Back to Menu
Home / Blog / How Many Days Will It Take to Change Visit Visa To Employment Visa In UAE?
Change Visit Visa To Employment Visa In UAE

How Many Days Will Take to Change Visit Visa To Employment Visa In UAE?

Change Visit Visa To Employment Visa In UAE
By Robeena Brown

May 22, 2023 | 13 min read

  • Share:
  • facebook
  • Linkedin
  • Twitter
If you aspire to travel to the UAE to find a job or you already get a UAE visit visa and want to switch it to an employment visa, you will need to know the time taken to change the visa. This will help you avoid paying a fine when you overstay your visa. It takes 7 to 14 days to change a visit visa to an employment visa.
You don't have to finish the whole changing process to avoid penalties; you only need to get your visa to change your status.

What Is Visa Change Status?


Change status is the process that allows you to change your visit visa to an employment visa in the UAE. You will successfully evade the overstaying fines if you complete the steps to change your status.


Step-by-Step Process of Changing to an Employment Visa


Below is the process of changing a visit visa to an employment visa:

  • 01   First, get the offer letter from the prospective employer
  • 02   Confirm that you have accepted the offer to your employer and sign the offer letter within one day
  • 03   After that, your employer will apply for a quota & labor contract for you to work in the UAE. You and the employer are required to sign the labor contract once it has been approved. This will take 2 to three working days.
  • 04   Next, your employer will apply for your residence entry permit, which will take one day.
  • 05   Change status in one day
  • 06   Get a medical assessment which takes two days and a day for VIPs
  • 07   After that, biometrics will be taken, and your Emirates ID, which will take 2 to 3 working days

If you have found a job, your employer will apply for your residence visa on your behalf and see it through to completion.

You will need to undergo the required medical tests and security checks for your visa to be approved.


How Much Overstaying Fine?


Change Visit Visa To Employment Visa In UAE

According to the new visa reforms 2023, you will be fined 50 AED each day if you haven’t changed your visa status before your visit visa expiry.

Individuals who overstay their visas in the UAE will be charged a penalty. You must be aware of the potential fines and learn how to check if you owe any overstay fines. After your UAE visa expires and you exhaust your grace period, you must pay the overstay fine according to the number of days accumulated.

On top of the overstay fine, you will need to obtain a Dubai/UAE out pass, which costs up to AED 300. The out pass is basically an exit permit that allows holders to leave the UAE. This new rule is in accordance with the latest announcement.


Employment Visa Delaying Reason


When switching from a visit visa to an employment visa in the UAE, it can sometimes take several days. If the company where you got the job offer cites any of the reasons below, you should immediately opt to extend your UAE visit visa.

  • Quota issues: The Labour department assigns a specific number of quotas to each company based on the size of the business, business type, and the professions available. If your employers don't have a specific quota to hire, it may take longer than expected, and they should request the Labour department.
  • National Holidays: the UAE has few national holidays compared to other countries. If your employment visa application falls on a national holiday such as the Eid holidays or any other major holiday, you may lose days as government offices will be closed.
  • Ramadan: visa processing during Ramadan is usually slow and can take even four working days to get approved or rejected. Working hours during Ramadan are reduced in both the public and private sectors. System issues may also cause delays during this time. Ordinarily, a visit visa takes no more than two working days to be issued.
  • Incomplete PRO or Typing Center: at times, your employer PRO or the typing center handling your employment visa is unable to move things along quickly. As a result, most visitors end up incurring lots of fines. If you sense this issue, you might want to consider extending your visa.
Arabiers

Robeena Brown

It’s been amazing journey collecting, organizing & publishing UAE travel related information. We often hear our guests says it was some thing useful when I found Arabiers, that give me motivation to sit hours & hours with subject experts to extract right information that are useful but updated. I would love to write some thing that useful for any travelers, Recidents & locals, we at Arabiers trying our level best provide right information & aiming at updating our information page as much as we can, looking forward your feedback.

  • See author's posts
  • facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Twitter
  • Youtube