After a night of thunder and localised flooding, governments in Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman joined Dubai in activating remote-work protocols for all civil-service staff on Friday, 19 December. The directives exempt only “critical on-site roles” such as emergency responders.
Although primarily a safety measure, the decision has direct mobility implications for expatriate managers. Public-sector offices—including immigration counters, municipal attestation desks and customs clearance units—are operating with skeleton crews or virtual help-desks, leading to slower document processing. Companies planning last-minute residence-visa renewals or exit-permit stamping should expect delays until at least Sunday when regular hours resume.
![Four emirates order remote work as storms snarl commutes]()
If your organisation needs to push through any time-sensitive entry permits during this disruption, VisaHQ can help bridge the gap. Their UAE portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) lets employers and assignees upload paperwork online, schedule courier pickups and track applications in real time, reducing reliance on walk-in counters that are currently short-staffed.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has separately “encouraged” private companies in flood-prone districts of Dubai and Sharjah to let employees work from home where possible. HR teams should document compliance to avoid liability if staff are injured while commuting in hazardous conditions.
For global-mobility programmes the episode underscores the need for digital POA (Power of Attorney) and e-signature workflows with government entities so that visa and labour formalities can continue when physical counters close.
Although primarily a safety measure, the decision has direct mobility implications for expatriate managers. Public-sector offices—including immigration counters, municipal attestation desks and customs clearance units—are operating with skeleton crews or virtual help-desks, leading to slower document processing. Companies planning last-minute residence-visa renewals or exit-permit stamping should expect delays until at least Sunday when regular hours resume.
If your organisation needs to push through any time-sensitive entry permits during this disruption, VisaHQ can help bridge the gap. Their UAE portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) lets employers and assignees upload paperwork online, schedule courier pickups and track applications in real time, reducing reliance on walk-in counters that are currently short-staffed.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has separately “encouraged” private companies in flood-prone districts of Dubai and Sharjah to let employees work from home where possible. HR teams should document compliance to avoid liability if staff are injured while commuting in hazardous conditions.
For global-mobility programmes the episode underscores the need for digital POA (Power of Attorney) and e-signature workflows with government entities so that visa and labour formalities can continue when physical counters close.
