How to cancel a maid visa: steps, dues and timing

ICP's cancellation page says a domestic worker's residence is cancelled through MOHRE or the Domestic Work Bundle, including fee settlement and the cancellation of the residence and the linked Emirates ID. Settle her dues and flight home as the Domestic Workers Decree-Law requires, and agree the dates with her first: ICP doesn't say which grace period covers a domestic worker.

What families call her visa is really two things. Her work permit comes from MOHRE, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. Her residence is handled by ICP, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, and her Emirates ID is linked to it. The government's Work Bundle portal sends Dubai employers to the DubaiNow app for domestic-worker services, and links the other emirates to ICP's smart services.

Her dues come under Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, the Domestic Workers Decree-Law. For the rule on moving to a new family, we also cite the ILO, the International Labour Organization, and its May 2024 summary of UAE rules.

This guide is for families who sponsor their helper themselves. If you hired her through a recruitment office, check who sponsors her first. Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, the agency sponsors the worker in the Temporary package and holds the worker's visa in the Flexible package, and in both it pays the worker's salary, legal entitlements and medical costs. In those two packages, ask the office how her visa will end.

How do you cancel a maid visa, step by step?

Talk to her, settle what you owe, then apply to cancel. The order below is our practical advice, not MOHRE's own steps: we haven't been able to read the steps on MOHRE's cancellation service (opens in a new tab), so check them there before you apply. The rules that apply at each step are as of September 2026:

1. Talk to her first. Is she going home, or moving to another family in the UAE? We found no general notice period in the Decree-Law, and we haven't been able to read the text of MOHRE's standard contract, so check what yours says. If you'd rather keep her, see our guide to renewing a maid visa.
2. If she is moving to another family, bring them in early. Your cancellation is part of their application, so agree the dates between the three of you (see below).
3. Settle her dues, and keep proof. The Decree-Law has rules on when dues are paid and on unused leave (see below). It also says how pay is proven. Payment of a domestic worker's wages must be proven by a written receipt or another method MOHRE approves.
4. Book her flight home, if it's yours to pay. The Decree-Law's rule on who pays is below.
5. Apply to cancel. Apply through MOHRE's cancellation service, or through the Domestic Work Bundle where it is available to you: those are the two routes ICP's page (opens in a new tab) names. MOHRE charges a fee (see the costs below).
6. Keep the cancellation, and give her a copy. If she stays in the UAE, her next employer's permit application asks for it.
7. In Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah or Fujairah, ask your insurer about a refund. MOHRE's basic health insurance package for the northern emirates is valid for two years, and the second-year premium can be refunded if the visa is cancelled. MOHRE's page doesn't say how to claim it or how much comes back.

One rule applies at every step. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker has the right to keep all their official documents, including their passport and ID, and an employer may not hold them.

How much does it cost to cancel a maid visa?

Cancelling a domestic worker's work permit or entry permit through MOHRE costs AED 65, or AED 85.75 in Dubai, as of September 2026. We found no official page that gives a total for the whole cancellation, or one that says who pays MOHRE's fee.

If a business centre handles the application for you, note the cap. MOHRE's service cards for domestic workers cap business-centre commission at AED 72.

The Domestic Workers Decree-Law also sets a general rule on costs. An employer may not charge a domestic worker any cost, directly or indirectly, unless the law, the regulations, MOHRE decisions or the approved contract allow it. So ask MOHRE on 600 590000 before you pass any cost of the cancellation on to her. Her final dues and, in general, her flight home come on top, and the next section covers both.

What do you owe her when the job ends?

Her dues, including any unused annual leave, and in general her flight home. Here is what the Domestic Workers Decree-Law says on each:

• When a domestic worker's contract expires, the employer must pay the worker's dues within 10 days. That deadline is worded for a contract that expires. We found no official deadline for other endings, so settle promptly, and before she leaves if she is going home.
• When a domestic worker's contract ends, unused annual leave is paid in cash, based on the last wage.
• The employer pays for a domestic worker's flight home, except that the agency pays when an agency-recruited worker is returned, a directly recruited worker who quits after probation without a valid reason pays their own unless they cannot, and the original employer does not pay when the worker moves to a new employer. We found no official page that says how these rules apply when the contract ends for her breach, or after she stops coming to work; ask MOHRE on 600 590000.
• The Domestic Workers Decree-Law (No. 9 of 2022) does not itself set an end-of-service gratuity; Article 22 leaves the rules to the Cabinet. We found no Cabinet decision setting those rules, so we give no gratuity formula or figure.

Our guide to final dues, the flight home and gratuity goes through each rule.

When should you cancel her visa?

Close to her flight home or her move to a new family, once the dates are agreed. A grace period is the time a person can stay on in the UAE after a residence permit expires or is cancelled. As of September 2026, ICP's cancellation page (opens in a new tab) sets grace periods by category but doesn't say which covers a domestic worker, so we don't quote one.

If you recruited her from India through eMigrate, India's online system for recruiting workers abroad, check the Embassy of India's rules before she leaves for good: our guide to hiring an Indian domestic worker covers them.

How long does cancellation take?

We haven't found an official time for the domestic-worker route. ICP's pages for issuing a residency permit and for cancelling one give a 'Service Completion Duration' of 2 days for each service as a whole. But ICP's cancellation page sends a domestic worker's cancellation through MOHRE or the Domestic Work Bundle and gives no time for that route, and we haven't been able to read MOHRE's cancellation card beyond its fee. So check the card, and don't plan her flight or her new family's application around ICP's figure.

What if she is moving to another family?

Then the cancellation is one step of her move, so agree the dates with her new family as well as with her. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker may move to a new employer if the contract's conditions are met and the original employer's rights are respected, following MOHRE's procedures.

The ILO's May 2024 brief on UAE rules, citing Ministerial Resolution No. 674 of 2022, says a domestic worker's move to a new employer during the contract term needs the current employer's written consent. If you agree to the move, put your consent in writing.

When the worker is already inside the UAE, MOHRE asks for the worker's tourist visa, if they are on one, or for the cancellation of their previous visa. So your cancellation comes before their application. She shouldn't start working for them before MOHRE issues their permit. Employing a domestic worker without a work permit for that job is punishable by a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 200,000.

For an older helper, timing matters for another reason. A domestic worker must be at least 18, and MOHRE applies an upper age limit of 60 for a new work permit. MOHRE can exempt a domestic worker who is already in the UAE from its upper age limit if their domestic-worker residence was cancelled no more than three months earlier. If she is close to that limit, ask MOHRE on 600 590000 before you cancel, and keep the gap before her new family applies short.

Under the flight-home rule above, the original employer doesn't pay for her flight home once she moves to a new employer. Our guide to hiring a helper who is already in the UAE covers the move from her new family's side, including what a Filipina should check before her next trip home. If you're leaving the UAE yourself, see what to do about your helper.

What if she has stopped coming to work?

Report it to MOHRE, and ask before you cancel anything. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, an employer must notify MOHRE within five days if a domestic worker abandons work. We found no official page that says what happens to her work permit and residence after a report, or whether you should cancel them yourself, so ask MOHRE on 600 590000 first.

Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker's contract ends if the worker is absent without a valid reason for more than 10 consecutive days, or 15 separate days, in a year. Even so, ask MOHRE before you treat the contract as over. We found no official page that says what deadline applies to her dues, or how the rules on her flight home apply, after she stops coming to work; ask MOHRE on 600 590000 before you settle anything or book a ticket. Our guide to what to do when your helper stops coming to work covers the report and what comes after it.

How can MaidMatch help?

By helping you find your next helper once the dates are settled. Most helpers listed on MaidMatch are already in the UAE and ready to work, and MaidMatch is a free platform for families: they can browse every profile at no cost, with no registration or subscription required.

Families contact helpers directly on WhatsApp, through the Hire button on each profile. Sponsorship is the employer's responsibility; families can manage the visa themselves or ask MaidMatch to connect them with its visa partners. Tap the WhatsApp button on this page if you'd like us to connect you.