They say “All good things must come to an end”. Regardless of your circumstances, preparing to leave Dubai is hectic; with several loose ends to tie spanning your professional and family life.
So what does leaving Dubai involve? Where do you start?
The secret to leaving Dubai is to identify and prioritise the tasks you are faced with and make certain everything you need to accomplish is progressing smoothly and concurrently. This is important because certain goals are often intertwined with related tasks being fully completed? So if you want to avoid being bounced around read on for your Ultimate Guide for leaving Dubai.
Let’s start by taking a look at home life.
If your home is rented or leased, you will need to resolve a number of matters before officially departing from the UAE.
The first issue is to clarify exactly when your current rental contract runs its due to expire, and whether there are any unusual conditions which may apply. Under normal circumstances, you will likely be presented with three likely options.
Ideally, the end of your rental contract matches your planned departure date.
Generally, you will need to provide written notice, (60 or 90 days prior to the end of the contract), to the landlord that you intend to vacate your home, making it clear you will not renew the contract, (the real estate company will normally handle this on your behalf).
The more likely scenario is a person may not be afforded 3 months notice in advance of an international move, and this means through no fault of their own they are unable to provide 90 days notice to their landlord in violation of the contract.
Sadly, residential laws in the UAE do not cover early contract termination with absolute clarity. The tenancy contract will make reference to penalties for exit clauses. It’s likely to be a two or three months rent penalty.
Individual circumstances might apply here, but this a good stage to try and speak face to face if you can with the landlord, the real estate company might be able to facilitate this.
Many landlords might be flexible; however, they are not obliged legally to compromise, so get into negotiation mode and try to hammer out an amicable solution.
Irjari is a contract between the tenant and the landlord, disputes can often can be referred to this document.
If option 2 fails and the landlord is not too understanding, (this is not uncommon), there is always the final option. You might be fortunate enough to find a new tenant, perhaps a friend or co-worker who is able to move into your home immediately upon, or soon after your departure.
Some landlords may be willing to disregard any outstanding payments if you introduce someone who is willing to take on the rent, ensuring the landlord will not be out of pocket.
In this scenario, you need to transfer the agreement officially with the relevant authorities and make certain any post-dated cheques and/or deposits are returned.
So, hopefully, that's the rent situation sorted out. Now let’s focus on the other issues related to closing down your home, which you need to deal with before leaving the UAE.
And of course, do not forget the three vital documents that no intrepid tenant should be without
The two service providers Du and Etisalat, can be cancelled quickly and relatively painlessly with a phone call.
Du can be contacted on 800 155. A customer service rep will contact you within 2 days to help complete the process. Once completed, visit one of the many customer centres to complete payment and claim back any deposit. Centres are spread throughout the country, many located in shopping malls. Du store locations in the UAE
Terminating a post-paid mobile contract early results in a financial penalty which will be deducted from your deposit. Start the process by calling 800 101. As with the DU service, visit any Etisalat store is required in order to finalise the process – Etisalat store locator.
Du and Etisalat have stores dotted throughout the Emirates
You can close down your Emicool service by submitting the documentation highlighted below, which are dependent on your status.
Once you have submitted the documentation to an Emicool office, the final bill will be processed within 3-4 days. The final bill is deducted from your deposit, and cheque will be issued in the name of the named tenant.
If your property is rented in the name of your employer, then authorisation from the company will be required in order for a person to collect the cheque. This involves an official letter on company letter-headed paper, with a company stamp and the full name and Emirates ID number of the person authorised.
If the named tenant is an individual:
If the named tenant is a company:
In order to officially vacate your residence, you must disconnect water and electricity. The easiest way to do this is online. Log-in to your account with DEWA if you live in Dubai. You can log in using UAE Pass. This enables you to select a disconnection date (usually executed no more than a day or two from your chosen date), and while doing this, you can request your final bill.
Once disconnected, visit the relevant office (DEWA in Dubai, ADWEA in Abu Dhabi and SEWA covers Sharjah). Then it is a case of collecting your deposit.
Make sure you are clear on whose name the utilities are registered under
Once you start the process of leaving the UAE on a permanent basis cancelling your residence visa and labour card is essential, in fact, it is a legal obligation. Failure to do this properly could result in problems if you return to the UAE, or even transit through the country, or any other GCC country.
In most cases, your company can take care of all cancellation issues in the weeks leading up to your final days of work. However, not all companies are efficient and/or in the unfortunate situation where you may be leaving your company under acrimonious circumstances, it is good to know you have the ability to act independently. The process involved submitting your documents to the General Directorate of Residence and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA). A couple of points to observe.
If your company does not get involved, how do you cancel your own visa? There are two ways to do this.
Stage 1
In a situation where your employment ends, and on the provision, you have honoured any transitional/notice period; it is very important to clearly determine your final financial settlement with your employer.
Ideally, you should ask for a clear breakdown of figures in writing. Assuming this has been done and the figures are accurate, it is absolutely vital that you avoid signing anything until your final payment is cleared and in your pocket or bank account. You should qualify for a payment commonly referred to as gratuity, but other dues might be a balance of leave pay, shares or other dividends, a relocation/repatriation budget, plane tickets etc.
Stage 2
Your sponsor initiates the process of cancelling your visa by displaying relevant documentation to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), this leads to a clearance statement being issued.
Then take the MOHRE clearance statement you have just received along with passports (and Emirates ID cards), for you and any dependants, and copies of your sponsor's passport, to a typing office (located throughout the UAE and commonly found near government department buildings). Ask the official there to process your dependents documents first and yours last. Each one should take around 10 minutes. When signing this form, you officially confirm you have received your financial settlement in full from your employer. The application form, once completed, will need to be stamped and signed by your employer.
Stage 3
Finally, once the application form has the two signatures and company stamp, and armed with your Emirates ID card, original passport, and copy of your sponsor's passport; you need to visit the General Directorate of Residence and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA).
The process will be completed when the GDRFA official retains you Emirates ID and cancels the residence visa in your passport. You will then have a 30-day time limit to remain in the UAE, and you should exit the country within that time frame.
If the above seems like too much work, then an increasing number of people are taking action to deal with the application online. Start your application.
To finalise the process, as with Stage 3 (above), take your original passport and Emirates ID along with other related documents in person to one of the GDRFA branches as soon as you complete the online application.
It is a good idea to notify the school of your move with as much advanced warning as possible. The school will provide a ‘student leaving certificate’ which will officially recognise the length of time your child has participated at the school. This will be very important when it comes to enrolment at the new school at destination.
It is also important to provide the school with a reasonable timeframe to oversee any refunds which you may be entitled to should the child be removed from the school mid-term, which, in some cases, may qualify for partial reimbursement of prepaid tuition fees.
With over 150 companies in Dubai alone offering moving services, it is hard to know where to start.
Wise Move can arrange 6 competitive quotations from reputable movers in Dubai, and you can complete our simple form in less than 1 minute.
If you are like the majority of ex-pats, you may be leaving Dubai with more possessions than you arrived with. In some cases, people arrived 10 or 15 years ago with a suitcase, and they are leaving with a spouse, children and a full household of furniture.
Regardless of your situation, it is important to take stock of what you are taking and what you will leave behind and decluttering your home is a significant step towards achieving this.
Clearing debt before you leave the UAE is very important, and the implications of not clearing debt is widely recognised. Something that is not discussed to the same degree is the importance of cancelling your UAE Bank account.
Unless you do this, accumulating bank charge fees, albeit small amounts, may result in potential problems should you visit or even the GCC region in future.
Guidelines change from bank to bank, but the following suggestions are probably a good rule of thumb.
You have probably noticed there is a thriving car culture in Dubai. This is even more obvious in the used car sector. We will cover the process of selling your car in a moment, however, have you considered taking your car with you? Adding a car to a container with your furniture and personal effects, might be financially viable and is an option many people take.
Questions you need to research before shipping your car from Dubai;
Read more about shipping your vehicle
Dubai has a thriving car culture with many cars featuring powerful engines
There are a few options from a plethora of car dealers to used car auctions, or selling in a classified section. Probably the easiest to arrange and set up is to advertise it online on Dubizzle for example. We strongly advise you to try and sell your car directly to another individual.
In a scenario where you own a car outright, and there is no outstanding loan, the process is fairly straight-forward. Selling your vehicle directly to another person is almost certain to yield the best financial return. You can make use of social media, put up an ad on a notice board in a local supermarket. Make sure the car is clean and provide some quality images to show your car in the best light.
There is an ever-growing band of online car dealers, some are good and some not. You are unlikely to gain the best price using this option, and it may be best to consider this as a last resort.
Regardless of the option you decide to take, upon receiving full payment, you need to transfer the car (see details below) at a Road & Transport Authority (RTA) center - many are located throughout the country.
Encourage the buyer to meet you in the morning. The RTA centers are much busier in the afternoons and particularly in the evenings.
Avoid situations where car dealers agree to a price and encourage you to keep the car until the day before you leave the country. Often dealers will regnage on the agreement and offer you a lower price.
A high percentage of cars are purchased by way of a bank loan, with monthly payments spread over 2-5 years. It’s important to understand that legally the bank owns your car until the last monthly instalment is made to the bank.
So the first task is to settle the outstanding loan with the bank. Once this is completed the bank will notify the RTA who update the record in their system, this usually takes a day or two and you are notified of this via SMS. You are then clear to meet up with the buyer and transfer ownership.
RTA test certificate is required at the time of transferring ownership. This will be valid for 30 days and will cost AED 120.
If you have an outstanding car loan, settle it before you visit the RTA
Make sure the seller is present when you transfer ownership of the vehicle (bring your original Emirates ID and the test certificate).
The buyer needs to bring original and copies of:
Avoid situations where car dealers agree to a price and encourage you to keep the car until the day before you leave the country. Often dealers will regnage on the agreement and offer you a lower price.
Yes - a power of attorney can be granted enabling an individual to sell and transfer ownership of your car on your behalf. However, obtaining the power of attorney takes some time to set up. It involves the translation of documents and a lot of paper shuffling.
The advantage with a power of attorney allows the same individual to deal with several different areas on your behalf if it is required.
Provided there are no outstanding loans or fines (as discussed above) your appointed representative should be fairly unhindered and can be invaluable should you need to travel.
Briefly, confirm the outstanding amount due on the car loan, (including any forfeits or penalties). Sign a ‘seller’s agreement’ which essentially enables the buyer to transfer ownership to their own name, as soon as the loan is cleared from the system at the RTA.
The buyer should accompany you to your bank. The buyer pays you the agreed amount, and you clear the outstanding loan. Once the RTA receives confirmation from your bank that the loan is cleared, you will be notified by SMS, and the buyer is free to register ownership in their name.
Check out this very informative blog on Car Switch for a more in-depth explanation.
