What if I resign during probation to join another UAE company?

You must give at least one month's written notice. Under Article 9(3), it is the new employer, not you, who compensates the original employer for recruitment or contracting costs, unless otherwise agreed.

Can the company deduct visa costs from my final settlement?

Deducting the costs from your final settlement is collecting them indirectly, which Article 6(4) prohibits. Your wages and entitlements must be paid in full within 14 days of the contract ending under Article 53.

I signed a clause agreeing to repay visa costs. Is it binding?

A clause that makes you bear recruitment or employment costs conflicts with Article 6(4), and contract terms that reduce your statutory rights are void. Training-cost repayment agreements are a different, less settled question, so take advice if that is what you signed.

Employer Asking You to Repay Visa or Hiring Costs When You Resign? Read This

Q: Can my employer charge me visa costs if I resign in the UAE?

No. Article 6(4) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 prohibits the employer from charging the worker for the fees and costs of recruitment and employment, or collecting them from the worker, whether directly or indirectly. Visa, work permit and hiring costs are the employer's to bear.

It usually happens the day you resign. HR sends a list: visa fees, Emirates ID, medical test, labour card, sometimes the recruitment agency's invoice, and tells you it will be taken from your final settlement or must be paid before they cancel your visa. People pay it because they want to leave cleanly. In most cases they should not have to.

The rule: Article 6(4)

Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the UAE labour law, is direct about this. Article 6(4) states:

"The employer is prohibited from charging the worker for the fees and costs of recruitment and employment or collecting them from him, whether directly or indirectly."

Three parts of that sentence matter:

"Recruitment and employment" covers the costs of bringing you in and keeping you employed: work permit, residence visa, medical, Emirates ID, agency fees.
"Charging ... or collecting" covers both an invoice to you and simply taking the money.
"Directly or indirectly" covers deductions from salary, from your final settlement or from gratuity, and conditions like "pay or we will not cancel your visa".

Resigning does not change any of this. There is no exception in Article 6 for employees who leave early.

The probation exception, which is not really about you

The one situation where recruitment costs are repaid is moving to another UAE employer during probation, and even then the law does not put the bill on you. Article 9(3) says you must give the original employer at least one month's written notice, and then:

"the new employer shall compensate the original employer for the costs of recruitment or contracting with the worker, unless otherwise agreed upon."

If you leave the UAE during probation, the notice is 14 days (Article 9(4)). If you then return within three months on a new work permit, again it is the new employer who pays the compensation.

What does cost you money is skipping the notice. Under Article 9(5), the party that ignores the notice rules owes compensation equal to the wages for the notice period, or the unserved part of it. That is a notice penalty, not a visa refund, and it is avoided by serving your notice.

Things that are not "visa costs"

To be fair to employers, some deductions can be lawful, and it helps to separate them:

Unserved notice (Article 9(5) during probation, and the notice rules after probation).
Money you genuinely owe, such as an outstanding salary advance or loan you signed for.
Company property you have not returned.
Training-cost agreements. A signed agreement to repay a specific external course if you leave within a set period is not the same as recruitment costs, and it is a less settled area. If that is what you are being asked to pay, get the agreement in front of a lawyer or ask MOHRE.

Visa, permit, medical, Emirates ID and recruitment agency costs are not on that list.

"We will not cancel your visa until you pay"

This is the pressure point. Two provisions help. Article 13(2) requires the employer not to withhold your official documents or force you to leave the State at the end of the relationship. And Article 53 requires all your wages and entitlements to be paid within 14 days of the contract ending. Holding your cancellation hostage to an unlawful charge is a complaint MOHRE deals with.

How to respond

Do not pay, and do not sign anything agreeing to it. In particular, check your final settlement form line by line before signing.
Reply in writing. A short, polite email: you are not liable for recruitment or employment costs under Article 6(4) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, and you expect your full entitlements within 14 days under Article 53.
Serve your notice properly. It removes the one lawful deduction they might raise.
If they deduct anyway, file with MOHRE. Use the MOHRE app, website or call 600 590000. Our MOHRE complaint letter generator drafts the complaint with the right articles, and the MOHRE guide walks through the process.

Check what you are actually owed

Before you sign a settlement, run your numbers through the free gratuity calculator, and ask the AI Employment Rights Assistant about any deduction you do not recognise.

This applies to mainland private-sector employment under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. DIFC and ADGM have their own employment laws, and domestic workers are covered by a separate law.

Employer Asking You to Repay Visa or Hiring Costs When You Resign? Read This

The rule: Article 6(4)

The probation exception, which is not really about you

Things that are not "visa costs"

"We will not cancel your visa until you pay"

How to respond

Related Resources

Know Your Employment Rights

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