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Travel ban
checks, explained clearly

There is no single UAE travel ban check. Bans come from five authorities, and each check covers only part of the picture. We show you which check to run, and what the result means.

5Ban types, five authorities

FreeDubai Police circular check

InstantResult on digital channels

5 daysPolice Clearance Certificate

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The five types

Five kinds of ban, five authorities

Clearing one type tells you nothing about the others. Types 1 to 4 can stop someone at the airport. A labour ban usually does not stop exit, but it blocks the next job.

Type	Issued by	Typical cause	Stops exit
Financial case circular	Dubai Police and security authorities	Unpaid debt, bounced cheque, loan default	Yes
Criminal case, wanted by prosecution	Public Prosecution, per emirate	Criminal complaint, pending case	Yes
Court-ordered civil travel ban	Courts, through an execution file	A creditor's petition against a debtor	Yes
Immigration ban or absconding	GDRFA in Dubai, ICP in other emirates	Absconding report, file violation, overstay	Yes
Labour ban	MOHRE	Work permit issues	Blocks re-employment

How a check is made

Where each check is run

Every check is self-service. It runs on the person's own UAE PASS or unified number and returns only matters registered against them, so we sit with you while you log in rather than looking you up. We never handle your credentials.

✓ Dubai Police, Circulars and Travel Bans — Free of charge and instant, with UAE PASS sign-in. Open to individuals and the business sector, through the app, website, Smart Police Stations and police stations. Digital channels run 24/7. Call centre 901.

✓ Estafser, Abu Dhabi Judicial Department — Shows whether a person is requested by the Public Prosecution for any claim. It uses the unified number rather than the Emirates ID, and is available 24/7 on the ADJD website and app.

✓ Other emirates — Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah have no documented public self-check of this kind. Enquiries go through the UAE Public Prosecution or the local police.

✓ Police Clearance Certificate — An indirect but broad test. Dubai Police state the applicant must not be wanted by any authority or hold a criminal record, so a refusal tells you something is on file. Five working days, valid three months.

✓ Immigration file — An immigration ban or absconding report appears on no police check. It sits on the person's or the company's file with GDRFA in Dubai or ICP in the other emirates.

✓ Sponsored employees — As the sponsor, a company can see its own employees' file status through its establishment account and pull an Entry and Exit of Passenger Statement showing their movement record.

What a result means

What a check does not tell you

A clean result is useful, but it is narrow. We will always tell you what a check covered and what it left out, rather than saying you are clear to fly.

✓ The Dubai Police check is Dubai only — It covers financial cases in the Emirate of Dubai. A Sharjah or Abu Dhabi financial case will not appear there, and neither will a civil court ban or an immigration ban.

✓ Court bans are invisible to self-service — A creditor petitions the court under the Civil Procedure Law, and the order can be issued without notifying the debtor because of its precautionary and urgent nature. Many people learn of it at the immigration counter.

✓ There is no national register — Nothing aggregates results across emirates and authorities, so no single tool or report can confirm that nothing exists anywhere.

✓ Labour and immigration are separate — Whether a MOHRE labour ban shows on immigration systems varies by case. Treat the two as separate checks.

✓ The diagnostic question — If there is any live dispute, unpaid loan, bounced cheque, or a former employer or landlord in disagreement, the self-service checks are not sufficient and a lawyer should look at it.

✓ Timing — Run checks weeks before travel, not days. An absconding report or a court ban takes time to clear, and clearing usually needs the other side's cooperation.

Government fees

Routes and official fees once confirmed

These are authority fees, not My Eloah fees. A court ban cannot be lifted by the debtor through the Ministry of Justice route: that cancellation service is for the party in whose favour the order was issued, so the debt is settled and the creditor applies, or the ban is challenged through the court. Across every route, fines must be paid and no other restriction may stand.

Route	Authority	Official fee	Duration
Circulars and travel bans enquiry	Dubai Police	Free of charge	Instant
Police Clearance Certificate	Dubai Police	AED 100 citizen, AED 200 resident, AED 300 or USD 88 from outside the UAE, plus AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation, plus AED 100 if applied in person	5 working days
Travel ban request, service 121-042-018-000	Ministry of Justice, federal courts	AED 2,000 civil cases, AED 100 personal status cases	1 day
Cancellation of travel ban order, service 121-042-018-001	Ministry of Justice, federal courts	AED 300, applied for by the creditor	2 days
Immigration ban lifting, individual file	ICP	AED 1,000 plus AED 100 application and AED 100 smart fee	Not stated
Immigration ban lifting, company file	ICP	AED 2,000 plus AED 100 application and AED 100 smart fee	Not stated
Absconding report	GDRFA Dubai	Research palm AED 100 plus AED 10 plus AED 10, plus AED 52.20 establishment or AED 15.75 individual	Not stated
Ban on an establishment file	GDRFA	Collection commissions only, with a letter confirming the violation is corrected	Not stated
Ban on an individual file	GDRFA	Collection commissions only, with the unified number or Emirates ID and the Finance Department receipt for fees owed	Not stated

FAQ

Common Questions.

No. Every check runs on the person's own UAE PASS sign-in or unified number, and returns only matters registered against them. We sit with you while you log in and read the result together. We never ask for or handle your credentials.

No. Bans come from five different authorities and there is no published national register that aggregates them. A clean Dubai Police result covers financial cases in the Emirate of Dubai only. We will tell you what each check covered and what it did not.

It is free of charge and the result is instant. Sign-in with UAE PASS is required. It is available through the Dubai Police app and website, Smart Police Stations and police stations, with digital channels open 24 hours a day.

Dubai Police state that the applicant must not be wanted by any authority or hold a criminal record, as this would prevent the certificate being issued. So a refusal is itself information. It takes five working days and the certificate is valid for three months, and most people need the document anyway.

Not through the Ministry of Justice cancellation service. That service, code 121-042-018-001 at AED 300, is for the party in whose favour the order was issued, which is the creditor. The usual routes are to settle the debt so the creditor applies, or to challenge the order through the court. An active execution file must exist either way.

The federal courts, covering Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain. Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah run their own courts and their own equivalent travel ban request and cancellation services, with their own fees.

Talk to a consultant

Not sure whether you can travel?

Tell us the situation and which emirate it relates to, and we will explain which checks apply.

Tell us your situation and a consultant replies with what actually applies to you, what it costs and what we need from you to start.

Travel ban checks, explained clearly