Advice for people planning to leave the UAE

A two-month financial plan to leaving the UAE.

With two months to go

List the expenses you will face and ensure you set aside enough to tide you over during the settling-in period. Find out from your company what your gratuity payment will be and alert them to your imminent exit so they can cancel your residency visa. Also, give your landlord as much notice as possible.

Get quotes from shipping companies. Don’t pack anything yourselves as this could invalidate the shipping insurance.

45 days to go

Cancel your credit card as you need 45 days for a clearance letter after cancellation. Failure to cancel cards, particularly those with outstanding debts, could result in being blacklisted from the UAE.

A month to go

Sell your car. Prepare to negotiate.

Companies require a clearance letter from your bank to send your end of service benefits abroad. This takes time to arrange. As an alternative, open a savings account to have your gratuity sent to.

A week to go

Cancel bank accounts, power, TV and internet, water and cooling. Consider staying at a hotel or with friends at this time.

If you have life assurance policies you took out in the UAE, check you will still be covered before you move. Also check the parameters of each policy.

Cancel your phone contract. For Etisalat customers, for example, E-life packages must be cancelled at main branches and you must bring the remote control, the E life box and all cables. Failure to provide the right equipment can result in a Dh400 charge.

On the day

Shut your mobile phone down on the day you leave the country, as long as the provider has advanced warning of your departure.

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