Who This is for
And have discovered that having a trade licence is not the same as being able to sponsor someone.
And need permits, contracts and Emirates IDs running as a repeatable process rather than a series of emergencies.
On a visit, tourist or cancelled residence status — and you need to know whether status can be changed in place or whether they have to exit and re-enter.
The offer is signed, the notice is served, and the permit has not moved.
And every application behind it — new hires and renewals both — has stopped.
And need the cancellation done properly, so that neither side inherits a problem: no unclosed file for the company, no accruing fine for the employee.
What We Run, for Employer and Employee
The card issued, renewed or reactivated; quota confirmed or applied for against the licence, legal form and registered premises.
Work permit and entry permit per hire; the labour contract registered in the required terms, consistent with the offer actually made.
Visa, permit, card and licence tracked on their separate cycles; cancellation on exit, closed properly and evidenced.
What your status actually permits, confirmed before you resign from anything; contract review against the offer, before it is registered.
Entry or status change, medical, biometrics, residence visa and Emirates ID.
Family sponsorship planned to start at the right point; cancellation handled with the grace period identified from the record rather than assumed.
How it Works
Establishment card active
Nothing proceeds without it. A valid trade licence does not by itself confer the ability to sponsor anyone.
Quota confirmed
Capacity follows the licence type and the registered premises. If the headcount exceeds it, that is resolved here — before offers go out.
Work permit approved
The role, the classification and the candidate’s qualifications are assessed. Where the position requires an attested qualification, attestation must already be complete.
Employment entry permit issued
The document that governs everything that follows — and it does not last indefinitely.
Status change, or entry on the permit
Possible from some statuses and not from others; the single point most likely to require an unplanned exit and re-entry.
Labour contract signed and registered
The registered contract is the operative document. Where it differs from the offer letter, the registered version governs.
Medical and biometrics
Both require the employee’s presence in the UAE.
Residence visa issued, Emirates ID produced
The employee’s status completes.
Dependants
Only after the employee’s own file is complete.
What We Need from You
Most of this is a scan and an email — none of it needs to be perfect before we talk, and we tell you exactly what is missing after the first review.
Timeline and Cost
With an active establishment card and available quota, an employment visa runs in weeks rather than months, and the schedule is set mostly by the medical, the biometrics and the issuance queue. What extends it is almost always upstream: quota that has to be increased, a card that has to be renewed first, an attested degree that has not been started, or an employee whose status cannot be changed in place.
We do not publish permit or visa validity periods — they vary and published sources are inconsistent; we confirm the current terms for your case. Our fee is fixed and agreed in writing, per file or against an agreed volume for companies hiring continuously.
We identify which upstream items apply at the outset, because they determine whether a start date is realistic.
Get a Fixed QuoteWhere it Goes Wrong
A candidate resigns from another job, relocates a family, and the sponsoring licence turns out not to carry the headcount. The quota check costs nothing and belongs before the first offer.
It expires on its own cycle, separately from the licence. When it lapses, everything behind it stops at once — and the company usually finds out through a rejected renewal for someone resident for years.
Allowances presented as salary, or a title that does not match the approved classification. The registered contract governs — and salary-linked entitlements, including family sponsorship and the salaried Golden Visa route, are tested against the registered basic salary.
Whether an employee already in the UAE can move to an employment visa without leaving depends on the status they hold. Getting this wrong means an unplanned exit and re-entry, days before the start date.
The grace period runs from the date the system records the cancellation — not the last working day. Fines accrue against the individual, and an unpaid fine or absconding report blocks the next application.
Family files depend on the employee’s issued residence visa and Emirates ID. Started early to save time, they generally have to be restarted, with the fees paid twice.
Questions
Can we sponsor an employee before our establishment card is issued?
No. The establishment card is the company’s authority to sponsor, and it is separate from the trade licence.
How many employees can our licence sponsor?
It depends on the licence type, the legal form and the registered premises. It is a definite number and we confirm it before hiring, not after.
Our candidate is in the UAE on a visit visa. Do they have to leave?
Not necessarily. Whether status can be changed in place depends on the current status. We check before you commit to a start date.
Who pays for the employment visa?
The costs attaching to a work permit and employment visa are the employer’s responsibility, and arrangements that shift them to the employee are not something we help structure.
What happens when an employee resigns?
The visa is cancelled and the employee has a grace period counted from the recorded cancellation date to leave, transfer or change status. Both sides need the cancellation completed and evidenced.
Will leaving mid-contract create a labour ban?
Consequences depend on the circumstances of the termination and on the terms registered. It is assessed case by case — and worth answering before a resignation is submitted.
Can an employee work for a second company?
Additional or part-time work is a permit question, not a private arrangement. It requires the correct permit, and doing it without one exposes both employer and employee.
Can we transfer an employee from another company?
Frequently yes, and it is a defined process rather than a cancel-and-restart. The determining factors are the current contract, the manner of the exit, and whether the previous employer completes their side.