Employment Visa Renewal in Dubai

Employment visa renewal in Dubai is the renewal of a private-sector employee's MOHRE work permit and employment contract, followed by a new medical fitness test, Emirates ID and residence permit from GDRFA Dubai, normally every two years. The employer applies. Renewal skips the entry permit and status change of a first visa, so it is cheaper and faster, but only when the company file and the employee's documents are clean. Whether you searched for an employment visa renewal in Dubai, urgent or planned, this page is for employers, HR teams and employees who need it done quickly and correctly: the fastest official route, what it costs at each speed, what blocks it, and what to do if the visa has already expired.

For every fee line of a first visa and a renewal side by side, see our employment visa renewal cost breakdown. This page is about getting the renewal through fast.

How fast can an employment visa be renewed in Dubai?

Each step has a published speed. The time you actually need depends on whether anything on the company file or the employee's file has to be fixed first. The table shows the regular and the fastest published option for each step.

Employment visa renewal fees in Dubai

These are the government lines for a two-year renewal of one employee on a Dubai mainland company. We pass them on at cost with the official receipts. Our own fee is separate and quoted in writing.

The two GDRFA residence figures do not agree, so our totals use the higher card figure and tell you when the payment screen comes in lower. Typing and service-centre charges are added at Tasheel and Amer, with VAT on those charges.

Totals are work permit fee + medical + Emirates ID + residence at the GDRFA card figure (AED 740). On the GDRFA FAQ figure each total is AED 280 lower. They exclude health insurance, typing charges, fines and our fee.

Our urgent employment visa renewal service

We run the renewal from the first check to the new Emirates ID, for one employee or a whole team. Documents come to us on WhatsApp. The employee comes in person only for the medical and, if ICP calls for it, biometrics.

What blocks an employment visa renewal (and makes it urgent)

Almost every "urgent" renewal we receive is late because of something outside the visa. Check these first.

If the employment visa has already expired

Two clocks start: MOHRE's for the work permit and the immigration clock for the residence.

Because GDRFA and ICP publish different grace periods, check the exact date on the GDRFA or ICP app, and do not rely on anything longer than the shortest period that could apply to you. If the employee's job has ended, renewal is not available and the route is a cancellation and a new visa or an exit; see our UAE residence visa grace period guide.

For employees: your employer's visa renewal responsibilities

If you are an employee searching for how to renew your employment visa, the renewal is your employer's job and your employer's cost. Article 6 of Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021 prevents employers from recovering recruitment and employment costs from workers. The one policy in your own name is ILOE unemployment insurance, at AED 5 or AED 10 a month plus VAT depending on your basic salary. Keep it active, because an unpaid ILOE fine can hold up your permit.

If your visa is close to expiry and the company has not started the renewal, ask HR in writing for the renewal date. If the employer refuses or keeps delaying, MOHRE is the authority to approach; our guide on how to file a MOHRE complaint explains the steps. Many small companies simply have no PRO. In that case we work for the employer, and the employer pays.

Other types of employment-linked renewal

• Free zone employees renew through their free zone authority's portal, not MOHRE, with the zone's own fees. See our free zone visa services.
• Company owners and partners renew their own investor or partner visa through their company, which needs a valid trade licence and establishment card first.
• Domestic workers are renewed by the household sponsor under different rules; see our maid and domestic worker visa service.
• Family members of the employee are renewed after the employee; see family visa renewal in Dubai.
• Everything else, including property owners and students, is covered on our residence visa renewal page.

Three urgent renewals we handled

These cases are composites built from situations we handle often. Names and identifying details are left out, and the figures are the published ones.

The renewal stuck on the company file. A trading company's accountant came to us four days before a sales executive's visa expired. The typing centre had rejected the file twice. The establishment card had expired the month before, so every visa transaction was blocked. We renewed the card first, then filed the work permit, a Smart Salem medical and the residence. The renewal finished inside the grace period, with no overstay.

Twenty permits and a category change. A contracting company planned its renewals on AED 1,200 per permit, but a wage protection breach had moved it to category 3. At AED 3,450, the batch cost AED 45,000 more than budgeted. We showed the owner the cause on the MOHRE record, renewed the staff whose permits were inside the fine window first, and staggered the rest while the company resolved the breach.

The employee flying out on Friday. An engineer's residence expired the same week as a family trip, and his Emirates ID had to be renewed before his bank would release a salary transfer. With a clean company file, we booked a DHA VIP medical, paid the Emirates ID urgent option and filed the residence the same afternoon the medical was linked.

Employment visa renewal questions