When an employee resigns, is terminated or simply leaves the UAE, their residence visa has to be cancelled through your DMCC company. A clean DMCC visa cancellation releases the visa slot back to your quota, closes your liability as sponsor and gives the employee a clear grace period to move on. A messy one leaves you with blocked services and an absconding risk.
Who can apply
Cancellations are filed by the sponsoring company through the DMCC member portal. The company needs an active licence and establishment card and no outstanding sanctions — although DMCC can still process a cancellation where the licence or establishment card has expired, or the company is being wound up. That matters if you are closing a DMCC company.
Inside vs outside the country
Inside the UAE
The standard route when the employee is still in the country. After approval they get a grace period to exit or change status.
Outside the UAE
Used only when the employee has been abroad for three months or more, the visa has already expired, or the company holds the original passport.
Documents required
- Employee passport and visa page copy
- Resignation or termination letter
- Dependant visa cancellation documents (dependants must be cancelled or transferred first)
- Electronically signed end-of-service entitlement, where applicable
The DMCC visa cancellation process
- Settle dependantsAny spouse or children sponsored by the employee are cancelled or moved to a new sponsor first.
- Portal requestWe file the cancellation under Employment Services with the supporting documents.
- End-of-service sign-offThe employee confirms their end-of-service entitlement. DMCC handles this electronically for most salaries; lower salary bands may need an in-person signature.
- DMCC review and typingDMCC approves the file and submits it to Immigration.
- Cancellation issuedThe e-cancellation is uploaded and the employee is deactivated from your company record.
DMCC’s published processing time is about 2 working days for both inside and outside cancellations.
DMCC visa cancellation fees
| Service | Indicative DMCC fee (AED) |
|---|
| Employment visa cancellation – inside the country | ~ 438 |
| Employment visa cancellation – outside the country | ~ 580 |
From the DMCC Schedule of Charges at the time of writing (October 2026). Fees are non-refundable once the application is typed and submitted to Immigration.
After cancellation: the grace period
Once the cancellation is approved, the former employee has a 29-day grace period to leave the UAE or change status — for example to a new employer’s visa. Plan the cancellation date around their next step to avoid overstay fines.
Common mistakes we fix
- Cancelling the employee before their dependants, which blocks the request
- Leaving draft requests in the portal — DMCC voids them after 60 days of inactivity
- Not cancelling at all, which keeps the quota slot used and you liable as sponsor
- Skipping the final salary through WPS — see hiring employees in DMCC
Need a replacement hire? We can cancel and issue the new visa back to back — see DMCC visa services or the full DMCC PRO services desk.
DMCC visa cancellation — FAQs
How long does DMCC visa cancellation take?
DMCC’s processing time is about 2 working days once the request and end-of-service sign-off are complete, for both inside and outside the country cancellations.
How much does it cost to cancel a DMCC visa?
DMCC charges around AED 438 for an inside-country cancellation and around AED 580 for outside-country, according to its schedule of charges at the time of writing.
What is the grace period after a DMCC visa is cancelled?
The employee has 29 days after cancellation to leave the UAE or change to a new visa status.
Can I cancel a visa if my DMCC licence has expired?
Yes. DMCC can still process a residence visa cancellation when the licence or establishment card has expired, and for companies under winding up.
When is an outside-country cancellation used?
When the employee has been outside the UAE for three months or more, when the visa has already expired, or when the company holds the original passport.
Do dependants need to be cancelled first?
Yes. Dependants sponsored by the employee must be cancelled or transferred before DMCC will cancel the main employment visa.
How we keep this page accurate. Fees and process steps are checked against DMCC’s official
Schedule of Charges and the
DMCC Knowledge Bank guidelines, and against the DMCC member-portal filings our JLT team handles every week.
Last verified: October 2026. Government fees change, so we confirm the live figure before you pay.
