Your gratuity and savings when you leave the UAE

Plan the order: your money is due within 14 days of the contract ending, and you may need your residence and bank account until it arrives.¹

When is your gratuity paid?

Within 14 days of the date your contract ends, with your wages and every other entitlement.¹ Your gratuity is worked out on your last basic wage and your years of continuous service.¹ See your final settlement for every item.

Your employer also pays your ticket back to where you were recruited from, or another place you agreed, unless you joined another employer or the contract ended because of you.¹

Can your bank hold your gratuity?

It can if you owe it money. Emirates NBD, for example, says that if you have a loan or overdue card payments with it, it may block or debit your end of service benefits paid into its account under the terms of your loan or card contract, and that you are told when this happens.²

Settle or agree loans and cards with your bank before your last salary and gratuity arrive.

What happens to a savings scheme balance?

If your employer paid into the federal end of service savings scheme, you are entitled to all your employer’s contributions and any returns within 14 days of the job ending. You can tell the fund manager in writing within that time that you want the money to stay invested, and withdraw it later at any time without restriction.³

Your employer can ask for amounts you legally owe it to be deducted from the balance, but only with the Ministry’s approval or under a court ruling.³

What happens to a DEWS balance?

If you worked in DIFC, you can leave your DEWS account invested and keep managing it, or withdraw it as cash through the online withdrawal feature. Zurich says it can pay locally or internationally.⁴ Bank charges on a withdrawal depend on the amount, the currency and the receiving bank’s country.⁵

Can you claim ILOE after you leave?

A claim needs legal residence in the UAE, and must be made within 30 days of the job ending.⁶ If you lost your job for a reason other than resignation and plan to stay a while, see how to claim ILOE.

What if you are a GCC national?

Your contributions while working in the UAE go to your home country’s pension agency through GPSSA, and your pension rights follow your home country’s law.⁷ See GCC nationals working in the UAE.

How long can you stay after your visa is cancelled?

It depends on your residence type. ICP gives 180 days to Golden, Green and Blue residence holders and their families, 90 days to skilled workers in levels 1 to 3 and property owners, 60 days for permits issued with a guarantor or host, and 30 days for every other category. After that, a fine of AED 50 a day applies.⁸ If you are 55 or over, the retirement visa may let you stay without an employer.

What if your money has not arrived?

You can still complain after you leave. A claim for rights under the Labour Law is not heard more than two years after the work relationship ends.¹ See how to complain to MOHRE.

Ask a tax adviser in the country you are moving to how it treats a lump sum from a UAE employer or fund. Work through the checklist on this page before your last day.

The small print

• Articles. Payment within 14 days is Article 53, the ticket home Article 13(12), gratuity Article 51 and the claim limit Article 54(9) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.¹
• Savings scheme. Payout and the option to stay invested are Article 9 of Cabinet Resolution No. 96 of 2023.³
• ILOE. Legal residence and the 30-day window are Article 9 of Cabinet Resolution No. 97 of 2022.⁶
• Banks. The bank example is one bank’s published terms. Other banks set their own.²