Lapse Blocks
A UAE company does not have one renewal date. It has four clocks running at once: the trade licence, the establishment card, every employee’s visa and Emirates ID, and the monthly and annual filings for payroll and tax. They are issued by different authorities, they renew on different cycles, and none of them is aware of the others.
What makes this expensive is not the fines. It is the dependencies. An expired licence stops visa transactions. An expired establishment card stops them for every employee at once. Five days of late wages suspends new work permits. The cost of missing one date is usually paid by a different department a week later.
Please note: every figure on this page is taken from the authority that publishes it — MOHRE, ICP, the Federal Tax Authority and the relevant economic department — and each row links to the detailed page. Rules change, so confirm your own dates before acting on them.
The Four Clocks
| Clock | Cycle | Who issues it |
|---|---|---|
| Trade licence | Annual in most cases; 2, 3 or 5 years in some free zones | The economic department or free zone authority |
| Establishment card | Annual; renewal fee is charged per year | ICP, or GDRFA in Dubai |
| Employee visa, work permit and Emirates ID | Usually every two years, per employee | MOHRE and the immigration authority |
| Payroll and tax filings | WPS monthly; corporate tax and VAT on their own deadlines | MOHRE and the Federal Tax Authority |
A company with 12 employees is not tracking four dates. It is tracking roughly 28, because each employee carries a visa date and an Emirates ID date of their own.
Monthly: The First of the Month
MOHRE sets the first day of each Gregorian month as the unified due date for the previous month’s wages across private-sector establishments. Any payment after that date is treated as a delay in wage payment.
| When | What the Ministry does |
|---|---|
| From the due date until payment is proven | Electronic monitoring of the establishment’s wage payments |
| From the second day after the due date | Notifications and alerts to pay wages |
| On the fifth day | New work permits are suspended, with notice to the owner |
The fifth day is the one to plan around. A company that pays late in the same week it is trying to onboard someone finds the hire blocked by payroll, not by immigration. See the Wage Protection System for the 85% rule, the exclusions and the full penalty ladder.
Annual: Licence and Establishment Card
| Renewal | What it needs | What late costs |
|---|---|---|
| Trade licence | A valid tenancy registered as Ejari covering the renewal period, outstanding fees and fines settled, current external approvals for regulated activities, and an establishment card that has not lapsed | Penalties accrue monthly, and an expired licence blocks visa transactions. A long lapse can move the file from renewal into reinstatement |
| Establishment card | A valid trade licence first, because the card is issued against it | ICP lists AED 100 for each month of delay beyond 30 days after expiry, up to AED 1,000 |
These two are ordered, not parallel: the licence renews first, then the card. Companies that renew the card and leave the licence for later find the card application rejected. See trade licence services and establishment card.
Per Employee: Visa, Permit and Emirates ID
| Item | When to start | What the authority publishes |
|---|---|---|
| Work permit and employment contract | MOHRE allows renewal from 60 days before expiry | Completion 2 working days |
| Residence permit | With the permit renewal | ICP: AED 100 application, AED 100 per year, AED 100 smart services; completion 2 days |
| Medical fitness | Early in the 60 days, because the employee has to attend | AED 250 plus printing for employees and company workers |
| Emirates ID | Alongside the residence | AED 20 for each day of delay, capped at AED 1,000; passport valid at least 3 months |
| If the visa has already expired | Immediately | ICP: grace periods of 30 to 180 days by residency type, and AED 50 per day for staying after expiry |
The full sequence and conditions are on employment visa renewal. When someone leaves instead, see visa cancellation.
One-Off Deadlines That Still Catch Companies
- Corporate tax registration. FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024 sets registration deadlines by category, and a late registration carries an AED 10,000 penalty. See corporate tax registration.
- VAT registration. Mandatory once taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, or where they are expected to in the next 30 days; voluntary from AED 187,500. See VAT registration.
- Record keeping. Accounting records must be kept for the retention periods the law sets. See record keeping rules.
- AML and goAML. Businesses in scope as a DNFBP have registration obligations of their own. See AML and goAML registration.
What Each Lapse Actually Blocks
This is the table worth pinning up. The fine is rarely the problem; the dependency is.
| If this lapses | What stops |
|---|---|
| Trade licence | Visa transactions stop. Staff renewals and new hires stop with them |
| Establishment card | Immigration transactions stop for every employee at once, not just new ones |
| Wages, by five days | New work permits are suspended |
| An employee’s residence permit | Daily overstay charges, and the person cannot be renewed until the position is settled |
| An employee’s Emirates ID | A daily fine, and a pending card holds up transactions that check status |
| Corporate tax registration | A fixed AED 10,000 penalty, independent of any tax owed |
Year One, in Order
For a company that has just received its licence, the first year has a sequence rather than a calendar. Each step unlocks the next:
- Trade licence issued.
- Establishment card issued through immigration.
- MOHRE file opened and the e-signature completed.
- Employee quota checked before any offer is made.
- Offer letters, work permits and entry permits for the first hires.
- Medical fitness, Emirates ID and visa stamping. See employment visa services.
- WPS registration, and the first salary file due on the first of the month.
- Corporate tax registration, and VAT registration if the threshold is crossed.
- Then the cycle begins again: licence, card and each employee on their own date.
Almost every company that comes to us mid-year arrives because one of these steps was skipped and the next one failed.
Building the Calendar: What to Track
Per company
Trade licence expiry
Establishment card expiry
Ejari and tenancy expiry
External approvals for regulated activities
Corporate tax and VAT filing dates
WPS due date, monthly
Per employee
Passport expiry, at least 6 months ahead
Work permit and contract expiry
Residence permit expiry
Emirates ID expiry
Health insurance validity
Medical fitness, when renewal is due
Please note: the passport row is the one most lists miss. ICP requires a passport valid for no less than six months at residence renewal, so a short passport stops a renewal that was otherwise ready.
How PROXPAT Runs This for a Company
Every company and employee date in one list
Renewals opened inside the authority’s own window
Licence before card, card before visas
Conditions checked before submission, not at the counter
WPS date watched against hiring plans
One point of contact for every file
Government fees quoted separately per transaction
Monthly or per-transaction engagement
Companies with a steady flow of renewals usually put this on a monthly PRO retainer rather than quoting each transaction. For a single renewal, the per-transaction fee applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
The renewals behind the calendar.
Explore connected PROXPAT services that support the same client journey.
More in Company PRO
- PRO in Abu Dhabi
- PRO in Sharjah
- PRO in Ajman
- Establishment Card
- Work Permit & Labour Card
- Labour Law for Employers
- Compliance Calendar
- In-House vs Outsourced PRO
- How to Choose a PRO Company
- Absence From Work Report
- Labour Ban Rules
- Wage Protection System
- Trade Licence Services
- Customs Code
- Corporate Bank Account
- Company Liquidation
Stop Finding Out on the Expiry Date
PROXPAT keeps your company and employee dates in one place, opens each renewal inside the authority’s own window, and tells you what is coming before it becomes urgent.