No ban if one does not wish to renew employment contract

No labour ban will be imposed by the Ministry of Labour on employee whose visa is under spouse or family sponsorship.

If you are working in a company for 2 years and wish to change work for another employer at the time of expiry your current visa.
In this case you will not have to face the ban imposed by the Ministry of Labour. As a ban by the Ministry of Labour may not be imposed, pursuant to the provisions of the Ministerial Resolution No (1186) for 2010 on “Rules and Conditions of Granting a New Work Permit to an Employee after Termination of the Work Relationship in Order to Move from One Establishment to Another” (the “Resolution”).

Article 2 of the Resolution provides situations in which a labour ban may not be imposed. It states: “The following two conditions must be met in order to grant the work permit mentioned in Article (1) of this resolution:

(1) Agreement between the employee and the employer to conclude the work relationship.

(2) The employee must have spent at least two years with the employer.

Pursuant to the above mentioned provision of the Resolution no ban should be imposed on you by the Ministry of Labour as you do not intend to renew your contract with your current employer after it lapses. Apart from the provision mentioned hereinabove, a ban shall also not be applicable, if you are being offered the standard salary as per your qualification. This is in accordance with the provision of Article 4 of the Resolution, which states: “As an exception to the provision of Item No. (2) of Article (2) of this Resolution, the Ministry may issue a work permit to the employee without requiring the two-year period in the following cases:

(a) In the event that the employee is starting his new position at the first, second or third professional levels after fulfilling the conditions for joining any of these levels according to the rules in force at the Ministry, and provided that his new wage is not less than Dh12,000 at the first professional level, Dh7,000 at the second professional level and Dh5,000 at the third professional level”.