How to Cancel a Labour Card Online via MOHRE

Labour Card Cancellation Online: How It Actually Works in the UAE

If you're an employer trying to close out a worker's file, or an employee checking whether your old sponsor has done their part, labour card cancellation online is now the standard route in the UAE. There's no counter to queue at. But the process has a few hard rules that catch people out.

Quick answer

Labour card cancellation online is done through the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) portal or app — the employer initiates it, the employee signs digitally (or via SMS OTP), and MOHRE issues the cancellation. You'll need the labour card number, Emirates ID, and a settled end-of-service position (dues paid via the Wage Protection System, or WPS). Once labour cancellation is done, the residence visa cancellation follows through the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) or ICP. The employee then has a grace period — usually 30 to 180 days — to exit or change status. ^[1][2]

Who starts the labour card cancellation online and how

The employer initiates. Not the employee. This is the part most people get wrong.

Log in to the MOHRE portal (mohre.gov.ae) or the MOHRE Services app with the establishment's account, pick "Work Permit Cancellation" from the services menu, enter the employee's work permit or labour card number, upload the cancellation form signed by the worker, and pay the fee. Standard cancellation fees run around AED 100–200 depending on the transaction type and whether you use a typing centre or the self-service portal in 2024–2025. ^[1]

The employee has to consent. MOHRE sends an SMS one-time password to the worker's registered UAE mobile number, and the cancellation won't complete until that OTP is entered. If your number has changed, update it first — otherwise the request stalls.

For domestic workers, the same logic applies but through the MOHRE domestic workers service, not the standard work permit flow. ^[1]

Employers who skip the WPS salary settlement before cancelling can get their establishment file blocked. Pay dues first.

What the employee needs to check after cancellation

Once MOHRE issues the cancellation, you'll receive a notification and a cancellation paper. Don't assume you're done.

The labour card cancellation online is separate from the residence visa cancellation. Your visa sits with GDRFA (Dubai) or ICP (federal), and the employer has to cancel that too — usually within a few days of the labour cancellation. Ask for the visa cancellation paper. Without it, you're not legally out of sponsorship, and any grace period clock hasn't started properly.

Check three things:

• The MOHRE cancellation SMS or portal record confirming the work permit is cancelled.
• The GDRFA/ICP visa cancellation stamp or digital confirmation.
• Your end-of-service gratuity and final salary landed via WPS.

If any of these is missing, chase the employer before you sign anything acknowledging full settlement. Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 (the UAE Labour Law) sets out gratuity entitlements, and Article 53 covers when it can be withheld — which is narrower than most employers assume. ^[3]

Grace period, ban, and switching jobs

After cancellation, most workers get a 60-day grace period on the residence visa, though it can extend to 180 days depending on visa type and skill level under the current ICP rules. ^[2] Golden visa and certain skilled categories get longer.

The old six-month labour ban is largely gone. Under the 2022 reforms and MOHRE's current practice, a ban is only imposed in specific cases — for example, absconding, breach of contract without notice, or working illegally for another employer. Ending a fixed-term contract at its natural conclusion, or resigning with proper notice, generally does not trigger a ban. ^[3][4]

If you're moving to a new employer, the new company can apply for your work permit as soon as the previous cancellation is reflected in the MOHRE system, often within 24–48 hours.

When labour card cancellation online gets refused or stuck

A few common blockers:

• Absconding report filed against the employee. You have to resolve this at MOHRE before any cancellation goes through.
• WPS non-compliance by the employer. If salaries weren't paid through WPS, MOHRE will freeze the establishment's services, including cancellations.
• Pending labour complaint. If either side has opened a case at MOHRE, cancellation may be paused until the complaint closes or a settlement is recorded.
• Expired Emirates ID or passport. Renew before cancelling — the system checks document validity.

For disputes that arise during or after cancellation — unpaid gratuity, forced resignation, disputed absconding reports — MOHRE handles the first stage of complaints, and cases above AED 50,000 or unresolved matters move to the Labour Court. Filing is free for workers. ^[4]

Honestly, the online process itself is quick. It's the pre-cancellation housekeeping — WPS, complaints, document validity — that decides whether it takes an hour or three weeks.

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