Employee Absconding Report UAE (2026): An Employer’s Guide to Filing with MOHRE, Evidence, Effects and Alternatives

An employee absconding report in the UAE is the complaint a mainland employer files with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) when a worker has been absent without lawful reason for more than seven consecutive days, is still inside the country, and cannot be located or contacted. It is filed at no cost on the MOHRE website or app, a ministry officer examines it, and if it is approved the work permit is cancelled automatically. It can also lead to a one-year work permit ban for the worker, which is why the law surrounds it with conditions and lets either side ask for it to be cancelled.

This guide is written for business owners, HR managers and office managers. It covers the decision you actually face: whether to report an absconding employee in Dubai or another emirate at all, what you must prove, how to file, what happens afterwards, where the risks lie, how to cancel an absconding report, and which alternative fits better when the facts do not match the service.

We checked every rule and figure against MOHRE service cards, Ministerial Resolution 47 of 2022, the Labour Law and its Executive Regulation, the Entry and Residence Law and its Executive Regulation, the Domestic Workers Law and GDRFA Dubai’s service pages on 24 September 2026. Where official sources disagree or say nothing, we say so.

Employee absconding report UAE at a glance

The table answers the questions employers ask first. Each line is explained, with its source, further down.

Employee absconding report UAE: how MIRDXB PRO helps

Many employers can file an absconding report themselves in a few minutes on the MOHRE app. The difficulty is rarely the form. It is knowing whether the facts support an absconding report, building the evidence file before you commit, and dealing with the immigration side and the consequences afterwards. That is where we are useful, and we will tell you when we are not.

What we do

• Review the facts of the absence against the legal tests: the count of consecutive days, contact attempts, wages, leave records and any dispute already on file.
• Obtain the entry and exit movement report so you know whether the employee is still in the UAE before you decide anything.
• Check your establishment file for unpaid work permit fines, expired permits or other blocks that would stop the absconding report being accepted.
• Help you prepare the written warning, the written investigation record and the dismissal decision where Article 44 is the better route.
• File the absconding report through MOHRE where it is warranted, and follow it until approval or refusal.
• Check and handle the residence side with GDRFA in Dubai or ICP in the other emirates, and flag any dependants’ files where the employee sponsored family, since those follow the employee’s own residence.
• Apply to cancel an absconding report you no longer need, for example when the employee returns or you agree a settlement.

How it works

1. WhatsApp us first with the employee’s passport and permit copies, the last working date, your attendance record and a list of contact attempts. No documents need to be originals at this stage.
2. We review and advise, in writing, whether the absconding report is available, whether it is wise, and what the alternatives are.
3. We prepare the file: movement report, warning letters, investigation record and the establishment checks.
4. We file and follow up with MOHRE, and with GDRFA or ICP on the residence side.
5. We confirm the outcome and give you the transaction numbers and approvals for your HR file.

What it costs

MOHRE lists no government fee for the mainland absconding report. Any government fees on the way, such as a movement report, a domestic worker report or a residence transaction, are passed on at cost with receipts. Our own fee depends on the work involved and is quoted in writing before we start. Our standard packages are on our fees page.

Why employers use us

• We publish our sources, including where official pages disagree, so your HR file rests on something you can show an inspector or a judge.
• We cover the labour side (MOHRE) and the immigration side (GDRFA for Dubai, ICP for the other emirates) together, which is where most absconding problems are actually settled.
• We tell you when you do not need us, and when an absconding report would do more harm than good.
• We will not file an absconding report to put pressure on an employee in a wage dispute.
• Our office is in Al Barsha 1, Dubai, open by appointment; whatsApp us any time, 24 hours; office open Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 (Dubai time).

For companies that want the whole PRO function handled, including permits, renewals and cancellations, see our corporate PRO services. Where an absconding report is already in place and fines or bans need clearing, our absconding removal and visa fines service covers it.

What an absconding report is, in law

“Absconding” is the everyday word. The law uses more precise terms, and the rules come from several instruments that each deal with one side of the problem. An employer who knows which rule does what can predict what MOHRE will ask for and what will happen next.

Why employers report at all: Article 25 of the Entry and Residence Law

Article 25(1) of Federal Decree-Law 29 of 2021 fines anyone who employs, harbours or houses a foreigner in violation of the law AED 50,000, with imprisonment added for a repeat. Article 25(2) applies the same penalty to someone who recruits a foreigner for work and then does not employ them, or leaves them to work for others without following the legal procedures.

Article 25(3) is the part that matters to an employer whose worker has disappeared. The recruiter is exempt from that penalty if it reports that the foreigner has left its work, in line with the Executive Regulation. The same clause says the reporting recruiter is compensated AED 10,000, deducted from the fine imposed on whoever employed or harboured the worker, and that the value of the worker’s travel ticket is also deducted from that fine.

Put simply: if a worker you sponsor turns up working for someone else, an absconding report made at the right time is what separates you from the employer who took them on. That is the legitimate purpose of an employee absconding report in the UAE. It is not a tool for winning an argument about wages.

The conditions MOHRE applies before accepting an absconding report

MOHRE’s service card “Filing a Labour Complaint – Absence from Work” lists its terms and documents. Read with Article 28 of the Executive Regulation, they give five tests. Fail any one and the absconding report should not be accepted, or should be cancelled later if the worker challenges it.

The card also notes that the employer must report when it cannot locate or contact the employee. That wording, together with Article 25 of the Entry and Residence Law, is why most advisers treat a genuine disappearance as something to report rather than ignore.

Absent, dismissed, resigned or abroad: which situation do you have?

Employers often reach for an absconding report when a different tool fits the facts better. The table sorts the usual situations.

If the absence happens during probation, the rules on notice and the separate probation ban also apply. Our guide to the probation period under UAE labour law explains them. For dismissal and notice generally, see our guide to the notice period under UAE labour law.

The first seven days: what to do before you can file

The seven-day wait is not dead time. What you do in it decides whether you end up with a defensible file, and it often settles the matter without any report. The schedule below is a practical protocol, not a legal form; the law only fixes the day count and the investigation requirement.

For a domestic worker, compress this: the Domestic Workers Law gives the employer 5 days to notify MOHRE of an absence without legitimate reason, even though MOHRE’s domestic worker card describes the absconding report as available after more than seven days.

Why the movement report is the pivot

The ICP entry and exit movement report is a required document for the mainland report, and MOHRE only accepts one issued within the last 30 days. It answers the question that decides everything else: is the employee still in the UAE?

• If it shows the employee is in the country, the absconding report is available if the other tests are met, and you already hold the document you need.
• If it shows the employee has left, the absconding report is not available. Switch to the Article 44 investigation and dismissal and then ordinary cancellation. Employers lose weeks trying to force an absconding report the card excludes.

For Dubai files, GDRFA lists a statement of entry and exit movements at AED 141 with a 48-hour processing time. ICP issues the equivalent for residence files from the other emirates; its fee is shown on the ICP service page at the time you apply. MOHRE’s card names a report issued by ICP, while Gulf News (2023) described employers attaching a GDRFA entry and exit certificate for Dubai; if the MOHRE system rejects one, obtain the other. Which persons may apply for another person’s movement record is set by each service page, so ask at an Amer or ICP centre whether you can request it as sponsor before you rely on it. Our guide to GDRFA services explains the Dubai channels.

Building the evidence file

MOHRE’s card asks for very little on the form: the employee’s details, the date of absence, the establishment’s details and the movement report. That does not mean the rest is optional. If the worker later applies to cancel the absconding report, or brings a labour claim, the officer or judge will ask what you did to establish the facts. A file assembled as the days pass is far more convincing than one reconstructed afterwards.

What the written investigation should contain

Article 44 of the Labour Law does not prescribe a form. A record that will stand up usually includes the following, all dated and signed by the person conducting it:

1. The employee’s name, job, permit number and last day worked.
2. The dates of absence and how they were recorded.
3. Each attempt to contact the employee, with the channel, time and result.
4. A copy of the written notice asking the employee to return and explain, and proof of sending.
5. Whatever explanation was received, or a statement that none was received by the deadline.
6. Checks made for approved leave, sick leave, a pending complaint or a resignation.
7. The conclusion and the action decided, with the reason.

If the employee does reply with an explanation, record it and consider it honestly. Article 44(8) refers to absence without a legitimate reason or an excuse acceptable to the employer. A plausible explanation that you reject without looking at it is exactly what a labour court tends to examine.

How to report an absconding employee in Dubai and the other emirates: step by step

For establishment workers the absconding report is a MOHRE service, so the procedure is the same in every emirate for mainland companies. The residence follow-up differs, and is covered after the filing steps.

Step 1: confirm you are the right filer

The absconding report is filed by the establishment that holds the employee’s MOHRE work permit. If your workers hold free zone employment cards, the free zone authority runs its own process instead (see the free zone section below). If the worker is a domestic worker, use the domestic worker service.

Step 2: log in to MOHRE

Use the MOHRE website or the MOHRE smart app. MOHRE’s card describes access with the establishment’s username and password or UAE PASS. Gulf News, describing the process in 2023, listed a trade licence copy, the work permit number, an entry and exit certificate and the MOHRE e-signature card as what an employer needs to have ready.

Step 3: complete the complaint

Enter the employee’s work permit number or passport number, name, date of birth and nationality; the date the absence began; and the establishment’s information. Upload the movement report and, where the system asks for it, the document showing the employee is in the country. Make sure the date of absence you enter is the date on your attendance record. A mismatch is an easy ground for cancellation later.

Step 4: verify your capacity

MOHRE verifies the applicant’s capacity using the electronic signature card and a one-time password sent by SMS or email. The card says this step is not needed when you submit through the smart application.

Step 5: examination by MOHRE

A MOHRE officer examines the complaint and takes the appropriate action. This is not an automatic filing. The officer can see the establishment’s own record, including permit status and wage payments.

Step 6: outcome by SMS

MOHRE sends the outcome by text message. The card lists 2 working days. Keep the transaction number and a screenshot of the approval in the employee’s file.

Fees and time in one table

If you use a Tasheel or other business service centre rather than the app, the centre may charge its own commission for the transaction. MOHRE’s domestic worker cards cap that commission at AED 72; the establishment worker card we read does not state a figure. For all other government fees, our UAE government fees list is kept up to date.

What happens after MOHRE approves the absconding report

Approval is not the end of the matter. It changes several records at once and leaves others for you to deal with. The table sets out what the official sources say happens, and what they do not say.

The one-year ban and its exemptions

Article 28(2) of the Executive Regulation says a worker absent from work for an unjustified reason before the end of the contract is not granted another work permit for a year from the date of absence. It exempts a worker sponsored by his parents, a worker applying for a new permit with the same establishment, workers with skill, professional or knowledge levels the State needs, Golden residence holders, and any professional categories the Minister names. u.ae says the ban period starts when the worker leaves the UAE, which differs from the regulation’s wording; our labour ban guide sets out both readings. For the employer, the point is simple: the consequence for the worker is heavy, so the absconding report must be accurate.

The residence side: GDRFA in Dubai, ICP elsewhere

A mainland employment residence depends on a valid work permit, but the residence file is held by a different authority. MOHRE’s card only talks about the work permit. None of the official pages we read says that approval of the MOHRE report cancels the residence, or explains how the approved report is reflected on the residence file.

ICP’s services guide lists two immigration-side services for sponsors: reporting the absconding of a sponsored person by including their name in the administrative list, and removing that report. GDRFA’s Conciliation and Reconciliation Service accepts absconding reports for workers whose permits GDRFA issued. What that means in practice:

• Dubai residence files (file numbers starting with 2): after approval, check the employee’s residence status with GDRFA on 8005111 or at an Amer centre, and ask what, if anything, you still need to do as sponsor.
• Other emirates: check with ICP on 600522222, through ICP smart services or at a customer happiness centre, and ask whether the administrative list service applies to your case.
• Keep evidence of the check and the answer in the employee’s file. A residence left in an unclear state tends to surface at your next establishment card renewal or permit application.

The difference between the two immigration authorities is set out in our guide to ICP and GDRFA. For the company file itself, see our establishment card guide.

Final dues, gratuity and wages for an absconding employee

Employers often assume that an absconding employee loses everything. The current Labour Law does not say so.

• Wages earned up to the last day worked are due. Pay them through WPS as usual, so the record shows no arrears.
• End of service gratuity is not forfeited by an Article 44 dismissal under the 2021 law. Deductions from dues are limited to what the law or a judgment allows and to the heads in Article 29 of the Executive Regulation. Our end of service gratuity guide covers the calculation.
• Repatriation ticket: Article 13 of the Labour Law puts the cost of returning the worker on the employer, unless the worker has joined another employer or the reason for ending the contract is due to the worker, in which case the worker bears it.
• Holding the dues while the worker cannot be found is common. Keep the calculation on file and pay when the worker surfaces, or as MOHRE or a court directs.

Never hold the worker’s passport as security. Article 13 of the Labour Law forbids the employer to withhold the worker’s official documents, and that applies whatever the worker owes you.

The risks of a false or tactical report

An absconding report is a statement to a government authority that has serious consequences for another person. Filed on the right facts it protects you. Filed on the wrong facts it can come back at you in several ways.

The pattern to avoid is the “pre-emptive” report: filed on day 3, or against someone who has resigned, or against a worker who has stopped attending because salary is late. Each fails the tests in Article 6 and Article 28 and is exposed to cancellation under Article 7. The worker can apply without you, MOHRE decides, and your own record is examined along the way.

What the worker can do in response

You should expect the worker to use the same official channels you do. They can check the record through MOHRE’s app, call centre or a Tasheel centre; apply to cancel the absconding report; file a labour complaint (MOHRE’s Labour Claims and Advisory line is 80084); and, if a ban is recorded, file a grievance within 30 days. Our worker-side guides on checking an absconding case and filing a MOHRE complaint show what they will see. Reading them is a useful test of your own file.

Cancelling an absconding report, including one you filed

MOHRE’s service “Cancellation of an Absence from Work Complaint (Absconding Report)” is open to a party to the employment relationship. Article 7 of MR 47/2022 says MOHRE may cancel the complaint at the request of one or both parties. The card lists 14 working days and shows no fee. The request uses the same details as the original report: the employee’s permit or passport number, name, date of birth, nationality, the date of absence and the establishment’s information, with the same capacity check.

The grounds in Article 7

• Seven consecutive days had not passed since the last working day or the end of leave.
• The worker was present at work or on legal leave during the period.
• The employer agrees to restore the working relationship.
• The parties have agreed to end the employment.
• The absence was for legitimate reasons.

When an employer should cancel

Leaving an absconding report in place after the situation has changed serves no purpose and can harm you. Apply to cancel when:

• the employee returns and you keep them on;
• you agree a settlement or an end to the contract, and the agreement should say that the absconding report will be withdrawn;
• you discover a lawful reason for the absence, such as hospital admission or detention;
• you filed in error, for example on the wrong worker or the wrong date;
• a labour case has reached court and you need MOHRE’s labour court cancellation route, which requires no absence complaint on file.

Keep the cancellation document. MOHRE’s enquiry portal lists an “Absconding Withdraw Cancellation Document” service, and both you and the worker will want proof later. The worker-side detail of removal, including costs and timing when the worker applies alone, is in our absconding case removal guide.

Alternatives to an absconding report

An employee absconding report is one tool among several. For many employers another route is cleaner, faster and carries less risk.

Where the worker has left the UAE and you need the permit and residence cancelled, our guide on visa cancellation without the sponsor explains how cancellation works when one side is absent, and our visa cancellation service handles it for companies.

Domestic workers: a separate law and service

If the absent person is a housemaid, nanny, driver or other domestic worker employed by a household, the Domestic Workers Law (Federal Decree-Law 9 of 2022) and MOHRE’s domestic worker services apply instead of the establishment process above.

The five-day notification in the law and the more-than-seven-days wording on MOHRE’s card are not reconciled on any official page we read. Our suggestion is to contact MOHRE (600590000), your Tadbeer centre or, in Dubai, GDRFA within the five days, and file the absconding report when the system allows it. For domestic worker sponsorship generally, see our domestic worker visa service.

Free zones, DIFC, ADGM and GDRFA-issued permits

MOHRE’s absconding report is for workers on MOHRE work permits, which means mainland private sector establishments. Free zone companies issue employment cards through their free zone authority, and the absconding or cancellation process runs through that authority with the emirate’s immigration authority behind it. DIFC and ADGM have their own employment laws. Workers whose permits GDRFA issued in Dubai use GDRFA’s Conciliation and Reconciliation Service, which accepts absconding reports with no fee and a five-day processing time. If you are not sure which system your employee is on, look at who issued the permit; our free zone vs mainland guide explains the split, and our work permit types guide lists the MOHRE permits.

When you are the other employer: hiring someone who left another job

Employers are sometimes on the other side of an absconding case: a candidate turns up who is still on another company’s permit, or who has an absconding report against them. Take care.

• Employing a worker without a permit to work for you is fined AED 100,000 to AED 1,000,000 under Article 60 of the Labour Law as amended.
• Employing or harbouring a foreigner in violation of the Entry and Residence Law is fined AED 50,000 under Article 25(1), and the reporting sponsor’s AED 10,000 compensation and ticket cost come out of that fine.
• A worker with a work abandonment report cannot get a temporary permit during a labour case (MR 47/2022 Art. 3) and may be banned from a new permit for a year unless exempt.

Before you make an offer, ask the candidate to show that the old permit is cancelled, or apply for the permit and let MOHRE’s system tell you. Our MOHRE labour card guide shows what a cancelled permit looks like.

Preventing absconding in the first place

Absence rarely comes from nowhere. The causes employers can control are mostly administrative.

Employee absconding report (UAE) myths: what circulates online that is not true

How to verify every figure (employee absconding report, UAE)

Service cards change. Before you rely on any figure in this guide, check it at the source. This table tells you where.

Report absconding employee Dubai and beyond: worked cases

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

Case 1: a warehouse worker who disappears

A Dubai trading company’s storekeeper stops coming to work on a Sunday. Calls go unanswered from day 1; the emergency contact abroad has not heard from him. The company sends a written notice on day 4, takes a GDRFA movement statement on day 6 (AED 141) showing no departure, and confirms wages are paid to the last day through WPS and that there are no unpaid permit fines. On day 9 it closes the investigation record and files through the MOHRE app. The absconding report is approved within the 2 working days on the card and the work permit cancels. The company then calls GDRFA on 8005111 to confirm the residence position and keeps the notes on file.

The point: this is what the service is for. Every test is met and every step is documented.

Case 2: an employee who stopped work over late salary

A small contracting firm in Sharjah is two months behind on salary for three workers. One stops attending and answers messages saying he will return when paid. The owner wants to file absconding. The worker is reachable, so test 3 fails, and the WPS record shows arrears. The firm pays the arrears, meets the worker, and agrees an end to the contract in writing. The permit and residence are then cancelled in the ordinary way.

The point: an absconding report here would likely have been cancelled under Article 7 and drawn attention to the firm’s own WPS record.

Case 3: an employee who did not return from leave

An accountant in Abu Dhabi goes home on approved annual leave and does not return on the agreed date. After ten days of silence, the employer takes an ICP movement report. It shows the last movement as a departure. The absconding report is not available because the employee is outside the UAE. The employer completes a written investigation from the documents, sends a reasoned dismissal decision under Article 44(8) to the employee’s email and home address, and cancels the permit and residence.

The point: the movement report decided the route on day 10 rather than after weeks of failed attempts to file.

Case 4: an absconding report filed too early

An HR assistant files an absconding report on day 5 of an absence, entering the wrong start date. The worker, who was in hospital, applies to cancel with a medical report. MOHRE cancels the absconding report under Article 7. The company then has to explain the entry, and the worker has a dated record that the company acted before the law allowed.

The point: count the days from your own records, leave a margin, and check for lawful reasons before filing.

Case 5: a domestic worker in Ajman

A household’s housemaid leaves the villa and does not return. The employer contacts the Tadbeer centre and MOHRE within five days, as the Domestic Workers Law requires, then files the domestic worker report through MOHRE’s service (AED 315 outside Dubai, 2 working days). Two weeks later the worker contacts the family and they agree she will return home; the employer applies to withdraw the absconding report (AED 115, 3 working days) so the departure can go through cleanly.

The point: domestic workers follow their own law, fees and timings, and an absconding report can be withdrawn when the situation is resolved.

What we will and will not do

We will check the facts against the legal tests before anything is filed; obtain the movement report so you know whether the absconding report is even available; check your establishment for unpaid permit fines and other blocks; prepare the notice, investigation and dismissal documents; file the absconding report where it is warranted; deal with the residence side with GDRFA or ICP; and apply to cancel an absconding report that should no longer stand.

We will not file an absconding report to put pressure on a worker in a wage dispute; state to MOHRE that a worker is unreachable when you can reach them; file before the seven-day threshold; hold or advise holding a worker’s passport; quote a government fee for a service for which MOHRE lists no fee; or promise an outcome that a ministry officer decides.

Related guides

• How to check an absconding case in the UAE (worker side)
• Absconding case removal: routes, cost and time
• UAE labour ban explained
• Types of ban in the UAE
• How to cancel an employment visa in the UAE
• Notice period under UAE labour law
• End of service gratuity in the UAE
• WPS in the UAE explained
• What is MOHRE: a complete guide
• UAE overstay fine per day

Dealing with absent employees, cancellations and the MOHRE and immigration files that go with them is what our PRO services in Dubai team handles every day.