Employee residence visa renewal: the employer's checklist

CHECKED 28 SEP 2026

Renewing an employee's residence visa is a chain of steps, and the chain breaks at whichever link nobody checked. This is the order they go in, what each one officially requires, and how long each one takes.

It is the employer's job, not the employee's

The sponsor renews the visa. For a standard work residence visa — valid two years and renewable — the employer is the party that applies.

The order of authorities matters: MOHRE first, for the work permit and the registered labour contract; then ICP or GDRFA for the residence visa itself; then ICP for the Emirates ID. Starting in the middle is how a renewal ends up waiting on something nobody has begun.

Renewing between one and six months before expiry needs special ICP approval, so "very early" is not simply safer.

Step 1 — the passport

ICP requires a passport valid for no less than six months to renew a residency permit. This is the single most common reason a renewal cannot start, and the one with the longest tail: a consulate can take weeks.

Watch the passport as a tracked date in its own right. Note that the Emirates ID needs only three months of passport validity — so a passport can be fine for the card and not for the visa it depends on.

Step 2 — the medical fitness test

Required for every applicant aged 18 and over, on renewals as well as new applications, under Cabinet Resolution No. 7 of 2008 as amended by Cabinet Resolution No. 75 of 2022.

The certificate is valid for three months from the date of issue — not the 30 days that several guides state. It involves blood collection and a chest X-ray, with vaccinations for certain professional categories. Screening covers HIV for all applicants, tuberculosis for new arrivals, leprosy for new applicants and renewals, viral hepatitis for certain groups, and pregnancy for domestic workers.

On renewal, a resident found with TB scarring, active TB or drug-resistant TB is issued a conditional fitness certificate and a one-year residence visa; drug-resistant cases are treated in the UAE and residency may be renewed once cured.

In Dubai the test runs through Dubai Health's medical fitness centres — more than twenty of them — with applications through the Salem Portal and results notified by SMS or email. Published turnaround is 6 to 24 hours for the premium exam and about 30 minutes for the VIP service.

Step 3 — health insurance

Valid health insurance is a stated ICP requirement for issuing and for renewing a residency permit.

Since 1 January 2025 employers must hold a policy as a prerequisite for issuing or renewing residency permits for private-sector employees and domestic workers. Workers whose permits pre-date that are covered until their permit is next renewed — which is to say, until now.

In the northern emirates the basic scheme costs AED 320 a year for a two-year policy, and the employer carries the cost. In Dubai the minimum is DHA's Essential Benefits Plan, the employer must bear the full premium, and the cost cannot be deducted from the employee's salary under any circumstances. Abu Dhabi places the same obligation on employers under its 2005 health insurance law.

Step 4 — Emirates ID

The Emirates ID application receipt is part of the residence visa file, so the two move together.

AED 100 for each year of residence plus an AED 100 smart application fee, five days to complete, and biometrics at an ICP centre for anyone aged 15 or over.

Step 5 — the MOHRE work permit

Renewal can be submitted from 60 days before expiry, and MOHRE states two working days to complete.

Permit fees run from AED 250 to AED 3,450 for two years depending on how the establishment is classified. UAE and GCC nationals are exempt.

Step 6 — the visa itself, and what it costs

Through ICP: AED 100 application, AED 100 for each year of the permit, and an AED 100 smart service fee, with a stated completion of two days.

Through GDRFA Dubai: AED 200 renewal, AED 10 Knowledge Dirham, AED 10 Innovation Dirham, AED 500 for being inside the country and AED 20 delivery, rising by AED 100 a year where the residence period is longer than two years. Processing is stated at 48 hours, through digital channels, Customer Happiness Centres or Amer centres.

Adjusting status from a different visa inside the country adds AED 500.

Only the sponsor can cancel a residence permit, through a registered typing centre or ICP's own channels.

What actually stalls renewals

A passport under six months that nobody looked at until the visa was already close.
A medical certificate that expired at three months while the rest of the file was assembled.
An insurance policy that lapsed with the visa, so each is waiting for the other.
An unpaid MOHRE fine that suspends the establishment file, which stops the permit, which stops the visa.
A tracked list that lives with one person, who is on leave.

After it is issued

Record the new expiry date the same day, so the next renewal is already scheduled rather than remembered.

Collect the new Emirates ID and keep copies of the visa and card on file — the renewal after this one will ask for them.

SOURCES

UAE fees and fines change. This guide is general information checked on the date above, not legal advice — confirm current figures with the authority before acting on them.