Key takeaways
- Each UAE employee residence visa is renewed as its own transaction; we found no official bulk-renewal option on the ICP or u.ae service pages, so "bulk" in practice means batching several individual renewals in one working session.
- The federal ICP service page lists three fees for a work residence renewal: AED 100 application, AED 100 per year of residence, and AED 100 smart service fee (checked 23 October 2026), before work permit, medical, insurance and free zone charges.
- An employee whose residence visa has expired is fined AED 50 per day, starting the day after the applicable grace period ends; the grace period is 30 days for most categories (ICP, checked 23 October 2026).
- A standard work visa is valid for two years, so a team hired in the same month will all expire in the same month; staggering renewals or setting reminders 60 to 90 days ahead removes the crunch.
- Mainland employees need a valid MOHRE work permit as part of the residence renewal, while free zone employees are renewed through the free zone authority, so a company with both types runs two separate processes.
Can you renew all your employees' UAE visas at once?
You can't renew them in a single click that we could verify from an official source; each employee's residence permit is processed as a separate application. What companies call bulk renewal is usually one PRO or HR person lining up the renewals together: same medical appointments, same insurance upload, same payment run.
The ICP service page for renewal of residency permits describes the application per person, with documents and fees attached to each applicant. The RAKEZ employee visa renewal page likewise lists each renewal as a single-applicant service and doesn't mention group pricing or volume discounts. Some free zones and Dubai's GDRFA company platform may let a company account queue several applications; we couldn't confirm from official pages that one submission covers several employees, so ask your free zone or typing centre before you plan around it.
Who renews an employee visa, and which authority handles it?
The employer renews the work residence visa, and the authority depends on where the company is licensed. Mainland companies work with MOHRE for the work permit and ICP (or GDRFA in Dubai) for the residence permit; free zone companies deal with their free zone authority, which handles the permit and the immigration filing.
The ICP renewal page lists work residence holders "through government, private, or free zone entities" among those who can renew. For a private mainland company, the required documents are the passport, a personal photo, a medical report, the MOHRE work permit and valid health insurance. For free zones, the process differs by authority: RAKEZ, for example, requires the applicant to be inside the UAE, a medical fitness test, an Emirates ID renewal application and valid health insurance from an approved provider.
If you operate a SHAMS company, your renewal follows the SHAMS portal rules rather than the MOHRE route; check the SHAMS user guides for the exact steps. In Dubai, GDRFA launched a company platform in January 2025 for free zone, semi-government and government entities that lists residency visa renewal among its services (reported by Gulf News; confirm current availability with GDRFA).
How much does it cost to renew employee visas?
A renewal costs three ICP fees of AED 100 each plus per-year, work permit, medical and insurance costs, so the real figure per employee lands well above AED 300. The exact total depends on your emirate, free zone, company category and visa length.
| Cost item | Amount | Applies to | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application fee | AED 100 | Work residence renewal via ICP | ICP, checked 23 October 2026 |
| Residence renewal fee | AED 100 per year | Work residence renewal via ICP | ICP, checked 23 October 2026 |
| Smart service fee | AED 100 | Work residence renewal via ICP | ICP, checked 23 October 2026 |
| Work permit issue or renewal | AED 250 to AED 3,450, by company category A, B or C | Mainland companies registered with MOHRE | u.ae, checked 23 October 2026 |
| Overstay fine | AED 50 per day | Any resident after the grace period ends | ICP, checked 23 October 2026 |
| Example free zone package, standard | AED 3,500 excluding VAT, 4 working days | RAKEZ employee renewal | RAKEZ, checked 23 October 2026 |
| Example free zone package, VIP | AED 6,414 excluding VAT, 1 working day | RAKEZ employee renewal | RAKEZ, checked 23 October 2026 |
Medical test fees, health insurance premiums and Emirates ID charges are not in the table because they vary by provider and plan. Free zone packages bundle several of these items, which is why the free zone figures sit far above the federal ones.
AED 50 per day: fine for each day a resident stays after the visa has expired or been cancelled, counted from the day after the grace period ends. Source: ICP renewal of residency permits service page, checked 23 October 2026.
How do you renew several employee visas at the same time?
Run the renewals as one batch with a shared checklist, because the authority still processes each employee individually. The steps below suit a private mainland company; free zone companies follow the same sequence through their own authority's portal.
- List every residence visa expiry date from the Emirates IDs and the ICP or free zone records, and group the employees expiring in the same 30-day window.
- Check each passport is valid for at least 6 months, since ICP lists this as a renewal condition.
- Confirm each employee holds valid health insurance, which ICP requires for the application.
- Renew or confirm the MOHRE work permit for each mainland employee; the work permit has to be valid for the residence renewal to proceed.
- Book the medical fitness tests for the whole group on the same day, where the approved centre allows it.
- Log in to the ICP Smart Services website or app with UAE Pass (or your free zone or GDRFA portal) and submit one application per employee; review the pre-filled form before paying.
- Pay the fees for each application; ICP lists a processing time of 2 days, but free zone and Dubai timelines differ, so build in slack.
- Collect the new Emirates IDs from the courier and update your HR file with the new expiry date.
If you'd rather not track these dates by hand, the free UAE compliance calendar lists them for your company.
What happens if an employee visa expires before renewal?
A grace period applies after expiry, and once it ends the AED 50 daily fine starts. The length of the grace period depends on the visa category, not on what your company would prefer.
| Visa category | Grace period after expiry or cancellation |
|---|---|
| Golden, Green and Blue Residence holders and family members | 180 days |
| Skilled workers in levels 1 to 3, and property owners | 90 days |
| Residence issued with a guarantor or host | 60 days |
| All other categories (including most standard employee visas) | 30 days |
Source: ICP, checked 23 October 2026.
Residents who spend more than 180 days continuously outside the UAE lose their residence visa automatically, according to u.ae, with limited exceptions for certain categories. Say an employee has been abroad for seven months: that visa has already lapsed and needs a new entry permit, not a renewal, so check absence dates before you start the batch.
What most guides don't tell you
Bulk expiry is a hiring pattern, not a renewal problem. Visas are valid for two years, so everyone hired in a single push expires together. Renewing one or two early, within the window your authority allows, spreads the load; u.ae notes that renewing one to six months early requires special approval from ICP for travel purposes, so don't assume early renewal is free.
One missing document stops the whole batch in practice. The authority treats each application separately, but your own checklist doesn't: a passport under 6 months validity or a lapsed insurance policy stalls that employee while the others move. Check passports and insurance first.
A free zone licence and a mainland licence mean two calendars. If your group holds both, the work permit logic, the portal and the fees differ, so a single "visa renewal date" in your HR system will be wrong for part of the team. Track the authority next to each expiry date.
Company-side documents expire too. ICP's account-based services depend on the establishment record being current; an expired trade licence or establishment card can block the employee renewals behind it. Renew those first.
Which deadlines apply to your company?
Visa expiries, trade licence renewals, VAT and corporate tax dates all run on different clocks, and missing one costs money. Qawi's free UAE compliance calendar is a calendar of your company's UAE tax and compliance deadlines, personalised from a few questions, as a PDF and calendar file.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need health insurance for my employees in Dubai? ICP lists valid health insurance among the documents for a work residence renewal, so renewal can't proceed without it. Whether the employer or employee pays, and which plan level is required, depends on the emirate and licence, so check with the Dubai Health Authority or your free zone.
Can a shareholder hold a partner or investor visa and also work in the company? The answer depends on the licence type, the free zone and the visa category, and we didn't find a single official rule that covers all cases. Ask your free zone authority or the issuing immigration authority before you rely on one visa to cover both roles.
How do I get a visa for myself as the owner of a free zone company? Owners are normally processed through the same free zone authority that issues employee visas, and renewal follows the same ICP residency rules. The documents and package differ by free zone, so ask yours for its owner visa checklist.
What is a labour card and is it still used? MOHRE issues work permits to establishments registered with it, and the u.ae and ICP pages use the term "work permit" rather than "labour card". Search for "work permit" on the MOHRE and u.ae services, and ask your PRO if a free zone still uses the older wording.
About Qawi
About Qawi · Qawi is a corporate services firm licensed in the Sharjah Media City (SHAMS) free zone, handling company formation, visas and PRO, bookkeeping, VAT and corporate tax for UAE businesses. Guides are researched from FTA, Ministry of Finance and free zone sources. Qawi on LinkedIn
Sources
- ICP: Renewal of residency permits
- u.ae: General provisions for the residence visa
- u.ae: Work permits
- u.ae: Work visa
- RAKEZ: Visa renewal, employee
- Gulf News: GDRFA all-in-one residency service for government and free zone entities (news report, January 2025)
Last checked: 23 October 2026
This is general information, not tax or legal advice for your specific situation.