Gulf Desi Hub

Changing your employer in the Gulf is no longer the impossible thing it was ten years ago. Every country in the region has changed its rules in some way, and in most of them you now have a legal path to move to a new company. But the path is different in each country, and the mistakes that cost workers their job, their money or their residency are almost always the same three: leaving without notice, trusting a verbal promise, and letting the new employer handle everything without checking anything yourself.

This guide explains what a transfer actually is, what is the same everywhere, and what is different in each country. Rules and fees change often, so treat this as a map — and confirm the current details on the official portal of your country before you act.

What a “transfer” really means

People say “sponsorship transfer”, but two separate things have to happen:

• Your employment relationship with the old company must end properly — resignation, notice period served, final dues paid.
• Your work permit and residency must be moved to the new company in the government system, or cancelled and re-issued.

If the first part is not done properly, the second part usually fails. A worker who simply stops going to work can be reported as absent, and an absence case is far harder to fix than a notice period is to serve.

One thing blocks a transfer in every Gulf country: an open absconding or absence report. If one has been filed against you, clear it before you apply anywhere — start here.

The rules that apply almost everywhere

• Resign in writing, and keep proof. An email, a stamped copy, or a submission through the government’s online system. A verbal resignation to a supervisor protects nobody.
• Serve your notice period. It is in your contract and in the labour law. Leaving early can make you liable for the remaining days.
• Do not stop reporting to work until your last day, even if the atmosphere becomes unpleasant.
• Get your end of service money settled. A transfer does not cancel what you already earned — see our guide on end of service gratuity.
• Your passport is yours. If it is being held to stop you moving, read this guide.
• Check your own status online before and after the transfer. Do not rely on the new company telling you it is done. Our guide to checking your residency status online shows how in each country.

Saudi Arabia

Under the Labour Reform Initiative, transfers are handled digitally through the Qiwa platform (qiwa.sa), with the residency side completed through Absher or Muqeem. The normal route is: the new employer sends you a digital job offer in Qiwa, you accept it, your current employer is given a window to respond, and you serve your notice period.

There are also defined situations in which a transfer can go ahead without the current employer’s approval — for example when the contract has ended, when wages have gone unpaid for a period, or when the employer has failed to renew your Iqama. The exact conditions and the transfer fee are set by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, so confirm them on qiwa.sa or hrsd.gov.sa rather than from a friend or an agent.

United Arab Emirates

Since the labour law that took effect in February 2022, a No Objection Certificate from your current employer is not a general legal requirement for a mainland work permit transfer. What matters instead is that you serve your notice period, that the old work permit is cancelled correctly, and that there is no proven absconding or serious breach case against you. Those cases are what lead to a work permit ban, not the act of changing jobs itself.

Free zone employers follow their own free zone authority’s procedure, which can differ from the mainland MOHRE process. Check your permit and contract on mohre.gov.ae and your visa on icp.gov.ae — the method is in our UAE checking guide.

Qatar

Law No. 19 of 2020 removed the NOC requirement. You can change employer before your contract ends by giving notice through the Ministry of Labour’s electronic system. The notice period set in that law is one month if you have been with the employer for two years or less, and two months if you have been there longer. If you leave before the notice period is finished, you can be required to compensate the employer for the unworked days.

Submit the notice through the official channel, not only to your manager. Check the current procedure on adlsa.gov.qa, and see our Qatar QID and exit permit guide.

Kuwait and Bahrain

Kuwait. Transfers are handled by the Public Authority for Manpower. There is normally a minimum period of service with your current employer before a transfer is allowed, with exceptions where the employer is at fault — for example failing to complete your residency or permit paperwork. Confirm the current conditions on manpower.gov.kw, and check your Civil ID data on paci.gov.kw.

Bahrain. Transfers go through the Labour Market Regulatory Authority. After a qualifying period of service, a worker can move to a new employer without the current employer’s consent, provided the resignation was properly delivered. Bahrain is also the only Gulf country with a flexi permit route for eligible workers. Details are on lmra.gov.bh.

Oman

Oman used to be the hardest place in the Gulf to leave one employer for another. If your employer refused to sign a No Objection Certificate, you had to spend two years outside the country before you could work in Oman again. That rule is gone. A Royal Oman Police decision — No. 157/2020 — removed the NOC requirement with effect from 1 January 2021, and the two-year bar went with it.

In July 2021 the Ministry of Labour instructed its own staff to stop asking for an NOC as a pre-condition for a transfer in a defined list of situations, including:

• your work permit or visa has expired and you have no current employment contract registered with the Ministry;
• your employment contract has expired;
• you can show the employer ended the contract for a reason that was not disciplinary;
• a court has ordered your transfer to a new employer;
• a court has ruled that you were arbitrarily dismissed;
• a court has confirmed the employer’s bankruptcy or dissolution.

Read that list carefully for what it does not say. It removes a piece of paper you once had to beg for. It does not mean you can walk away from a contract that is still running — a live contract still has to be ended the proper way.

That part is governed by the Labour Law issued under Royal Decree 53/2023, in force since 31 July 2023. Article 38 allows either side of an indefinite-term contract to end it for a legitimate reason by giving the other party written notice: 30 days if you are paid a monthly wage, and 15 days for other workers. Give the notice in writing and keep your copy. A conversation with a supervisor is not notice, and proving you gave it is your problem, not the company’s.

Article 41 sets out when a worker may leave without serving notice — for example if the employer deceived you about the terms of work when you were hired, if your wages have gone unpaid for more than two consecutive months, if you were assaulted, or if there is a serious danger to your safety that the employer knows about and has not fixed. These are real rights, but they are also the ones an employer is most likely to dispute. Collect your evidence — pay slips, bank records, messages — before you rely on them.

The employment side is handled by the Ministry of Labour at mol.gov.om, and the residency card side by the Royal Oman Police at rop.gov.om. Fees for labour authorisations have been revised more than once in recent years, so ask the Ministry what the current cost is and who is paying it before you agree to a move.

Before you sign with the new company

• Ask for the offer in writing, with the salary, job title and the party paying the transfer cost stated clearly.
• Confirm the job title on the new permit matches the work you will actually do. A mismatch causes problems later at renewal.
• Never pay an agent for a transfer that the employer is supposed to process. If someone asks for cash to “release” you, read our 14 signs a Gulf job offer is fake.
• Keep every document: contract, resignation, notice acknowledgement, final settlement, new permit.

A transfer done calmly and on paper is usually straightforward. A transfer done in a hurry, on a promise, is where workers lose money. Take the extra two weeks, serve the notice, and check your own status online at every step.