UAE life & visa · 2026
The paperwork of UAE life is not hard once someone explains it. This guide walks through your residence visa, Emirates ID, bank account, tenancy, health insurance and the cheapest ways to send money home.
Most workers live in the UAE on a work visa. Your employer sponsors it. It lasts 2 years and is tied to your work permit. Your Emirates ID has the same end date. If you leave the job, the visa is cancelled. Then a clock starts.
After cancellation you usually have 30 days. Find a new sponsor, change visa type, or leave. After that you pay AED 50 for every extra day. Unpaid fines block a new visa. The overtime calculator also checks overstay fines. Other visas: Green visa for skilled workers and freelancers, family visas, and the 10-year Golden visa.
Your Emirates ID is more than a card. You need it to open a bank account, rent a home, get a SIM card, see a doctor and collect a parcel. You get it as part of your visa. You give fingerprints at an ICP centre. Then you collect the card or it is delivered.
Put the end date in your phone. If the card runs out, your visa runs out too. It renews with your visa. If you change job, passport or address, update the card within 30 days. If it is lost, tell ICP straight away. A new one takes a few days and costs a little.
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You need a bank account to be paid. Salaries must go through WPS, a government system that proves you were paid on time and in full. To open an account you need your passport, Emirates ID (or the receipt) and a salary letter or contract.
Ask for a basic salary account with no minimum balance. Do not take the credit card they offer until you read the interest rate. It is often over 40% a year. Cheques still matter here, mostly for rent. Never write a cheque you cannot pay. A bounced cheque can freeze your account.
Rent is usually paid with 1 to 4 cheques for the whole year. Fewer cheques is better for the landlord, so you can bargain on it. In Dubai every tenancy must be registered with Ejari. In Abu Dhabi it is Tawtheeq. Without it you cannot connect power or sponsor family.
The landlord needs 90 days' written notice to raise the rent, and only within the official limit. They need 12 months' notice to make you leave for their own use. The deposit is usually 5%. Take photos of everything on move-in day. Ask who pays the housing fee, the agent fee and the chiller before you sign.
In Dubai and Abu Dhabi your employer must give you health insurance. In Dubai it must cover maternity too. Cover for your family is on you, unless your contract says otherwise. Your card decides which hospitals you can use without paying first. Check the list before an emergency.
Government hospitals treat everyone in an emergency. Some medicines that are normal at home are controlled here. You need a UAE doctor's note. Sick pay is set by the Labour Law, not by your insurer. See the 15, 30 and 45 day sick-pay ladder here.
Sending money home is where small losses add up. Exchange houses, banks and apps all show a rate and a fee. The real cost is the gap between their rate and the Google rate, plus the fee. On AED 3,000 that gap can be AED 20 or over AED 100.
Compare the amount that lands at home, not the fee. Be careful of 'zero fee' offers with a bad rate. Keep receipts. Send on a fixed day each month, from an account in your own name, through a provider licensed by the Central Bank.
Want to earn some extra income?
Tutorii teaches you your rights, your visa, your money and your job in the UAE. 20 short lessons in simple English. It costs AED 95 a month — about AED 3 a day. Cancel any time. Every member gets a personal link. When a friend joins with your link, you get AED 38 every month, for as long as they stay.
AED 95
a month · cancel anytime
AED 38
per friend you invite
AED 4.75
per friend of a friend
Tuesdays
paid to your UAE bank
3 friends who join = your membership is free, and you still keep earning. You never pay to refer anyone. You only pay for the lessons. You earn only when your friend pays for lessons. Payments and payouts are handled by MamoPay, licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE.
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Go deeper
Normally 30 days from cancellation for a residence visa. After that the overstay fine is AED 50 per day for every visa type.
Yes. A registered tenancy contract, Ejari in Dubai or Tawtheeq in Abu Dhabi, is required for family sponsorship and for connecting utilities.
In Dubai and Abu Dhabi, yes, for the employee. Family cover is your responsibility unless your contract includes it.
Every figure on these tools comes from the UAE Labour Law, but knowing the law and getting paid are two different things. The Tutorii Workers' Rights module walks through final settlements, MoHRE complaints, probation traps and what to sign (and not sign) on your last day, in plain English. It sits alongside modules on visas, banking, career and life in the UAE.
One plan, everything included
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All 5 modules and 20 lessons · AI assistant for one-off questions · Your personal referral link · Cancel anytime, keep your progress
General information based on UAE federal law and common practice in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Free-zone rules may differ. This is not legal, immigration or financial advice — confirm your position with MoHRE, ICP or a licensed adviser.