Legal Help for Common UAE Legal Situations
Start From What Happened.
Plain-language pages for specific situations people face in the UAE — what the situation is legally, how the answer differs between Dubai mainland, the DIFC, Abu Dhabi mainland and ADGM, where it is actually handled, and what you can realistically do next. General information, not legal advice, and not a substitute for a lawyer reviewing your own situation.
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Act now
Emergency · Act now13 SITUATIONS
My Employer Filed an Absconding Report Against Me
If your employer has reported you as absconding, this page helps you understand what that means, check whether a report is really on record and respond quickly: for a mainland job, MOHRE’s rules let an employer file one only after more than seven consecutive days’ absence without a lawful reason when it cannot locate or contact you, and a report proven true can bar a new work permit for one year.
I Work in Someone's Home and I'm Being Mistreated
Domestic workers in the UAE — including housemaids, nannies, drivers, cooks and other household staff — are covered by their own federal law, separate from the employment law that covers office and company workers, and it gives you specific rights and a specific complaint process.
I've Been Told I Will Be Deported
A deportation order is a decision to remove you from the UAE. If you have been told one has been made against you, first establish who made it: a criminal court as part of a sentence, or, without any court judgment, the Chairman of ICP or the Federal Public Prosecutor (or their authorised representatives). That changes what, if anything, can still be challenged and how.
My Bank Account Has Been Frozen and Nobody Will Tell Me Why
This is an account restriction that, legally, falls into one of a few very different categories — a court-ordered precautionary attachment tied to someone else's civil claim against you, a bank-led compliance or anti-money-laundering review, or a freeze connected to a criminal investigation — and each one has a different route out.
I Sent Crypto to an Investment Platform and Now It's Gone
This is a virtual-asset fraud matter, which is a potential criminal offence to report to the police and, separately, a question of whether any identifiable person, entity or asset can realistically be traced and pursued in a civil claim — and working out which, if any, of the UAE's four virtual-asset regulators has a role is often the first genuine question.
A Trading Firm Took My Money and Disappeared
This is an investment fraud matter, most often involving a firm that was never genuinely licensed to take money from investors in the first place, which makes it primarily a criminal matter for the police and, separately, a question of whether any identifiable person, entity or asset can realistically be traced and pursued.
Someone Used a Power of Attorney to Sell My Property
This is a property fraud matter involving the misuse, forgery, or improper exercise of a power of attorney to transfer title without the true owner's genuine consent, which typically involves both a criminal complaint for forgery or fraud and a separate civil claim to annul the transfer and recover the property.
I've Been Arrested in the UAE — What Happens Next
Right after an arrest in the UAE, the first steps matter most: the police must tell you the charge and that you have the right to remain silent, so ask if they have not; ask for an interpreter if you do not follow Arabic; sign nothing you do not fully understand; and try to get a criminal lawyer involved before the Public Prosecution questions you.
My Ex Took Our Child Out of the Country Without My Consent
A child being taken abroad without the required consent is both a family law matter and, potentially, a criminal one, and it typically needs action in more than one country at once.
Someone Is Threatening to Share Private Photos of Me
Threatening to share, or actually sharing, private images without consent is a criminal matter under the UAE's cybercrime framework, regardless of how the images were originally obtained.
My Crypto Was Stolen From My Wallet or My Exchange Account Was Hacked
This is potentially three things at once — a criminal offence to report to the police, a civil question about tracing assets and identifying whoever now holds them, and, where a licensed platform was involved, a regulatory question about that platform’s custody and client asset obligations.
I've Been Arrested or Charged Over Drugs in the UAE
A drug charge in the UAE is a criminal matter under Federal Decree-Law No. 30 of 2021 on Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, in which the offence alleged (personal use; possession or dealing with intent to promote or traffic; or bringing drugs into the country), the evidence (a test, a substance or a trace) and the person's status (resident, visitor or transit passenger) together decide the route: prosecution, treatment, a fine at the port of entry, deportation, or a combination.
There's an Interpol Red Notice or Extradition Request Against Me
An Interpol Red Notice is a request, published by Interpol at a member country's request, asking law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action, and a diffusion is a similar request sent directly from one country's National Central Bureau to others; neither is an arrest warrant, and in the UAE whether anyone is detained, surrendered or released is decided under Federal Law No. 39 of 2006 on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters and any applicable treaty.
Act quickly
Urgent · Act quickly28 SITUATIONS
My Employer Hasn't Paid My Salary in Months
Unpaid wages are a breach of your employment contract and, in the UAE, a labour law violation that gives you a direct route to a binding decision or a court claim, not just an HR grievance.
I Was Fired Without a Real Reason
Arbitrary dismissal is, under federal law, a dismissal made because you filed a serious complaint with MOHRE, or a case against your employer, that has been proven to be true (Article 47 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), and it entitles you to compensation on top of your normal end-of-service pay.
I Found Out I Have a Travel Ban
Checking a UAE travel ban starts with identifying which one you have: 'travel ban' is an umbrella term for at least four legally distinct instruments (what is called a labour ban — in law a MOHRE bar on a new work permit rather than a ban on travel — an immigration ban, a court-ordered ban and a civil-debt ban), each issued by a different authority, for a different reason, and not all confirmed through the same channel.
My Employer Cancelled My Visa Without Telling Me
A residency visa tied to employment sponsorship can be cancelled by the sponsoring employer through the immigration authority, and doing so without proper notice or in connection with a labour dispute can be both an immigration event and a separate employment law problem, depending on your jurisdiction.
My Old Employer Says I Can't Take This New Job
A non-compete clause restricts you from working for a competitor or in a similar role for a period after you leave, but on the mainland federal law only allows such a clause if it is limited in time (two years at most), place and type of work to what protects a legitimate business interest, and DIFC and ADGM contracts turn on their own law — an unreasonable clause can be narrowed or struck down rather than simply obeyed.
My Business Partner Locked Me Out of the Company Bank Account
This is a shareholder or partner dispute over control of company banking and management, which UAE company law treats as a governance problem that can escalate into a claim for breach of duty, oppression of a minority partner, or the winding up of the company.
My Cheque Bounced and I'm Scared of Going to Jail
Once your cheque has bounced, what happens next depends on what the holder does: a cheque returned for lack of funds can usually be taken straight to the execution judge to recover the amount, a civil process, while a criminal case is possible only for specific acts the law lists, such as closing the account or stopping payment without a lawful reason. First, find out what has been filed, respond to any summons and consider settling.
The Developer Is Two Years Late Handing Over My Apartment
This is an off-plan property dispute over a developer's failure to deliver a unit within the completion date promised in the sale and purchase agreement, and in Dubai it can also engage a dedicated statutory tribunal for unfinished and formally cancelled projects that has no equivalent elsewhere in the UAE.
My Landlord Is Trying to Evict Me
This is a residential tenancy dispute over whether a landlord has valid legal grounds and has followed the correct notice process to end a lease, and the applicable rules genuinely differ by emirate rather than sitting under one single federal law.
A Client Owes Me Money and Won't Pay
This is a commercial debt-recovery matter arising from breach of a contract for goods or services, and in Dubai certain qualifying claims must pass through a binding pre-litigation settlement process before they can reach the courts, while every route — wherever it's decided — still needs a separate execution stage afterward to actually collect the money.
My Landlord Wants Me Out of My Business Premises
This is a commercial tenancy dispute over a landlord's attempt to end a business lease, governed by the same broad emirate-specific rental law framework as residential tenancies, but carrying additional practical stakes — fit-out investment, business continuity, staff, and goodwill — that a straightforward residential eviction does not.
Someone Has Filed a Police Complaint Against Me
A police complaint is the report that can open a criminal investigation into you, and it does not by itself mean you have been charged with anything.
I'm Accused of Insulting Someone Online
An accusation of insulting or defaming someone online in the UAE is treated as a matter under the federal cybercrime framework, and can carry both criminal and civil consequences.
My Ex Won't Let Me See My Children
Being denied access to your children is a family law matter, and which rules apply to your case depends on your religion, nationality, and which emirate you're in.
My Father Died Here — Whose Law Applies to His Estate?
For a non-Muslim who dies in the UAE, the law that governs their estate depends on whether they registered a will, and if not, whether the federal non-Muslim succession regime or a home-country law election applies.
My Relative Was Killed in a Road Accident
A death in a road accident opens both a police and prosecution process to establish what happened and whether an offence was committed, alongside separate matters affecting the family, including the estate.
The Exchange Has Frozen My Account and I Can’t Withdraw My Crypto
This is a dispute with a virtual asset platform over access to assets you believe are yours, and the first question is usually not what the platform did but which regulator — VARA, the DFSA, the FSRA, the CMA, or none of them — actually licenses it.
The Other Side Has Broken Our Contract
This is a commercial contract dispute — a claim that one party has failed to perform what it agreed to do — and in the UAE the first question is rarely what the breach was, but which law governs the contract and which of four separate forums decides it.
The FTA Is Auditing My Business — What Actually Happens Next
An FTA Tax Audit is a formal review the Federal Tax Authority carries out under Article 16 of Federal Decree-Law No. (28) of 2022 on Tax Procedures to check whether a business has correctly registered, filed and paid its Corporate Tax, VAT or other federal taxes.
My Insurance Company Is Delaying My Claim
This is a claims-handling delay: a live insurance claim your insurer has neither paid nor formally rejected within what feels like a reasonable time. UAE law does not fix a general deadline for this except for motor third-party-liability claims specifically, but it does provide an escalation route — starting with the insurer, then the Central Bank’s Ombudsman Unit, Sanadak — for when an insurer simply won’t move.
My Franchise Agreement Was Terminated
A terminated UAE franchise agreement is, legally, a commercial dispute whose available remedies turn first on a classification question — whether your arrangement is a “Commercial Agency” under Federal Law No. 3 of 2022, which carries its own statutory notice and compensation rights, or an ordinary commercial contract governed by general contract law instead, which does not.
My Islamic Financing (Ijara or Murabaha) Is in a Dispute With My Bank
This is a contract dispute between a retail or SME customer and a UAE bank over an Ijara, Murabaha or similar Islamic financing product — typically an early-settlement or rebate disagreement, a profit-rate or late-payment-charge dispute, or a concern that the product wasn’t really Sharia-compliant as sold — and, for dispute-resolution purposes, it is treated as an ordinary financial-services complaint rather than as a separate category of Islamic-law dispute.
My UAE Golden Visa Application Was Rejected — What Are My Options?
A Golden Visa rejection is a discretionary administrative refusal issued by ICP or GDRFA under Cabinet Resolution No. (65) of 2022, and — unlike some other UAE administrative decisions — neither the governing law nor either authority's own published guidance sets out a named appeal or reconsideration procedure for it specifically.
My Tenant Has Stopped Paying Rent and I Need It Recovered
Unpaid rent is a landlord-side tenancy dispute under emirate-specific rules: in Dubai, the landlord claims the arrears at the Rental Disputes Center and can seek eviction there once rent remains unpaid 30 days after a notice served through a Notary Public or by registered mail, while in Abu Dhabi, the DIFC and ADGM the forum, the notice and the remedies depend on where the property is and how the tenancy is registered.
Someone Is Disputing My Ownership of My Property, or the Title Isn't in My Name
A property ownership dispute is a disagreement over who is the registered or rightful owner of real property, over completing or correcting a registration, or over the rights of co-owners and occupants, and in Dubai it is decided by reference to the Dubai Land Department's Property Register and, where the register is challenged, by the courts.
I've Been Served With a Court Claim — or My Company Is Being Sued
Being served with a court claim means a case has been started against you and a timetable is running; what you must do, and by when, depends on which UAE court system it is in and on whether you received an ordinary claim, a payment order, a cheque execution file, a Dubai settlement invitation or an order made without hearing you.
My Business Partner Is Suing Me or Trying to Push Me Out
A business partner dispute is a dispute between the owners of a company over control, money or exit, which UAE law decides first by the company's own constitutional documents and shareholders' agreement and then by the companies law of wherever the company is registered — the federal Commercial Companies Law onshore, or the DIFC or ADGM regime — in the court or arbitral forum those documents and that law point to.
My Principal Terminated or Won't Renew Our Distribution Agreement
A terminated distribution agreement is the end of a distribution, agency or sales-representation arrangement for goods or services in the UAE, whose consequences depend first on whether it is a registered 'Commercial Agency' under Federal Law No. 3 of 2022 — with statutory termination grounds, notice, compensation and a mandatory committee stage — or an unregistered commercial contract governed by its own terms and the general civil and commercial law.
Time limits may apply
Deadline · Time limits may apply14 SITUATIONS
My Employer Is Refusing to Pay My Gratuity
End-of-service gratuity is a statutory or scheme-based payment owed to an eligible employee at the end of employment, calculated differently depending on whether federal law, the DIFC's funded scheme, or the ADGM's regulations govern your contract.
We've Been Fined for Missing Emiratisation Targets
Emiratisation targets are a mainland-only federal workforce policy requiring qualifying private companies to grow the share of UAE nationals in skilled roles, and missing the target triggers an automatic monthly financial penalty rather than a discretionary one.
I Think My Relative's Will Was Forged
Challenging a will as forged means disputing that it genuinely reflects the deceased's wishes or was properly executed, which can be raised as both a civil challenge to the will and a separate criminal complaint.
I Think the Doctor Misdiagnosed Me
A possible misdiagnosis is a question of medical liability, which in the UAE goes through a dedicated assessment process before it can reach a court.
My Business Has Received an Enforcement Notice From a Virtual Asset Regulator
An enforcement notice is a formal communication from a regulator identifying a breach or a concern, usually carrying a response window, a public dimension, and a range of possible measures running from a written warning through financial penalties to suspension or revocation of a licence.
Cargo Lost, Damaged or Delayed in Shipping — Or Unpaid Freight and Demurrage
This is a cargo-carriage dispute under the UAE's federal maritime statute, Federal Decree-Law No. 43 of 2023 — either a claim against a carrier for goods lost, damaged or delayed between receipt and delivery, or a carrier's competing claim to withhold cargo or a vessel over unpaid freight or demurrage.
My Product Is Defective and the Seller Won't Refund Me
This is a consumer-protection dispute — a disagreement over a supplier's obligations for a defective or non-conforming good or service, or over allegedly false or misleading advertising — governed primarily by Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection (as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 5 of 2023) and its Executive Regulation, Cabinet Resolution No. 66 of 2023, with online purchases also touching the separate e-commerce law (Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2023) and, for false-advertising and counterfeit-goods conduct specifically, the separate Anti-Commercial Fraud Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2023).
Facing a DOH, MOHAP or DHA Inspection Finding, Show-Cause Notice or Licence Suspension
A regulatory inspection finding, show-cause notice or licence suspension from DOH, MOHAP or DHA is an administrative enforcement action against your facility's or your own professional licence — a separate legal track from a patient's medical malpractice claim, which runs through the Medical Liability Committee process instead.
My Tenant Won't Leave, or Has Breached the Lease, and I Need My Property Back
Evicting a tenant is a landlord-initiated tenancy dispute over whether a recognised legal ground exists, whether notice was served in the required form and time, and how the resulting order is enforced — in Dubai under Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, before the Rental Disputes Center (RDC).
My Landlord Wants to Raise My Rent and I Don't Think It's Allowed
A rent increase dispute is a tenancy dispute over whether a proposed increase is within what the emirate's rules permit and was notified in time — in Dubai, tested against Decree No. 43 of 2013, the RERA Rent Index and the 90-day notice rule in Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended, and decided by the Rental Disputes Center (RDC).
I Want to Cancel My Off-Plan Purchase and Get My Money Back
An off-plan cancellation dispute is a disagreement over ending a sale and purchase agreement for a unit not yet completed, and over how much of the money paid comes back — governed in Dubai by the interim property register law and its DLD-run termination procedure, the escrow law and, for unfinished or cancelled projects, a dedicated Special Tribunal.
The Buyer (or Seller) Pulled Out of Our Property Sale and We're Fighting Over the Deposit
A failed property sale is a dispute over a ready, secondary-market sale that did not complete after the buyer and seller signed a memorandum of understanding or sale contract, and it turns on which party is in breach, what the contract says about the deposit and compensation, and what the Civil Transactions Law lets the innocent party claim.
Someone Has Defamed or Insulted Me — Online or in Person
Defamation and insult are criminal offences under UAE federal law — the federal Penal Code for statements made offline, and Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 on Countering Rumours and Cybercrimes where a network, app or information system is used — and harm to honour and reputation can also ground a civil claim for compensation, so a victim can pursue a complaint, a claim, removal of the content, or a combination.
An Employee Has Filed a Labour Complaint Against My Company
An employee's labour complaint is a dispute brought against the employer under the employment regime that governs the employing entity: for mainland and most free-zone employers, the federal labour law, handled first by MOHRE (settlement and, for claims of up to AED 50,000, a binding decision) and then by the Labour Court; for DIFC and ADGM employers, their own employment laws and courts.
Time to plan
Planned · Time to plan1 SITUATIONS
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