On 5 April 2020, Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) announced that it is letting expatriate workers in the private sector to return to their home countries if they so desire for the period in which many measures have been implemented to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

Employees can apply for an early leave by submitting an application for annual leave or agreeing with their employer for unpaid leave.

MoHRE launched this step of early leave in cooperation with other federal entities as a part of the humanitarian efforts of the UAE to meet the needs of the residents seeking to return to their home countries.

MoHRE has set five procedures that private firms need to comply with for early leave requests. They are:

1. leave duration must be specified in the additional temporary form for the job contract and the form must be signed by both parties
2. employers must book round-trip tickets for the employees
3. the contractual relationship between the employee and employer will continue; early leave is considered unpaid leave, provided that all workers' entitlements are maintained as per the labour law
4. leave ends after the precautionary period is over and the employee is back
5. work permits and residence visas of those who went back to their countries will be renewed automatically, if they expire during the leave period.

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