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Cancellation

Work Permit Cancellation in Dubai

The work permit and the residence visa are two records, held by two authorities. Cancelling one and forgetting the other is the most common way this goes wrong.

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Both Records Labour and immigration
Settlement Included Done properly
Deira Office Talk to a person, not a portal

How is a work permit cancelled in Dubai?

The employer files the cancellation with MoHRE for a mainland company, or with the free zone authority, and the residence visa is then cancelled with the immigration authority. End-of-service entitlements should be settled as part of the process, and the employee signs to confirm receipt.

Work Permit Cancellation in Dubai at a glance
Filed byThe employer or its PRO
MainlandMoHRE, then immigration
Free zoneThe free zone authority, then immigration
IncludesEnd-of-service settlement
Employee signsTo confirm receipt of dues
If not doneBlocks the next employment permit

Last updated 3 August 2026 · Reviewed by Mohammed Shareef A, Senior PRO Consultant, Dubai government liaison. Fees and timelines are set by the issuing authority and change without notice — confirm current figures before you budget.

Why are there two cancellations?

Because two authorities hold two records. MoHRE, or the free zone, holds the labour relationship. The immigration authority holds the residence visa. Cancelling one leaves the other open, and the open one is what causes trouble later.

Employees discover this when a new employer cannot file their permit because the previous labour record is still live.

  • Labour record with MoHRE or the free zone
  • Residence record with immigration
  • Both must be cancelled
  • An open record blocks the next job
Plain identity card and a dark passport beside a closed office folder

What has to be settled?

Outstanding wages, accrued leave, and end-of-service gratuity where the length of service qualifies. The employee normally signs to confirm they have received what is due.

Doing this properly protects the employer as much as the employee. An unsigned, unsettled departure is where labour claims come from.

  • Outstanding wages and accrued leave
  • End-of-service gratuity where it applies
  • Employee signature confirming receipt
  • Records kept of what was paid
Employment paperwork being slid into a document wallet on a clean desk

What about the employee dependants?

Anyone the employee sponsors is cancelled before the employee own visa. A spouse and children on their visa are affected by this whether or not anyone remembered to mention it.

Where a spouse holds their own employment visa, taking over the family sponsorship is often possible and should be raised before anything is cancelled.

  • Dependants cancelled before the employee
  • Family affected by the employee cancellation
  • A working spouse may take over sponsorship
  • Raise it before, not after

What if the employee has absconded?

That is a different process with its own requirements and its own consequences for both sides. It should not be treated as an ordinary cancellation, and getting it wrong creates problems for the employer as well as the employee.

Take advice before filing anything, because the record created is difficult to unwind.

  • A distinct process from ordinary cancellation
  • Consequences for both employer and employee
  • The record is difficult to unwind afterwards
  • Take advice before filing

How we handle a work permit cancellation

  1. We map who is affectedThe employee and every dependant on their visa.
  2. Settlement calculationWages, leave and gratuity worked out properly.
  3. Dependant cancellationsFiled first.
  4. Labour cancellationMoHRE or the free zone authority.
  5. Immigration cancellationThe residence visa closed after the labour record.
  6. ConfirmationBoth records verified closed, in writing.

What has to close, and when

Cancellation sequence
RecordOrder
Dependant visasFirst
End-of-service settlementBefore or alongside
Labour permitThen
Residence visaAfter the labour record
Emirates IDSurrendered at cancellation
The mistake we see most: Cancelling the residence visa and leaving the labour record open, usually because the two were handled by different people. The employee then cannot start their new job, and comes back to a company that has already processed their departure. Close both, and confirm both.
MSM tip: Get the employee to sign the settlement acknowledgement before their last day, while they are still in the office. Chasing a signature from someone who has already flown home is a genuinely difficult way to close a file.

What documents do you need?

What we need

Trade licence and establishment card
Employee passport, visa and Emirates ID
Details of any dependants they sponsor
Employment contract and salary details
Length of service, for the gratuity calculation
Their last working day

The item most often missing is a dependant list. Employers frequently do not know who is on an employee visa, and those dependants have to be cancelled first.

MoHRE Work Permit

The parent service, permits end to end.

Employment Visa Cancellation

The immigration side of the same exit.

Work Permit Renewal

Renewing rather than cancelling.

Go deeper

Specific situations we handle under this service, each covered in full.

Flexible Work

Part-Time Work Permit

The MoHRE part-time work permit lets an employee work for more than one employer legally.

Virtual Working

Remote Work Visa

The Dubai remote work visa lets you live here while employed abroad.

Read next: The UAE employment visa process, step by step · UAE visa overstay fines and the grace period

Sources

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an employee cancel their own work permit?
No. The employer files it. What an employee can do is press for it in writing and keep the record of having asked.
Why are there two cancellations?
MoHRE or the free zone holds the labour record; immigration holds the residence visa. Both have to be closed or the open one causes problems.
Does end-of-service have to be paid first?
It should be settled as part of ending the relationship properly, with the employee signing to confirm receipt. It protects both sides.
What happens to the employee family?
Dependants they sponsor are cancelled before their own visa. A working spouse may be able to take over the sponsorship if raised early.
What if the employee absconded?
A different process with different consequences. Take advice before filing; the record created is hard to unwind.
How do I know both records are closed?
By verifying rather than assuming. We confirm both and give you the outcome in writing.

Staff member leaving?

Tell us who they sponsor. We will close both records in the right order.

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Cancel a Work Permit

The employee details and any dependants on their visa is what we need.

Hotline: +971 52 933 0454

Email: info@msmdoc.com

Office: Deira, Dubai — serving all seven emirates.

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