Leaving the UAE: A Financial Checklist for Expatriates

Introduction

A financial checklist for expatriates leaving the UAE, from gratuity and visa cancellation to bank accounts, cheques, property, tax on arrival and records.

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Last reviewed 3 October 2026 · 10 min read

In short

Before you leave the UAE, collect your end-of-service gratuity, which an employer covered by the UAE Labour Law must pay within 14 days of your contract ending, and any workplace savings. Cancel your dependants' visas before your own; after cancellation there is usually a grace period of between 30 and 180 days, depending on your permit, and overstaying costs AED 50 a day. Deal with any post-dated cheques before you close a bank account, close utility and telecoms accounts and end your tenancy, and it can help to keep one UAE account open until your final pay and deposit refunds arrive. Keep paying service charges on any property you still own, check how your new country will tax you on arrival, and keep the paperwork, because a tax authority, bank or pension provider may later ask for proof of your UAE years.

What should I collect from my employer before I go?

The UAE Labour Law covers private sector employers on the mainland and in most free zones, but not in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) or Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), which have their own employment laws. Under it, your employer must pay your wages, other entitlements and end-of-service gratuity within 14 days of the contract ending, and may deduct from the gratuity only amounts the law allows, such as an unpaid staff loan, an overpayment or a debt under a court ruling. Our retirement planning guide explains how gratuity is calculated. Untaken annual leave is paid as a cash allowance based on your basic wage. Claims under the Labour Law are not considered more than 2 years after the employment ends.

If your employer enrolled you in the Savings Scheme launched by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), where your employer pays into an approved investment fund, your employer's contributions and any returns are due within 14 days of your job ending, and you can keep the money invested or withdraw it at any time. In the DIFC, employers pay into a qualifying workplace savings scheme, such as the DIFC Employee Workplace Savings Plan (DEWS), instead of building up gratuity, so check that scheme's options for leaving before you go.

In what order should visas and sponsorships be cancelled?

If an employer or family member sponsors your residence visa and you are leaving for good, the visa must be cancelled officially, and normally only the sponsor can do this. As a general rule, a residence visa becomes void once you have been outside the UAE for more than 180 days in a row, although there are exceptions. This does not replace official cancellation by your sponsor. Golden Visa and Green residence holders can still enter at any time while their residence is valid, and our Golden Visa guide explains the Golden Visa's rules on time abroad.

Cancelling a residence permit also cancels the linked Emirates ID and starts a grace period to leave or change status. The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) lists 180 days for Golden, Green and Blue Residence holders, 90 days for skilled workers at levels 1 to 3 and property owners, 60 days for permits issued with a guarantor or host and 30 days for all other permits. The General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA Dubai) lists 60 days, and the UAE Government's family visa page gives dependants 6 months, so confirm which period applies to you before relying on it. Staying on afterwards costs AED 50 a day.

ICP requires family members sponsored by a foreign worker to have their permits cancelled first, or placed on hold for a limited period for a fee, and GDRFA Dubai needs a mainland work permit cancelled before the employee's residence. Around those two fixed points, a practical sequence is:

  • Documents that depend on your residence. In Dubai, the visa sponsor applies for a resident's entry and exit report, which supports a Tax Residency Certificate application.
  • Your dependants' permits. If you sponsor a domestic worker, their permit is cancelled through MOHRE or the Domestic Work Bundle.
  • Your work permit. A mainland employer cancels it through MOHRE, and a free zone employer cancels it through the free zone authority. For a MOHRE cancellation you sign the application and a letter saying you have received all your wages and end-of-service benefits, so check your final settlement before you sign.
  • Your own residence permit. Investors and partners must also provide a certificate of cancellation or waiver of their commercial licence.

What should I do with bank accounts, cards and cheques?

Under the Central Bank's Consumer Protection Standards, a bank must close a current or savings account within 7 business days of your request and, by the 8th business day, give you written confirmation and any clearance and liability letters. It cannot charge a closing fee once the account is 6 months old. A credit card is frozen when you ask to close it and closed within 45 calendar days, unless money is still owed. Some payments arrive after you finish work or move out. Your employer has 14 days after your contract ends to pay what you are owed, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) refunds any deposit left after your final bill, and a landlord must return the security deposit when the lease ends, as explained below. You may want to keep one account open until these payments arrive.

Under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), UAE banks report each year on accounts held by people who are tax resident in other countries, apart from the US. The information is then sent to the account holder's country of tax residence, if that country exchanges information with the UAE, so tell any bank you keep about your move. An account can be classed as dormant after 3 years with no activity or contact from you, if you have no other active account with that bank and it does not have your current address. After 5 years the balance can pass to the Central Bank, which holds it until you or your heirs claim it.

Debts do not end when you leave. A cheque returned for insufficient funds is no longer a crime in itself, but the holder can ask the execution judge to enforce it directly. Closing an account, or emptying it, before a cheque you issued is presented is still an offence, so deal with any post-dated rent or loan security cheques first. A creditor can also seek a travel ban, and the UAE Government advises checking for one before you travel, for example through Dubai Police.

How do I close utilities and a tenancy, and what about property I keep?

In Dubai, DEWA needs all previous bills paid before a move-out. It sets the final bill against your security deposit, refunds any balance and then sends a clearance certificate. DEWA's move-out fee, as listed in October 2026, is AED 125 for small meters or AED 300 for large meters, plus AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees. Give notice on mobile, internet and TV contracts too, as some charge for ending a minimum term early.

Your tenancy contract sets the notice period and any charge for leaving early. Under Dubai's tenancy law, the landlord must refund the security deposit, or what remains of it, when the lease ends, and you must return the property in the condition you received it, apart from ordinary wear and tear.

If you keep a property, its costs continue. In Dubai, the owner of a unit in a jointly owned building or community stays liable for service charges even if a tenant fails to pay them. Unpaid charges can be enforced by the execution judge, who can order the unit to be sold at public auction, and a unit cannot be sold until the charges are paid. Leases must be registered with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), and your new country may tax the rent and any gain when you sell.

Do I need a Tax Residency Certificate, and what should I tell my new country?

A certificate for your final months can help if you later need to prove UAE residence, for example to claim treaty relief. You choose the 12-month period it covers, so it can end on the day you leave, but you must meet a residence test within it. Our Tax Residency Certificate guide covers the tests, documents and fees.

Your new country decides when you become resident and what you must report, so check its rules before you move. In the UK, for example:

  • The year you arrive may be split into an overseas part and a UK part, if you meet one of split year cases 4 to 8.
  • If you need a tax return and do not usually send one, you must register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the end of the tax year.
  • After at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-residence, you may be able to claim the 4-year foreign income and gains regime, but you lose your Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax allowances in any year you claim.
  • If you had sole UK residence in at least 4 of the 7 tax years before you left and you return within 5 years, some income and gains from your time away can be taxed on your return, as our guide for UK expatriates explains.

What should I do with investments, pensions, insurance and records?

Tell every provider about your move, as the UAE is one of more than 100 countries that have signed up to the CRS, according to the UAE Ministry of Finance. UK residents, for example, may have to pay UK tax on foreign investment income and on income from pensions held overseas. Before cashing in or transferring a policy or pension, check surrender charges, the tax in both countries and whether the provider can still serve you.

For UK pensions and transfers to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS), see our guide for UK expatriates. Check that life cover and income protection stay valid after the move, and find out when your UAE health cover ends, so there is no gap before new cover starts.

Review your will. A DIFC Courts will can still cover UAE assets you keep, because UAE residence is not required, but assets in your new country may need a will there. Our wills and inheritance guide explains the UAE rules.

Keep the records from your exit. If you send a UK tax return on time and are not self-employed, HMRC says to keep your records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year. Useful ones include:

  • your final settlement and savings scheme statements
  • visa cancellation papers and entry and exit reports
  • bank closure confirmations and liability letters
  • your DEWA clearance certificate and tenancy papers
  • property sale papers, investment statements and chargeable event certificates for life insurance policies

Frequently asked questions

Can I cancel my residence visa before my family's?

Not usually. ICP requires family members' permits under a foreign worker's sponsorship to be cancelled first, or placed on hold for a limited period for a fee. The UAE Government says a sponsor who fails to renew or cancel dependants' visas could be fined.

Should I keep a UAE bank account after I leave?

It can help while your final pay and deposit refunds arrive, and if you still have UAE costs, such as service charges on a property you keep. Update your address and tax residence and keep using the account, as one with no activity or contact for 3 years can be classed as dormant if the bank cannot reach you.

What happens if I leave with an unpaid loan or credit card?

The debt remains. If a card balance is still owed after 45 days, the bank can follow its normal collection procedures. A returned security cheque can be enforced through the execution judge, and a creditor can sue in the UAE courts and ask for a travel ban. Settling or agreeing terms before you leave reduces these risks.

Can I get a Tax Residency Certificate after I have left?

Yes, for a period that has already started or ended, as long as you met a residence test in it, but the Federal Tax Authority never issues certificates for future periods. It usually asks for an entry and exit report, and in Dubai a resident's report is applied for by the visa sponsor, so consider getting one before your residence is cancelled. Printed certificates are delivered only to UAE addresses, so expect to use the electronic version.

How Indigo Group can help

Indigo Group can help expatriates preparing to leave the UAE with wealth management through our Wealth Management team, and with updating wills, trusts and foundations through our Trust and Estate Planning team. Our Corporate Services team handles visa processing and government liaison, and can help business owners close or restructure a UAE company before they leave. For an overview of how we work with expatriates, see financial advice for expats in Dubai. Indigo Group's regulated entity, Indigo Financial Analysis and Consultancy LLC, is licensed by the UAE Capital Market Authority (CMA), licence no. 706042.

Read more about our wealth management and financial planning for expatriates in Dubai.

To talk this through, book a consultation or message us on WhatsApp.

Written by

Colin Lynam

Managing Director

Colin is an experienced wealth manager with extensive knowledge of the GCC.

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Last reviewed 3 October 2026. This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. Rules change, so please speak to a qualified adviser about your circumstances.

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