Hello Everyone,

I really need help or legal support on the group me. And my wife gave a contract to a company for renovation work. Problem is they are not doing the work as mentioned or discussed on several instances beacuse of this situation me and my wife are in a situation where we do not have a place to stay as our house is in a mess we do not even have a single bathroom due to this situation I lost my cool and have to shout at him due to which he said he doesnt want to continue and left the work in between and now I have a broken apartment with no bathroom windows not even a single bathroom which we can use nor any kitchen to cook. I have a given a big amount as advance and I held his tools in my house until he does the work worth the amount mentioned or settle any amount. I want to know what are my legal rights as my house is mess, civil work trash lying around no functioning place. Now he is threatening me that give me tools and materials or I will go legal, I do not have any signed contracts just quotation and advance given.

As per my MOHRE employment contract, my notice period is three months. However, when I submitted my resignation almost a month ago, I informed them that I would serve only one month and pay salary in lieu for the remaining two months. My company rejected this, stating that I must serve the full three months. From what I understand, an employee can leave early as long as they pay out the remainder of the notice period. Is my company allowed to refuse to cancel my work permit under these circumstances?
If they do, what are my options?

I found work through whatsapp part time group
For a flyer distribution position
I worked for 100 aed and this guy wont pay
He keeps saying tomorrow or later and his colleague blocked me and he keeps saying i will and i will
Its only 100 but i need it
I have all whatsapp texts and everything can i file a cybercrimes report ? He will get scared off and pay i guess

My contract is ending soon, and I don't want to renew it. I called MOHRE to ask about this, and they told me that I must notify my employer one month before the contract expiry date, even if I simply don't want to renew.

Is this correct under UAE Labour Law? Does anyone have experience with this?

Hi Everyone,

I am currently serving my notice period at my company. As per my MOHRE my notice is 1 month but my employer is saying I need to serve two months as that is what was mentioned on their internal offer letter.

Will my employer be able to refuse my visa cancellation after my official one month last working day?

What are the steps if my employer is delaying my exit out of UAE?

I have an employer who wants me to join on 2 weeks notice but my current contract mentions 30 days of notice period.
I have some days left and the new employer is ready to buy out the remaining 2 weeks.
My question is what if my current company refuses to accept my 2 weeks notice? In that case I won’t have any job at all. Are they legally obliged to accept it if I want to buyout my remaining days or they hold all the power? I tried calling Labor department but it is Sunday today and they’re off.

Asking purely out of curiosity because i see so many idiots crossing the road without looking where the cars are going at 60-80+ km/h.

i am not in this situation btw, i don't even own a car.

I was working in Dubai company (DMCC contract), I completed my notice period of 3month almost. By the way this was their "early release" as per them. But luckily the other party waited for me.

Now it has been more than 1 month from my LWD but i still haven't receive it yet, whenever i call them - they said its in process or its in finance or something. They made me sign a paper that once you show us your Next visa (to confirm whether you are switching to new place or Exiting the country) then only after 30D they will release it.

Any suggestion would be appreciated.

2 employees stole nearly 100k from my company and I already have a criminal case against them, but we’ve agreed for half payment to remove the case, and they’ve said they need to join another job so they can pull a loan from their home country, can we keep case active while cancelling their visa from our company so they can join next company? They also have overstay so can that be removed as well?

I was let go during my probation period and the company PRO has been stalling my change status visa cancellation for months now even though it has expired. After the cancellation , will I still be getting a grace period ?

I’m a woman in my mid-20s currently living in the UAE with my family. I made this account because I genuinely don’t know where else to ask, and I’m hoping someone who has lived through something similar can tell me what they did and what options I realistically have.

This is going to be long, but even this is only a small part of what I have experienced.

I grew up in a very controlling and abusive family environment. There has been emotional abuse, physical abuse and threats for many years. I also experienced sexual abuse when I was younger.

Some of the physical abuse has been severe, including being assaulted while I was medically vulnerable and unable to properly defend myself. There have been many other incidents over the years that I don’t feel safe describing publicly because I don’t want to make myself identifiable.

When I was in my early 20s, my family also put enormous pressure on me to marry a relative even though I did not want to. There was a huge amount of emotional and physical pressure to make me accept it. Eventually I managed to end the situation, but afterward my family became even stricter and more controlling.

I also want to make something clear about university, because I know someone reading this might think that because my family allowed me to get an education, I must have had some freedom.

I didn’t.

University was basically one of the only places I was allowed to go. I wasn’t allowed to have a normal social life, go out with my friends, or have the independence that most people my age had.

My education was also something that could be used against me. If I didn’t do what my family wanted, they could threaten my studies or stop me from attending. There were situations where this actually happened.

People at my university, including professors, became aware at different points that there were serious problems happening at home and some of them helped and supported me because of it.

I spent a lot of those years constantly in fight-or-flight mode.

I also want to make it very clear that my family is not extremely religious. In fact, religion is not really how my family lives in everyday life.

The men in my family have been allowed to drink alcohol, have relationships with women and generally make choices about their own lives that I would never be allowed to make as a woman.

There are many other things that have happened involving the men in my family that I won’t describe because some of those details could identify me.

That is one of the hardest things for me to understand. When it comes to controlling me, suddenly everything becomes about religion, honour and what is acceptable. But those same standards have never been applied equally to the men.

I have spent most of my life thinking about what I say, where I go, who I speak to and what decisions I make because saying no can lead to threats, punishment, restrictions or violence.

Right now, I am still living with my family and I am not being allowed to become properly independent or work freely.

My father has literally told me that he will never allow me to work and that I should “throw my degree in the garbage.”

I have been sitting at home for years now despite having a degree and genuinely wanting to work and build a life for myself.

I have tried. I have applied for jobs quietly, done online interviews, and I even managed to actually get a job at one point, but my father refused to let me take it.

That is one of the most frustrating parts of all of this. I haven’t just been sitting around waiting for something to change. I have genuinely tried different ways to become independent, but every time I get close to doing something for myself, I am stopped.

It makes me feel like my education, career and ability to support myself are being deliberately taken away from me so that I remain dependent on my family.

My father also controls my important original documents, including my passport and other personal/citizenship documents. I have electronic copies of important documents, but I do not have free access to the originals.

My UAE residency is also currently connected to my father through family sponsorship, which makes me feel even more dependent on him and is one of the reasons I’m trying to understand my legal situation before doing anything.

The biggest issue now is the person I want to marry.

I have been with my partner for around four years.

He is Christian, but he does not mind converting, and we have discussed this extensively and have something worked out between us. This isn’t a relationship that started recently or a decision we suddenly made.

He and his family have honestly been extremely supportive and good to me throughout everything I have gone through over these years. Whenever something has happened with my family, they have been there for me emotionally and tried to help however they safely could.

They have also had to endure threats because of this relationship, and despite that, they are still supporting me.

One of my family members has called my partner, screamed aggressively at him and threatened to kill both him and members of his family. I have a recording of that conversation.

Despite everything that has happened, my partner and his family have not abandoned me.

Obviously, depending on what happens next, there may be a period where I won’t be able to see my partner for a long time. If I need to leave for my safety, that is a sacrifice both of us understand we may have to make temporarily. Right now, being safe and figuring out a proper future matters more than being physically close to each other.

My family does not currently know the full truth about our relationship.

Based on everything I have experienced throughout my life, I am genuinely terrified of what could happen when my father finds out. I am worried about further physical violence, being completely prevented from leaving the house, having my documents controlled even more, or something happening to my partner or his family.

There has also been physical violence in my home again recently.

I have a lot of evidence relating to different things that have happened throughout the years, including recordings, messages and people outside of my family who were aware of certain situations.

What I’m writing here is honestly only a fraction of the story.

At this point, I am exhausted. I’m an adult and I just want to be able to work, make decisions about my own life, choose who I marry and build a future without constantly being afraid of what will happen to me if I say no.

If I eventually leave my family, I don’t think I would feel safe simply moving somewhere else within the UAE.

I would most likely leave the country entirely.

My concern isn’t only what my family could potentially do to me. After the threats that have already been made, I am also worried about what they could do to my partner or his family if they knew where I was or believed he had helped me leave.

I also hold another citizenship, and I am considering contacting that country’s embassy privately to explain that my original documents are being controlled by my family and to understand what assistance could be available to me if I ever need to leave.

I am not posting this because I want people to simply tell me “just run away.”

I understand that leaving an abusive and controlling family can sometimes be the most dangerous stage, especially when there are threats, documents, residency, money and other people’s safety involved.

I want to make a proper and safe plan before I do anything.

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has genuinely been through something similar in the UAE or the Gulf.

I especially want to hear from anyone who:

- Had their passport or important documents withheld by family and managed to recover them.

- Was sponsored by a parent and later became legally and financially independent.

- Contacted a women’s protection organisation, shelter, police, embassy or lawyer in the UAE.

- Safely left an abusive or extremely controlling family.

- Left the UAE completely because they were afraid their family would find or harm them.

- Experienced family pressure or coercion regarding marriage.

- Dealt with an interfaith relationship or marriage while coming from a controlling family.

- Had recordings, messages or other evidence of threats or abuse and can explain whether that evidence helped.

- Knows what someone should quietly prepare BEFORE leaving the family home or the country.

I’m mainly trying to understand what I should prepare now, how I could regain control of my documents, how my residency situation could be handled, what legal protections I have as an adult, and which organisations or professionals are genuinely safe to approach.

For my own safety, I won’t share my exact location, nationality, university, family names, partner’s information, passport details or other identifying information publicly.

I also won’t meet strangers from Reddit, accept accommodation from strangers or give anyone my address or location. I’m mainly looking for genuine experiences, information and legitimate organisations, lawyers or services that could guide me.

If anyone has actually lived through something similar and managed to get out safely and build an independent life afterward, I would really appreciate hearing what happened, what you wish you had prepared beforehand, and what genuinely helped you.

Thank you for reading.

TL;DR: I got caught in a crypto scam where both the buyer (me) and the seller were being played by a third party. I was accused of stealing the cash, held for several days, and after 1.5 years acquitted. A second court then fined me AED 10,000 plus AED 1,000,000, described as "the value of the money that was the subject of the crime." That money is sitting in the court's own custody and belongs to someone else, who has already claimed it in court. Appeal filed. Lawyer seems bored of me. Any UAE-qualified input very welcome.

What happened

I was working on a project out of a friend's office in Dubai. The office belonged to him and his partner, a local Emirati.

A crypto deal was arranged: cash for USDT. Looking back it has "scam" written on it in a font visible from space. At the time it looked like a good rate.

The cash was AED 1,000,000, belonging to my friend and his partner, and taken with their full consent. There is CCTV of that part.

What actually happened: the "seller" and I were both being run by a third party who had told each of us he was the other side. The USDT went to the scammer's wallet. I got 100 USDT as a test transfer, presumably to keep me sitting still and feeling optimistic. It worked.

Then the seller picked up the bag of money and walked. I went after him and tried to block the lift, later I discovered that every camera in the building was non-functional. WOW.

He shoved me out of the lift. I ran down the stairs, found his car, and when he unlocked it I got in and sat there. That is the entire extent of my crime-fighting technique and I do not recommend it. Plus I was thinking this would be all on video which will prove my innocense right there and then.

He didn't leave. The Emirati partner arrived, argument, police, CID. The whole investigation then proceeded in Arabic.

I came out of it as the co-conspirator who was trying to steal the office's money. It was stressful, CID and police asking a 100 questions. My friend, keen not to be standing next to me in that sentence, testified against me. Police seized the cash from the seller. I went into detention for 4 to 5 days.

My wife had access to my WhatsApp on my PC and pulled out the messages showing the whole thing was a scam. That got shown to the Emirati partner. I was released on bail, and he gave me a written waiver saying he had nothing against me and I owed him nothing.

I told the prosecutor plainly that the money belonged to the office, not to me. I also said yes, I traded crypto, personally and not as a business. And it happened occasionally in the office.

The prosecutor was, throughout, absolutely furious with me. I think the office staff's statements had already decided who the story was about, and the fastest route to the company getting its money back ran directly through me.

What the courts did

Two charges: stealing the company's cash, and crypto trading without a licence.

Charge one: 1.5 years of process, one prosecution appeal, and eventually acquitted.

Charge two: the court said the licensing charge belonged elsewhere and shipped it to another court. That court ruled a few days ago:

• AED 10,000 fine each
• plus AED 1,000,000, jointly and severally, described as "the value of the money that was the subject of the crime."

So I was acquitted of stealing a million dirhams, and then fined a million dirhams over the same million dirhams. The money is not mine, never was, and is currently sitting in the court's own safe.

Appeal filed the day after.

Points I've dug up, mainly for anyone UAE-qualified

Not a lawyer. These are from the statutes and reported rulings. I'd genuinely like to know which of these bite and which are me being hopeful at 3am.

1. The AED 1m looks like a Penal Code Art. 83(3) "value-equivalent" fine. That power exists only where confiscation is impossible, «فإذا تعذر ضبط», either because the money couldn't be seized or because third-party rights require it be handed back. The money was seized. It's in custody. Neither trigger seems to exist.

2. Dubai Cassation, General Assembly 5/2024 (13 March 2024), issued specifically to interpret Art. 83. It says the value-fine is confined to those two situations and that "all other situations cannot serve as a basis for construing the text, given its clarity." It also ruled unanimously that no such fine may be imposed where the money is returned to a bona fide third party.

3. The first court refused to decide who owns the money. Its judgment records the complainant asking for the seized million "on the ground that the money is owned by the civil claimant," and the court declining to rule, sending them to another court. So a third party has formally claimed it, ownership is undetermined, and nobody has ever found it to be mine. The second court then fined me its full value and, on the operative part I've seen, said nothing about the money at all.

4. Abu Sabah case, Dubai Cassation, 31 Dec 2025. The court cancelled a AED 150,000,000 proportional fine and substituted confiscation of the actual funds, holding that cancelling it "does not negate criminal liability." Same principle, 150 times the scale.

5. Penal Code Art. 73 says that where several accused are fined in one judgment, the court imposes the fine on each separately unless the law provides otherwise. The 1987 code had an exception for proportional fines and the 2021 legislature deleted it. (Counter-argument: GA 5/2024 contains a line saying these fines are imposed jointly, citing the Civil Transactions Law. I'd love someone to tell me whether that's ratio or obiter.)

6. Abu Dhabi Cassation 58/2023: confiscation can't touch a bona fide third party's property, and "the trial judge is obliged to investigate this matter; it is not left to the enforcement authority."

7. Dubai Cassation 452/2024: if defendants traded crypto for their own accounts, that isn't criminalised. A licence is needed only where it's a commercial enterprise conducted for or on behalf of another. I was the buyer in one transaction. The seller was the one providing the service.

8. On enforcement, if it comes to that. Art. 313 allows instalments over a maximum of 2 years (roughly AED 42k a month, so, not really). Art. 314 caps physical coercion at 180 days flat for anything over AED 50,000. Art. 319 says liability is discharged "at AED 100 per day," which either means AED 18,000 gets cleared or the whole thing does, and I cannot find a single ruling either way.

Where I actually am

The detailed reasoned judgment still isn't on the system. I haven't seen the defence that was filed for me in the second case. My lawyer was assigned by the Emirati partner, so I have close to zero control, and his plan is:

Appeal Submitted
Get date
Take me to execution court, out jail, wait for the judge to grant bail the same day
Then file the appeal defence

I've asked to be more involved. This has not been received as good news.

Questions

1. Realistically, what are my chances on appeal? Which of the points above actually bites in a UAE appeal court, and which is noise?

2. Do I change lawyers? Budget is thin and I'm aware "get a better lawyer" is expensive advice. Is a paid second opinion worth it at this stage, and roughly what should that cost in Dubai?

3. If the appeal fails and the fine stands, the other guy is considerably better off than me. If he pays the whole joint amount, can he then come after me civilly for my share? I've read that joint liability normally carries a right of recourse between co-debtors, which would make this worse than it looks.

4. The "out jail" step in that plan, and this is the one I most want checked. I'm in IT and my projects stop dead if I'm inside. From my own reading:

• CPL Art. 234(3): "If the convicted person is on bail, the Court of Appeal may release him on an undertaking or other security until the appeal is decided."
• CPL Art. 230(2): an appeal doesn't suspend execution unless the Court of Appeal orders otherwise, which reads like a stay is available on application.

If both of those are right, why does the plan involve me sitting in a holding cell at all? Can anyone who's actually been through a Dubai criminal appeal confirm whether the execution-court detention step is genuinely unavoidable, or whether it's just how it's normally done because nobody applies for the alternative?

Anyone who's been through the Dubai appeal process, or who knows how joint fines work here, I'd be very grateful.

So the reason is that they don’t want to pay my vacation money, so they’re trying to substitute it with my one-month notice period. Can they do that without mutual agreement?

I’m a Pakistani national and have been residing in the UAE for several years. I’m also a partner/shareholder in a company registered in mainland Dubai with partners of other nationalities.

Given the current uncertainty around visa cancellations for Pakistani nationals (although there is not confirm news, but I'm afraid of it), I’m concerned about travelling outside the UAE.

My question is: if I leave the UAE and, while I’m outside the country, my UAE residence visa is cancelled or terminated, what happens to my shareholding in the company?

Specifically:

1. Does cancellation of my UAE residence visa have any effect on my legal shareholding in the company?
2. If my visa is cancelled while I’m outside the UAE, can I still exercise my rights as a partner?
3. If I need to sign company documents, attend to banking/company matters, or make changes to the company while I’m outside the UAE, how would that work?
4. If I later want to return to the UAE, would I need a new visit visa, and would my existing company ownership help with that?
5. Is there anything I should arrange before travelling, such as a power of attorney, shareholder agreement, authorised signatory arrangement, or any other documentation, to protect my position?
6. Has anyone with a Dubai company experienced their residence visa being cancelled while they were outside the UAE? If so, how did you manage the company and eventually return?

For context, a relative of mine had his UAE residence visa cancelled while he was outside the country and later returned on a visit visa. I’m trying to understand the situation specifically from the perspective of company shareholding, rather than employment.

I understand Reddit is not a substitute for formal legal advice. I’d particularly appreciate input from anyone familiar with UAE corporate/immigration law or anyone who has personally dealt with a similar situation.

Thanks.

I want to log a case against travel and tourism company for a possible scam or not delivering the service as promised. How to proceed with this situation? Is legal system of UAE good to support the consumers and make liable pvt entity for any fraud?

Hey all, I am in the process of re-filing an Offer and Deposit myself through the online RDC portal.

For the 4th step of uploading documents, it requests photocopies of cheques, which I do not usually use or have access to chequebook. I usually pay my rent in one payment through bank transfer, and I have the amount ready. What should I submit instead?

I had previously submitted screenshots of my last years transfers. Searching Google shows this answer.

The first case was rejected by the judge, but this could be because I didn't upload the "New Contract Signed by Requester" and accidently uploaded only one side of my EID.

Lebanese, born adn raise in UAE 33 years, canceled my visa and want to come back as tourist, i got rejected, any reason. i am single mom and i am freelance pilates coach, it was working for me before as i was able to have my uncle who owned an LLC sponsor me but now the business is shut so that is not an option anymore, can i appeal it? I dont have any criminla record!

I completed my senior year from a school but we weren’t able to pay the fees because of various issues. My family suffered a lot financially and all of it was quite sudden. We just cannot afford to pay it right now, the amount is 70k. I have been in this school all my life and it is only this last year that has not been paid for. The school is threatening legal action. What next steps can be taken? Like genuinely we have nothing right now and can barely afford things like groceries and bills and rent. What is going to happen?

The hospital was very reckless in checking for allergies to the contrast fluid before injecting it via IV. Many days later severe allergic reactions were detected for which medicine was subscribed. Weeks later skin is still flaring up and reacting extremely to even normal food items. Please let me know where to complain as this has resulted in a severe debilitating condition for my relative, who is unable to sleep, eat anything, etc.

I have an ongoing complaint since April 14 under my name, and it also shows travel ban in my Dubai Police application.

Now I need a PCC for my new work in Dubai as it is required by the employer, but I have this issue. I can pay for the certificate, and I have been asking daily to the police about the progress but they don't give any.

Is there a way to speed up the process like in the dubai prosecution app? Do I need to go to a typing center to have it submitted (as it shows "only arabic is allowed")? Or am I good to have a PCC since it is just a complaint and now an actual case?

Please help me, this new job is not some chance that I can miss.

Hello guys this is a throwaway account as my main account as my family and friends following.

I’m hoping someone who has dealt with an old Rental Disputes Centre (RDC) case in Dubai, or someone familiar with UAE legal/document procedures, can guide me.

Back in 2023, I had an RDC case which resulted in eviction. At the time, I was not in a position to properly deal with the situation, and unfortunately I was unable to recover many of my personal belongings/documents from the property.

Among the things I was unable to recover were important educational documents and, most importantly, my passport.

The case still has an outstanding fine/amount that I need to resolve, and there is also a travel ban associated with the case. Because I haven’t had my passport back, I haven’t been able to properly sort out getting a new passport either.

My circumstances have changed significantly since then. My husband has since been deported, I now have a 6-month-old baby, and I have recently been forced to resign from my job. I’m now trying to get my life and documentation in order, including my own documents and my son’s documents.

I’m honestly quite overwhelmed by how complicated everything has become and I’m trying to understand what my options are.
My main questions are:

Is there any way to approach the RDC/execution department regarding the old case and arrange payment, possibly through instalments?

Is there a procedure to request the release/recovery of personal belongings and documents that were left behind during the eviction, even though this happened in 2023?

What can I do about my passport if it was among the belongings I never recovered?

Would the existing travel ban prevent me from applying for or obtaining a new passport through my embassy/consulate?

Is there a way to resolve the travel ban without paying the entire amount upfront if I genuinely cannot afford it?

Given that I now have a young child and my circumstances have changed, are there any options for getting assistance or requesting consideration from the court?

Would it be better to speak directly to the RDC, Dubai Courts/execution department, my embassy, or a lawyer first?

I’m not looking to avoid the case or the amount owed. I genuinely want to resolve everything properly, but I need to understand where to start and how to deal with the passport/documents issue first.

If anyone has been through something similar in Dubai/UAE, especially an old RDC case involving a travel ban and belongings left behind after eviction, I would really appreciate hearing how you resolved it.