Arriving and leaving
Leaving the UAE with a child
Updated October 2026
What to close, what to sell, and what to carry when a family flies out: visas, school records, and the gear that should not go in the hold.
Paper before the shipment
Collect school or nursery reports, vaccine printouts from Nabidh or Malaffi, and a scan of the birth certificate before accounts are closed. The next country will ask for them when you no longer have a local login. Cancel insurance on the date you actually fly, not the date you wish you had.
Sell the bulky things in the area
Cots, strollers, and car seats move inside a neighbourhood faster than they survive a shipping quote. Say the day you fly and the area, and price it to leave. Do not ship a car seat that will be out of date on arrival. Do not sell one that has been in an accident.
The visa is a sponsor’s task
Cancelling a child’s residence visa is done by the sponsor through the same channel that issued it, ICP or GDRFA. Build that into the last fortnight, not into the taxi to the airport. If a domestic worker’s visa is tied to your household, close that file with the Tadbeer centre before you hand over the keys.
Short questions
- What should stay in hand luggage?
- Passports, Emirates IDs until they must be handed in, insurance cards, a few days of any prescribed medicine, and the vaccine screenshots. The cot can go. The documents cannot.
A parent guide, not a government notice. Confirm deadlines on the official portal before you book or pay.