Leaving the Gulf? Don't leave money behind

Leaving the Gulf is a financial event, not just a logistical one. The sequence of decisions involved — what to do with your bank accounts, how to collect your gratuity correctly, what happens to investments held on UAE-licensed platforms, when to cancel your visa and what that triggers — has a meaningful financial impact if handled well or poorly. Most expats approach this phase the same way they approached arriving: under time pressure, with incomplete information.

The gratuity question is often the largest single item. Your gratuity should be paid as part of your final settlement — typically within 14 days of your employment ending. Before you sign any settlement paperwork, verify the calculation yourself using the correct formula (21 days per year for the first five years, 30 days per year thereafter, based on your final basic salary). Errors and underpayments happen, and once you've signed and left the country, recovery becomes significantly harder.

Your UAE bank account is the next decision. Many expats assume they need to close it before leaving. In reality, several UAE banks — Emirates NBD, FAB, ADCB among them — allow you to maintain an account as a non-resident, though they may reclassify it and apply different conditions. The important thing is to deal with this before your visa is cancelled, not after. Some account types linked to your visa get frozen automatically when your residency lapses, which is exactly the wrong time to discover that's a thing.

For investments held on UAE-based platforms, the picture varies by provider. Some allow you to continue as a non-resident client; others require you to close or transfer your account. This is worth checking well in advance, since transferring a portfolio — especially one held in a DIFC-regulated structure — takes time and generates paperwork.

The tax question is the one that varies most by home country and individual situation. Whether you owe anything when you return, and when your home country's tax system re-engages with your income and assets, depends on your nationality. Start with the relevant guide in our Tax section, and speak to a specialist if the numbers are large enough to warrant it.