Employer Holding Your Passport in the UAE: How to Get It Back

This guide is for private-sector employees whose employer, sponsor or HR department has kept their passport: after taking it "for the visa", during a dispute, or after the job ended. It covers what the law says, how to ask for the passport, how to complain to MOHRE, and what changes once you resign or your visa is canceled. Domestic workers have their own law, covered near the end. It follows the federal Labor Law. Employees in the DIFC and ADGM financial free zones work under those zones' own employment laws; in the DIFC, Article 57(2)(b) of the DIFC Employment Law bars an employer from retaining an employee's passport or other original personal documents. Notice periods and gratuity are explained in termination and resignation, and the one-year work-permit ban in changing jobs. The guide is part of the work guide.

At a Glance

What the Law Says

Article 13 of the Labor Law lists the employer's obligations. Clause 2, in the English translation on the UAE Legislation portal, reads: "Not withhold the official documents of the Worker or force him to leave the State upon the end of the labour relation." The Arabic text is the original and prevails if the two differ. The clause holds two rules: the employer must not withhold your official documents, and it must not force you to leave the country when the employment ends.

The UAE Government Portal's page on protecting workers' rights says it more plainly: the confiscation of workers' passports is prohibited, and workers do not need their employer's permission to leave the country. Its "Know Your Rights" list for workers from abroad tells you to keep your identification documents in a secure place, and says you are entitled to leave your job at any time but must be aware of your legal obligations.

Neither the clause nor the portal page makes an exception for a visa process, a dispute, a notice period or money the employer says you owe. Article 3 applies the Labor Law to all private-sector establishments, employers and workers in the UAE, so the rule is the same in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the other emirates; employees in the DIFC and ADGM work under those zones' own employment laws, as noted above. Government employees, members of the armed forces, police and security, and domestic workers fall outside it.

Money demands. Article 6(4) prohibits the employer from charging the worker the fees and costs of recruitment and employment, or collecting them from the worker, directly or indirectly. The English version of the portal's "Know Your Rights" list goes further and names travel and residency-permit expenses as the employer's; its Arabic version repeats only the Article 6(4) wording, so rely on the law's own words. If the employer asks for money before returning the passport, report the demand in your complaint.

Getting It Back: Ask, Then Complain

Step 1 — Ask in writing and keep the evidence

Step 1 — Ask in writing. Send HR or your manager a short email or message: you want your passport back, and by which date. A written request does two things: it gives the employer a clear chance to comply, and it shows MOHRE the date you asked and what the employer answered.

Keep:

• the request and any reply, as screenshots or forwarded emails;
• when you handed the passport over, to whom, and any receipt you were given;
• your offer letter, contract, payslips and visa details;
• a copy of your passport's photo page, if you have one. MOHRE's complaint form asks for your passport number.

If the employer says it still needs the passport for a visa step, ask in writing when it will be returned.

Step 2 — File a MOHRE complaint

Step 2 — File a MOHRE complaint. If the employer refuses or doesn't answer, register a labor complaint with MOHRE on its website or in the MOHRE app. MOHRE's service card, Register Labour Complaints – Private Sector Employees, lists no fee and a completion time of 14 working days. You enter your passport number, name, date of birth and nationality, and your Emirates ID number is mandatory. A one-time code confirms you by SMS or email, except in the app. You must already be registered in MOHRE's database, and you can attach supporting documents. For the general route, including what to prepare, see the complaint steps in the Labor Law guide.

For advice before or after you file, call MOHRE's Labor Claims and Advisory Call Center on 80084 (toll-free). The portal's Arabic page adds that MOHRE's offices in every emirate also take visits. The portal also lists a separate MOHRE complaint service for free-zone employees; if you work in a free zone, ask 80084 which one applies to you.

One complaint, everything in it. MOHRE's card says an employee cannot have a second complaint pending, or a dispute already in court, unless the employment relationship is ongoing or the employee wants to cancel the work permit. If you are also owed wages, notice pay or gratuity, put the passport and the money in the same complaint. Describe the passport plainly: who holds it, since when, and the dates you asked for it in writing.

What happens after you file

• Settlement first. MOHRE contacts you and the employer to settle the dispute amicably. If that fails, it schedules a meeting and tries a second time.
• Money claims MOHRE decides itself. Where the money in dispute does not exceed AED 50,000, MOHRE decides the claim by a resolution that is enforceable like a court order, and either side can take it to the Court of First Instance within 15 working days of being notified. Filing that case suspends the resolution, and the court's judgment is final (Article 54).
• Referral to court. Other disputes that are not settled go to court: MOHRE refers them, and the executive regulation (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 31) gives it 14 days from the date of the application to do so. MOHRE's card adds that the work permit may instead be canceled where the claim requires it.
• In court. As the UAE Government Portal summarizes MOHRE's Ministerial Resolution No. 47 of 2022, a worker whose complaint is referred must register it with the court within 14 days of the date the referral is approved, and needs a temporary MOHRE permit before working for another employer while the case runs; the portal says a worker the employer has reported absent cannot get one. Workers pay no court fees on claims of up to AED 100,000 (Article 55).
• Deadline. Under Article 54(9) of the Labor Law as amended, a court will not hear a claim brought more than two years after the employment ends. The Government Portal's labor-disputes page still gives an older one-year limit, so file as soon as you can.

After Cancellation or Resignation

Nothing in the rule's text ends it when the job ends. The bar on withholding your documents in Article 13(2) carries no time limit in its text; the words "upon the end of the labour relation" belong to the clause's second rule, which bars forcing you to leave the country when the employment ends. The portal's statement that confiscating passports is prohibited sets no time limit either, and neither text lists an exception for a resignation, a canceled visa, an unfinished handover or an unpaid final settlement.

• Final pay. Article 53 gives the employer 14 days from the end of the contract to pay your wages and all other entitlements. If those are late as well, they go into the same MOHRE complaint.
• Read before you sign. MOHRE's cancellation service requires the employee's signature agreeing to the cancellation and acknowledging receipt of all labor dues, plus the establishment's statement that the worker's dues have been paid in full; the card lists exceptions, such as a worker who is overseas. A signature on that form says you have been paid. If you are asked to sign it in exchange for your passport and you haven't been paid, raise it with MOHRE on 80084 or in your complaint. If you have already signed, Article 65(3) makes any release, settlement or waiver of your rights under the Labor Law void where it breaches the law's provisions, so raise the unpaid amounts with MOHRE anyway.
• Overstay risk. After a residence visa is canceled, the time to leave or change status is limited. If the employer's hold on your passport pushes you past it, the overstay fines guide explains how to add a MOHRE complaint reference to a request to waive the fine; a waiver is discretionary, not guaranteed.
• Case won, passport still held. If MOHRE or the court has already ruled on your money claim and the employer still holds the passport, call 80084 with your complaint or case number and ask how to raise it.

If You Want to Leave the Job

An employer holding your passport does not take away your right to resign.

Resigning with notice. Either party can end the contract for a legitimate reason with written notice. The notice period is the one in your contract, at least 30 days and at most 90 (Article 43(1)). You and the employer can agree to waive or shorten the notice, and Article 43(2) says such an agreement keeps all your rights for the notice period set in your contract; otherwise, if you don't serve it, you owe the employer a notice allowance equal to your wage for the notice period, or for the part of it you didn't work (Article 43(3)). During probation, Article 9 applies instead: at least one month's written notice to move to another employer in the UAE, or at least 14 days' written notice to leave the country. A foreign worker who leaves the country without following Article 9 gets no new work permit for a year from leaving (Article 9(6)), unless MOHRE exempts their job category or skill level (Article 9(7)). The Government Portal's one-year-ban page lists a wider case: a worker who ends the contract during probation where the employer had not breached its contractual obligations. Ask 80084 before you resign during probation. The details are in termination and resignation.

Leaving without notice under Article 45(1). You may leave without notice and keep your end-of-service rights if the employer has breached its obligations under your contract or the Labor Law, you notified MOHRE 14 working days before the date you leave, and the employer did not put the breach right after MOHRE notified it. Withholding your documents breaches an obligation in Article 13, but whether the conditions are met in your case can be disputed. Ask 80084 before you stop working on the strength of it.

Leaving the country. The portal is clear that you don't need your employer's permission to leave the UAE. Leaving the job is a separate matter: walking out without notice can leave you owing the notice allowance, and in some cases blocks a new work permit for a year (below and in changing jobs).

Absence reports ("absconding")

Before you stop going to work during a passport dispute, know the rules on absence:

• When an employer can report. The executive regulation (Article 28) sets the conditions for reporting a worker's absence to MOHRE: absence from work for more than seven consecutive days, with the employer not knowing where the worker is or how to reach them, recorded on MOHRE's form.
• What a proven report does. A foreign worker who is absent without a legitimate reason before the contract ends gets no new work permit for one year (Article 50). The executive regulation exempts workers on a family member's residence visa, a new permit with the same establishment, skill levels the country needs, Golden residence holders, and categories the minister names.
• Dismissal. Separately, absence without a legitimate reason or an excuse the employer accepts, for more than seven consecutive days or more than 20 non-consecutive days in a year, lets the employer dismiss you without notice after a written investigation (Article 44(8)). That rule says nothing about whether the employer can reach you.
• Checking and contesting. The UAE Government Portal says you can check whether a ban applies by calling MOHRE's call center on 600590000, and contest it with a grievance through MOHRE's channels, attaching the documents that show it is unjustified.

While a dispute runs, stay reachable and keep your contact with the employer and MOHRE in writing. Being reachable doesn't protect you from the dismissal rule above, so don't stop working without advice from 80084. If the employer files an absence report after you complain, call 80084 with your complaint number; if a ban follows, contest it with a grievance as above.

If the employer ends your contract because you filed a serious complaint with MOHRE, or a case against it, that proves true, the dismissal is unlawful and the court can award compensation (Article 47).

Domestic Workers

Domestic workers are outside the Labor Law (Article 3). Their law is Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 on domestic workers, and Article 11(11) obliges the employer to "ensure the right of the Worker to keep their own identification documents" (UAE Legislation's English translation; the Arabic prevails).

• Complaint. MOHRE's Register a Labor Complaint (Domestic Workers) service takes complaints in the MOHRE app or at a service center, lists a completion time of 14 working days, and asks for the Labor Unified Number.
• What MOHRE does. It tries to settle the dispute amicably; if that fails, it decides claims of up to AED 50,000 itself, open to a court case within 15 working days, and refers other disputes to the court of first instance (Article 23).
• Leaving. The executive regulation and MOHRE's decisions set when a domestic worker may leave work (Article 18(1)), and absence without an acceptable excuse for 10 consecutive days, or 15 non-consecutive days in a contract year, ends the contract (Article 19). A domestic worker who leaves without the employer's knowledge must notify MOHRE within two days, and an employer must report a worker's unjustified absence within five days (Article 18). Ask MOHRE before you leave.
• Shorter deadlines. The employer must pay a domestic worker's financial entitlements within 10 days of the contract ending, in the cases and manner the executive regulation sets (Article 19(2)). A court will not hear a claim under this law brought more than three months after the work relationship ends, and domestic workers pay no court fees (Article 26).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a company hold my passport in the UAE?

No. Article 13(2) of the Labor Law obliges employers not to withhold a worker's official documents, and the UAE Government Portal says the confiscation of workers' passports is prohibited. Ask for it back in writing, and if the company refuses, file a complaint with MOHRE on its website or app. Advice is on 80084, toll-free.

Is it legal for an employer to keep an employee's passport?

No. Article 13(2) of the UAE Labor Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021) obliges private-sector employers not to withhold a worker's official documents, and the UAE Government Portal says the confiscation of workers' passports is prohibited and workers do not need their employer's permission to leave the country. The DIFC and ADGM have their own employment laws; the DIFC's also bars an employer from retaining an employee's passport (Article 57(2)(b)). Domestic workers have a similar protection under Article 11(11) of Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, which obliges the employer to ensure the worker's right to keep their own identification documents.

How do I get my passport back from my company in Dubai?

The Labor Law is federal, so the steps are the same in Dubai as in the other emirates, unless you work in the DIFC, which has its own employment law. In another free zone, ask 80084 which complaint service applies. Ask HR in writing for the passport by a set date and keep the reply. If the company refuses, register a labor complaint with MOHRE on its website or in the MOHRE app, with your passport number, Emirates ID number and evidence. MOHRE's advice line is 80084.

Can I resign if my company has my passport?

Yes. After probation, either party can end the contract with written notice of 30 to 90 days, as your contract sets (UAE Labor Law, Article 43); during probation, you give at least one month's written notice to move to another UAE employer or 14 days' to leave the country (Article 9); ask 80084 first, because the Government Portal lists a one-year permit ban for some probation exits. Leaving without notice over the passport means the Article 45(1) route: you notify MOHRE 14 working days before you leave, and the employer fails to fix the breach after MOHRE notifies it. Ask 80084 before relying on it.

My employer won't return my passport after cancellation. What now?

Nothing in the rule's text stops it when the job ends: the bar on withholding your documents in Article 13(2) of the UAE Labor Law carries no time limit in its text, and the same clause separately bars forcing you to leave the country when the employment ends. File a MOHRE complaint and include any unpaid final pay, which is due within 14 days of the end of the contract (Article 53). A cancellation form acknowledging receipt of all dues says you have been paid, so read it before you sign.

Where do I file a passport complaint with MOHRE?

On the MOHRE website or in the MOHRE app, through the labor complaint service for private-sector employees. MOHRE's card lists no fee and 14 working days. MOHRE's card says you cannot have another complaint pending unless the employment is ongoing or you want the work permit canceled, so include any money claims in the same one. MOHRE tries to settle first; if that fails, it decides claims of up to AED 50,000 itself and refers other disputes to the court. Domestic workers use MOHRE's separate domestic-worker complaint.

Do I have to pay my employer to get my passport back?

The documents rule in Article 13(2) of the UAE Labor Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021) comes with no payment condition, and Article 6(4) prohibits the employer from charging you the fees and costs of recruitment and employment, directly or indirectly. If the employer demands money for the passport, put the demand and any messages about it in your MOHRE complaint.

Can my employer report me for absconding while it holds my passport?

It can, if the conditions are met. The Labor Law's executive regulation (Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 28) lets an employer report an absence of more than seven consecutive days when it doesn't know where the worker is or how to reach them. A foreign worker's unjustified absence before the contract ends can lead to a one-year ban on a new work permit, with exceptions. Separately, unexcused absence of more than seven consecutive days, or more than 20 non-consecutive days in a year, lets the employer dismiss you after a written investigation (UAE Labor Law, Article 44(8)). Stay in written contact; if a report is filed after your complaint, call MOHRE on 80084 with your complaint number, and contest an unjustified ban with a grievance through MOHRE.