Home > Typing & Clearance > Work Permit Renewal

Renewal

Work Permit Renewal in Dubai

A work permit renewal is really a company compliance check with an employee attached. If the establishment card lapsed, the permit was never going to renew.

Renew a Work Permit Call +971 52 933 0454
Company File First Then the permit
Before Expiry Not after
Deira Office Talk to a person, not a portal

How do you renew a work permit in Dubai?

The employer files the renewal with MoHRE or the free zone authority before the permit expires, alongside the labour contract renewal. The residence visa is renewed with it, requiring a repeat medical fitness test and Emirates ID renewal. The company establishment card and trade licence must be current.

Work Permit Renewal in Dubai at a glance
Filed byThe employer or its PRO
Requires currentTrade licence and establishment card
AlongsideLabour contract renewal
ThenResidence visa, medical, Emirates ID
InsuranceValid for the new term
If lapsedFines and loss of status

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 does the company file come first?

Because employee permits hang off it. A lapsed trade licence or an expired establishment card stops every permit renewal behind it, and a company can find its entire workforce blocked by one overlooked corporate date.

Check the company dates before the employee dates. It is the reverse of how most people approach it.

  • Trade licence must be current
  • Establishment card must be valid
  • One corporate lapse blocks every employee
  • Check company dates first
Desk calendar standing beside identity documents and a slim office folder

What moves with the permit?

The labour contract, the residence visa, the Emirates ID and the medical. They are separate steps but a single cycle, and treating them as one job is far more efficient than discovering each in turn.

Health insurance has to be valid for the new term before the residence side completes.

  • Labour contract renewed with the permit
  • Residence visa renewed after
  • Medical fitness test repeated
  • Emirates ID renewed alongside
Employment records and insurance paperwork arranged in overlapping rows

What changes at renewal that companies miss?

Salary changes that were never reflected in the contract, role changes that alter the job title on record, and passports that have been renewed since the last cycle without anyone updating the file.

Renewal is the natural point to reconcile the record with reality, and it costs nothing extra to do it then.

  • Salary changes not reflected in the contract
  • Job titles that have drifted
  • New passports not recorded
  • Reconcile the file at renewal

How early should you start?

Ninety days, particularly with a workforce of any size. Medical appointments and Emirates ID slots have to be booked, and a company renewing ten people in the same week will find the calendar is the constraint.

Staggering renewals across the year is worth doing deliberately if your team all joined at once.

  • Ninety days for a team of any size
  • Appointments are the practical constraint
  • Bunched renewals create a bottleneck
  • Stagger deliberately where you can

How we run a work permit renewal

  1. We check the company fileTrade licence and establishment card, before anything else.
  2. Employee dates auditedPermit, visa, Emirates ID and passport validity.
  3. Contract and insuranceRenewed and confirmed valid for the new term.
  4. Permit renewal filedWith MoHRE or the free zone authority.
  5. Medical and Emirates IDBooked and attended, sequenced across the team.
  6. Dated scheduleEvery renewal date handed back for next year.

What has to be current

Before a permit renewal can proceed
ItemHeld by
Trade licenceThe company
Establishment cardThe company
Passport validityThe employee
Health insuranceThe company or employee
Labour contractBoth
The mistake we see most: Renewing employee permits one at a time as each expires, with no view of the company dates behind them. The establishment card expires in the middle of the year, every subsequent renewal stalls, and nobody understands why until someone checks the corporate file.
MSM tip: Keep one calendar that has the company dates and the employee dates on it together. The corporate expiries are the ones that block everything else, and they are the ones nobody owns.

What documents do you need?

What we need

Trade licence and establishment card
Employee passport, visa and Emirates ID
Current labour contract
Health insurance valid for the new term
Updated salary details, where they changed
A list of everyone due for renewal

The thing most worth sending is a full list of expiry dates, company and employee together. Gaps in that list are usually where the next problem is.

MoHRE Work Permit

The parent service, permits end to end.

Employment Visa Renewal

The immigration side of the same cycle.

Labour Contract Renewal

The contract that renews alongside.

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 Dubai document renewal calendar · Establishment card and labour file explained

Sources

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Frequently Asked Questions

When should a work permit be renewed?
Before it expires, and ninety days ahead is sensible for a team. Appointments are usually the practical constraint rather than the filing.
Why is my renewal blocked?
Most often a lapsed trade licence or establishment card. Employee permits hang off the company file, so the corporate dates come first.
Does the employee need another medical?
Yes, the medical fitness test is repeated at renewal, along with Emirates ID renewal.
Can I renew the visa without the permit?
No, they move together. The permit is the labour basis for the residence visa.
What if a passport was renewed since last time?
Update the file at renewal. New passports not recorded are a common cause of avoidable delay.
What happens if it lapses?
Fines accrue and the employee is out of status, which affects banking, driving and travel. Act immediately rather than waiting.

Team permits due for renewal?

Send us the company and employee dates. We will renew the lot in one pass.

Renew a Work Permit Chat on WhatsApp

Start Today

Renew a Work Permit

Company expiry dates and how many staff are involved is enough to start.

Hotline: +971 52 933 0454

Email: info@msmdoc.com

Office: Deira, Dubai — serving all seven emirates.

Your details will open in WhatsApp. Tap Send there to contact MSM. You can also chat without filling this form.