What changed
Every change and every check, in public
Rules for leaving the UAE change. When one does, we update the step and note it here, with the date. Atom feed
- Site
Every step, the gratuity calculator and your plan now have a link to send the page to someone: it opens your phone’s own share menu, or copies the link. Pages that are useful to anyone, such as police clearance, MOFA attestation, travel ban, credit cards, DEWA, traffic fines, landlord notice, selling a car and the tax residency certificate, now open with the general answer, for readers who need that one step and are not moving away.
Police clearance certificate, if you will need one soon · Attest UAE birth and marriage certificates · Check you have no travel ban · Cancel credit cards at least 45 days before you fly · Close DEWA and get the deposit back · Clear fines on your traffic file · Give your landlord notice · Sell the car and transfer it at RTA · Tax Residency Certificate (if your home tax office will ask)
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Gratuity calculator: service is now counted in whole years from your start date, the result shows every step of the sum, and you can copy the calculation. The page also explains basic salary, who is covered and why an employer’s figure can differ. More questions answered on the police clearance, MOFA attestation, travel ban and visa cancellation steps.
Police clearance certificate, if you will need one soon · Attest UAE birth and marriage certificates · Check you have no travel ban · Your employer cancels work permit, then visa
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Removed the step “Set yourself up at home”. Outro covers closing things in Dubai properly; what to do in your new country is outside it.
- Rule changed
The UAE government portal (u.ae) moved several pages, so four official links were replaced: the travel-ban and customs pages now point to their new addresses, and the labour law and the domestic workers law now point to the UAE Legislation platform. Two source links (MOHRE’s domestic worker page and the fees resolution for pets) were also replaced with pages that open. Transfer Certificate: the school page that quoted up to two weeks is gone, so the step now says what current sources say (news reports: KHDA issues it within one working day once the school applies) and advises asking two weeks ahead.
Check you have no travel ban · Flight day: what to carry · Hand back company accommodation · Your domestic worker: dues, ticket and visa · Get the Transfer Certificate and records · Start your pet’s export now
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We now count visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics, from the company that hosts Outro. It sets no cookies and stores nothing on your device, and we only see totals. It is off for visitors in the European Union. Details on the Privacy page.
- Rule changed
Home internet and mobile: both steps now say how each provider does it, from its own pages: e& (Etisalat), du and Virgin Mobile. New: e& sells a Homebound Pack that keeps a prepaid number for 30 or 60 days after you leave; du cancels postpaid lines at a store and moves a line to prepaid only from the next bill cycle; Virgin Mobile does everything in its app.
Cancel home internet and return the router · Keep your UAE number, then cancel it last
- Rule changed
Links opened and read one by one before launch. Fixed: the Dubai Police travel-ban link (the old address no longer loads; it now goes to the Dubai Police services page), a du help article that no longer shows, and the Salik and MOCCAE links, which now open in English. Corrected: Mashreq cancels credit cards in its app, and Dubai Municipality calls within three days to book a bulky-waste pickup. Added: applying for a police certificate from abroad can need an embassy-certified fingerprint card. DEWA, KHDA, Royal Gas, ADCB and Dubai Police fees were read again and match.
Check you have no travel ban · Cancel home internet and return the router · Sell and give away · Cancel credit cards at least 45 days before you fly · Police clearance certificate, if you will need one soon · Start your pet’s export now · Sell the car and transfer it at RTA
- Rule changed
Banks: the steps for closing an account, cancelling a credit card and closing from abroad now say how each of seven banks does it, from the bank’s own page: Emirates NBD, FAB, ADCB, Dubai Islamic Bank, Mashreq, Emirates Islamic and HSBC. FAB takes account closure and card cancellation only in its app; ADCB and HSBC close accounts in their apps; Emirates Islamic and Dubai Islamic Bank ask for a branch visit.
Close the accounts you don’t need · Cancel credit cards at least 45 days before you fly · Close the last UAE account, or keep it on purpose · Decide which bank account stays open
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Outro sets no cookies, so there is no cookie banner. The Terms page says the steps are written with the help of AI and checked against official pages. Statements that rest on news reports now say so.
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Every page now has a “Tell us” link: write a short note about anything wrong, missing or unclear, with no name or email. Key steps are now only the ones that block other steps or cost money if missed, and they stand out in your plan.
- Rule changed
Piped gas: the step now gives the process for Royal Gas and Lootah BCGas from their own terms and help pages. Royal Gas books a technician by phone and its terms allow up to 90 days to return the deposit; Lootah BCGas takes the request in its portal and pays within 7 to 10 working days if you add your bank details. Plans now show a short “Know this early” list.
- Rule changed
Full review of all 47 steps against official pages. The main corrections: DEWA move-out is not free (AED 125 disconnection plus AED 20 in fees for small meters); the RTA export certificate costs AED 70 for a light vehicle and is valid for 7 days; car insurance refunds follow a fixed scale, not pro-rata; a Tax Residency Certificate needs an entry and exit report and takes up to 10 business days; Empower does not refund to a UAE bank account; the MOCCAE pet certificate costs AED 100 for one or two pets; Dubai school fees are counted from the date of the written withdrawal request; a Golden Visa can be kept after you leave.
Close DEWA and get the deposit back · Shipping the car abroad? Export certificate · Sell the car and transfer it at RTA · Tax Residency Certificate (if your home tax office will ask) · Close district cooling · Start your pet’s export now · Give the school written notice · Cancel your own residence visa
- Rule changed
Added what was missing to finish each step: what to do if a landlord does not return the deposit, how and where to file a labour complaint, the Abu Dhabi travel-ban check, the AED 60,000 customs declaration, the early settlement fee on loans, and uncashed cheques before closing an account. Homepage links to authorities were replaced with the exact service pages.
Give your landlord notice · Move-out inspection, keys and deposit · Check your final settlement before you sign · Check you have no travel ban · Flight day: what to carry · Settle loans or agree a plan in writing · Close the accounts you don’t need
- Rule changed
Eight steps re-checked against the official service pages of GDRFA Dubai, MOHRE, Dubai Land Department, RTA, Dubai Police, e&, du, Empower and Emicool. Main changes: the grace period after cancellation is 60 days for most residence permits; tenants can cancel Ejari themselves in Dubai REST; RTA’s ownership change is signed online; e& and du ask for about 30 days’ notice.
Pick your visa cancellation date · Your employer cancels work permit, then visa · Make sure the Ejari is cancelled · Close district cooling · Cancel home internet and return the router · Sell the car and transfer it at RTA · Your domestic worker: dues, ticket and visa · Police clearance certificate, if you will need one soon
- Rule changed
Credit cards: banks don’t all wait 45 days before issuing the clearance letter. Emirates NBD waits 45 days and Emirates Islamic 30, so the step now says “up to 45 days” and still recommends cancelling 45 days before you fly.
- Checked
Bank accounts: added The National’s September 2026 advice to close your UAE bank account last, because most refunds need an account in your name.
- Site
Every step now has its own page, with the official page to use at the top, the date it was last checked and a button to tell us if something is out of date.
- Checked
All 47 steps checked against official pages and reporting. This includes the end-of-service rules under Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021 and the KHDA registration and refund policy in force since 23 March 2026.
All 46 steps were last checked together on 10 November 2026.