Leaving UAE - Top Tips Before You Go

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Leaving UAE – Top Tips Before You Go

Moving countries can be difficult, there’s a lot to consider before making your next international move. We’ve listed some of our top tips for making leaving the UAE easier for you.

Written exclusively for Expat Network by Crown Relocations

Accommodation

Find out when your old contract ends, it’s important to know when you are going to need to move out by. If the timings don’t work with your move dates you may need an extension to your contract. This can be adjusted by speaking to your landlord. Alternatively, if you need to leave before your contract finishes, an option is to find a new tenant to take over your current lease. This usually involves changing the contract to the new tenant’s name. The final step will be to take your contract off of the Ejari – the tenancy registration system.

Moving your belongings

Once your contract is organised you’ll next want to organise your belongings. We usually recommend doing this at least three months in advance. It’s only when we start to go through what we own that we realise how much we’ve accumulated over time. Give yourself plenty of time to decide what you would like to take with you for your next international move.

Here are some ideas on what to do with the belongings you choose not to take with you:

Selling: Putting your no-longer needed items up for sale will help with decluttering and possibly even go towards covering your move costs.

Donating: Giving away your items will also help cut down on what you ship to your new home. With the added bonus of giving you a warm fuzzy feeling from helping others.

Shipping

Now you’ve decluttered and finalised what you’d like to take with you, you can organise shipping. International shipping lets you focus on all other aspects of moving internationally safe in the knowledge your items will be safely delivered to your new location for you. As a tip, you should aim to make arrangements for this early so that the shipping dates available suit your move schedule.

We offer a range of shipping options and container sizes to suit all move types. One of our most popular options is the Crown to Crown Shared Container Service.

Shared Container Service: As part of our shared container service you will receive a premium Crown to Crown service at an extremely competitive price. Your belongings will also arrive faster thanks to our door to door transit times. To find out more and what routes are available click here.

High value items: Precious collections and other fragile high value items need extra care. Which is why we handle these items differently to guarantee their protection during transit. You can find out more about how we can securely ship your high value items here.

New work, new life

So you’ve got a new job lined up, but what about your old job? Below are our list of tips on what to consider as you leave your previous job before relocating internationally.

Contract: You will need to provide your company with a notice period before leaving the UAE. Finding out what your notice period is beforehand will help you calculate the right move and shipping dates for you.

Passport: The next stage is to give your employer your passport so that your residence visa can be cancelled. After this you will have 30 days to leave the country. This stage must be completed otherwise you could be at risk of being seen as “absconding”.

Statements: Step three requires you to receive your last pay out statement and payment. If any issues arise you will need to contact the Ministry of Labour as your embassy will not be able to help you with this.

Medical cards: The final part of this section is to make sure you return your medical cards to your employer, as your medical insurance will be cancelled.

Banking and taxes

Before you leave the UAE you’ll need to consider your financial situation and what to do next with your money. We’ve listed some tips on how to proceed when leaving the UAE:

Settle: To start the process of cancelling any banking arrangements you will need to make sure you pay off any debts and cancel any loans, credit cards, or overdrafts. This is important not to delay as it can be timely.

Transfer: The next step will be to make sure you withdraw any money or transfer it to your new overseas location.

Cancel: You will need to cancel any existing accounts that you have open.

Utilities

Lastly, you’ll need to cancel your utilities, which of course means electric, water, internet, and phone bills. These all need to be dealt with before you move.

Electricity and water: Water and electricity should be disconnected by DEWA . You can submit your request for the final bill online or at DEWA’s offices. Then, once you have received your last bill, you can go to a DEWA office to pay it and pick up your deposit.

Phone and internet: For your phones and internet bills you will need to go to a DU or Etisalat office with the correct documents for cancellation. These documents will be your contract and your Emirates ID. You will also be required to return the original equipment given to you.

We hope you have found our tips for leaving the UAE helpful. If you need any more information please visit our website www.crownrelo.com.

Crown Relocations provides transportation, destination and immigration services, as well as family support, to assist people relocating internationally or domestically.

With experts working in 54 countries, Crown is an enthusiastic champion of the benefits of relocation. We provide support, guidance, care and the personal attention needed to ensure success.

Crown Relocations – Go knowing – www.crownrelo.com

Moving Abroad Checklist

Initial Considerations

Will your partner be travelling with you?

If so, what will they be giving up in your present home and will they be able to continue with their career in your new home? You will need to check whether a separate visa is required for your partner to work or if your visa gives that right. If they are unable to work you will need to decide on the effect on your finances and what alternatives are available to give a fulfilling life (home business, training, voluntary work).

Are you taking family with you?

Moving with family raises many exciting opportunities, but also can create challenges. The HSBC Expat Explorer survey indicates that expat kids can take six months to settle in to their new country (see article). Getting young or even older children to prepare to move and leave their friends and family behind can be a challenge and should be thought through.

The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

Where will you be living?

Whether you will be living in a house or apartment, furnished or unfurnished, these decisions will affect what you need to take with you. The time you are planning to live overseas will also affect whether you should leave your property at home empty, rent it out or sell it. See the article Sell, Store or Ship.