Leaving the UAE? What to do about your helper

There are two main routes. She can move to a new employer in the UAE, which the Domestic Workers Decree-Law allows on conditions, and the ILO's May 2024 summary of UAE rules says a move during her contract needs your written consent. Or her contract ends, her visa is cancelled and she goes home. Settle her dues either way.

A few names first. MOHRE, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, issues and cancels domestic workers' work permits. ICP, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, handles residence. 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. The ILO is the International Labour Organization, and the law is Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, the Domestic Workers Decree-Law.

What are your options for your helper when you leave the UAE?

If you sponsor her yourself, there are two main routes: she moves to a new employer here, or she goes home. Ask her early which she'd prefer, because a move takes time to arrange and depends on a new family being ready to sponsor her.

On both routes, what you owe her for her time with you is yours to settle, and the sections below go through it.

If you took her on through a recruitment office's Temporary or Flexible package, your position is different. 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.

So start with the office, and ask what it refunds if the arrangement ends early. For the Temporary package, the same manual says that if the worker is returned, the family is refunded for the time she did not work.

Can you end her contract early because you're leaving?

Yes, if she agrees. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, the cases in which a domestic worker's contract ends include its expiry without extension, both sides' agreement, the worker's death or total disability, the employer's death (unless the family and the worker agree to continue until the contract expires), the worker's conviction or imprisonment for a felony or misdemeanour, and the worker using up all sick leave or being medically unfit.

We found no rule in the Decree-Law that ends a contract because the employer leaves the UAE, and no general notice period. So agree her last working day with her, in writing, together with what you will pay her, and check what her own contract says. If you can't agree, ask MOHRE on 600 590000 before you act.

If her contract expires around the time you leave and she stops working then, it ends on expiry, and the deadline for her dues below applies.

Can your helper transfer to a new sponsor when you leave?

Yes. 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, and as her current employer, that consent is yours to give.

The new employer applies for her work permit, and our guide to hiring a helper who is already in the UAE takes them through it. Your part comes first:

1. Ask her what she wants, early. If she'd like to stay, give her time to look. She can create a free profile on MaidMatch (see below), and with her permission you can pass her details to friends who need help.
2. Agree the move with the new employer. Put your consent in writing, with the date her work for you ends and the date they plan to take her on.
3. Settle what you owe her for her time with you (see below).
4. Her visa with you is cancelled, so the new employer can apply. 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. The cancellation fee is in the next section.
5. She starts with them only once their permit is issued. Employing a domestic worker without a work permit for that job is punishable by a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 200,000.

If she hasn't found a new employer by the time you leave, call MOHRE on 600 590000 before you go: we found no official page on a helper whose sponsor has left the UAE. While she is on your visa, the rule on working for others still applies. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker may not work for anyone other than their employer, except as its Executive Regulations or MOHRE decisions allow. We found no official page that lists those exceptions.

If she is close to 60 or older, the timing matters for a second 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 Filipina, her next trip home needs planning. MWO Dubai, the Philippines' Migrant Workers Office in Dubai, serves Dubai and the northern emirates, and DMW is the Philippines' Department of Migrant Workers.

MWO Dubai's page says DMW's Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) exemption for returning Filipino workers is only for a worker going back to the same employer, with the same company name or sponsor, jobsite and position, and that a worker whose details differ is redirected to set an appointment. So after the move, she should ask MWO Dubai what she needs before she travels, or the Philippine Embassy if her new employer is in Abu Dhabi. Our guide to hiring a Filipino helper has more.

How do you cancel her visa if she goes home?

Through MOHRE, or the Domestic Work Bundle where it is available to you. As of September 2026, 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.

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. No official page we found says who pays it, or gives a total for the whole cancellation. Our guide to cancelling a maid visa sets out a practical order.

If she is going home, a sensible order is:

1. Agree her last working day with her, in writing (see above).
2. Book her flight home and settle her dues (see below).
3. Plan the cancellation and her flight together. ICP's cancellation page (opens in a new tab) doesn't say which grace period covers her, so check the timing with MOHRE on 600 590000.
4. Keep copies of the cancellation, your written agreement and her payment receipts after you leave.

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. For a domestic worker, though, ICP's page points to MOHRE or the Domestic Work Bundle instead and gives no time for those routes, so check MOHRE's cancellation service (opens in a new tab) and leave a margin before your own flight.

Cancelling your own residence too? We found no official page that sets the order for a sponsor's own cancellation and a domestic worker's, so ask MOHRE on 600 590000 or ICP before you cancel yours.

In Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, check her health insurance before you go. 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 the refund or how much comes back, so ask the insurer.

What do you owe your helper before you leave?

Her dues for her time with you, and her flight home if she goes home. The main items:

• Wages still owed. A domestic worker's wages must be paid monthly in UAE dirhams, within 10 days of the due date.
• Unused annual leave. When a domestic worker's contract ends, unused annual leave is paid in cash, based on the last wage. A domestic worker is entitled to at least 30 days' paid annual leave for each year of service.
• Her flight home. 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. None of those exceptions is worded around an employer leaving the UAE, so if she goes home when you leave, plan to pay for her ticket.
• Gratuity. 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. As of September 2026, we found no Cabinet decision setting those rules, so we give no gratuity formula or figure.

The Decree-Law sets a deadline for one case. When a domestic worker's contract expires, the employer must pay the worker's dues within 10 days. We found no separate deadline for a contract that ends early by agreement, so pay everything before she leaves, and before you do.

Pay in a way you can prove. Payment of a domestic worker's wages must be proven by a written receipt or another method MOHRE approves.

Her passport stays in her hands throughout, including while you settle up. 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.

Before you ask her to pay any cost, such as the cancellation, check the rule. 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.

If she was recruited from India through eMigrate, India's online system for recruiting workers abroad, check the Embassy of India's rules before she leaves for good, including those on refunding the deposit some families pay: our guide to hiring an Indian domestic worker explains them.

Our guide to final dues, the flight home and gratuity goes through each item in more detail.

Can MaidMatch help her find a new family?

It offers her a free profile, though no one can promise her a job. MaidMatch's For Helpers page says a helper can create a free profile with her experience, skills and preferred cities, and that there are no registration fees and no commissions taken from her salary.

MaidMatch regularly checks in with every helper on the platform to confirm she is still available and actively looking for work, and if a helper does not respond, her profile is automatically hidden from search results. So while she is looking, she should answer MaidMatch's check-ins.

You can help her get ready: a short video, her experience and skills written down, and a reference letter from you. Before anyone agrees a start date, the transfer steps above still apply.

If friends who are staying in the UAE need a helper, point them to MaidMatch's listings. MaidMatch is a free platform for families: they can browse every profile at no cost, with no registration or subscription required.