Videos circulating in recent days showed dozens of people gathered in footage filmed from a distance. Accompanying comments said they were Egyptian workers in the United Arab Emirates whose residency permits had been canceled and employment contracts abruptly terminated. At the same time, groups for Egyptians living in the Gulf state filled with complaints and appeals from people reporting canceled residency or lost jobs despite saying they had fulfilled all legal requirements.
As the controversy grew, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry denied that exceptional measures or a general crisis were targeting Egyptians. It said the cases identified involved regulatory violations or people remaining outside the UAE for more than six months. In televised remarks, Ambassador Haddad El-Gohary, assistant foreign minister for consular affairs, said the recent cases concerned breaches of residency rules or regulatory checks and were individual incidents. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, also denied a crisis, describing the circulating accounts as false information forming part of “desperate media campaigns.” In a post on X, he said some agenda-driven platforms were spreading falsehoods about the UAE, and that facts and tangible achievements were stronger than rumors.
But accounts documented by Zawia3 challenge the official narrative. We interviewed 12 people who said their UAE residency had been canceled or could not be renewed, alongside relatives of residents, and tracked dozens of complaints in Egyptian community groups. Some interviewees estimated that thousands were affected, but we could not independently verify that estimate. Zawia3 withheld interviewees’ names to protect them and because several hope to return to the UAE. Their accounts were documented through direct interviews and monitoring community groups. Because these are individual administrative decisions, Zawia3 could not independently verify every cancellation against official records, making a transparent official investigation central to this issue.
Those affected said cancellations came unexpectedly, sometimes while their permits remained valid for long periods. All said they received no clear explanation and could not establish whether they could return on new visas.
About 1.3 million Egyptians lived in the UAE at the end of 2024, according to the Egyptian mission’s latest estimates cited by Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The community also carries economic weight: Egyptians working in the UAE sent home about $3.6 billion in fiscal year 2024/25, compared with $1.8 billion the previous year, according to CAPMAS.
A routine transfer becomes repeated rejection
One affected man’s story began before he left the UAE. He moved from a marketing company in Dubai to a job offer at a large Abu Dhabi company that he says is affiliated with a semi-governmental entity. To transfer to his new employer, he canceled his existing residency, which had four or five months left, and obtained a one-month grace period to arrange a new permit through the usual employer-transfer procedures.
The routine process turned into repeated rejections and demands for additional documents. He says several applications to transfer his residency were rejected before he was asked for a criminal-record certificate—known in Egypt as the “feesh wa tashbeeh”—which he was told was a new requirement for Egyptians. He obtained one in Dubai for about AED 220, then was told it had to be issued by the UAE Interior Ministry and authenticated by the UAE Foreign Ministry. The company resubmitted his application at least four times. He says he was later required, because of the company’s semi-governmental status, to obtain a certificate from the Egyptian embassy, send it to Egypt for Foreign Ministry authentication, and then have it certified by the UAE embassy in Egypt. The process took about ten days and cost him more than EGP 30,000, he says. After completing it, his residency application was rejected again.
He went to the passport authorities to seek an explanation. “I explained my situation and said I had completed every required document and the company had applied several times. Why was my residency not being approved?” He says he was told that “Egyptians’ residency applications are suspended” and that he should wait for new instructions. He understood this to mean the issue was his nationality, rather than his documents or employer. He says he also learned of people unable to renew existing permits and others whose residency was canceled while they were abroad.
His experience eventually forced him to return to Egypt after paying for accommodation and living costs throughout his wait without being able to start the job. He says he does not want to breach any rules; he is waiting for the process to reopen officially and for procedures to become clear. Explanations involving company violations or fictitious residency do not account for his case, he argues, noting that cases he knows involved major, established companies, including colleagues who returned to work for companies with Egyptian branches. He now works in Egypt and is paid in pounds rather than dirhams. He offers a political explanation as his personal belief, without direct evidence: “As I understand it, there is a dispute between major institutions, and we are paying the price.” What troubles him is not only rejection, but the money and time spent before returning without knowing why.
“Security cancellation”
Another man, who asked not to be named, says he works through a company owned by his brother, holds its official power of attorney, and that the company’s affairs are in order. He left the UAE on leave about a month earlier and discovered in mid-August that his residency had been canceled while he was abroad. He says a person working in passport services told him it was a “system” issue and that cancellations were random. Asked whether he could return, the person said this was not currently possible; inquiries produced the explanation “security cancellation.” He has not lodged a formal appeal, he says, and the situation remains unclear without a defined route to challenge the decision or identify and address its cause.
An Abu Dhabi resident says he has lived legally in the UAE for about 20 years. He left on July 30 for a holiday and discovered on August 10 that his residency had been canceled although it remained valid for around 18 months. He says there was no clear reason, suggesting tensions between Cairo and Abu Dhabi after the war as a possible explanation. He describes an unannounced and unjustified hostility toward Egyptians in recent months and a marked change in how they are treated. Another employee of a large Abu Dhabi company says he met all legal residency conditions and was given no clear reason for cancellation: his permit was canceled on August 10 after just ten days in Egypt, with more than a year remaining. A fifth man says his residency was renewed in April; he left the UAE on April 29 and was surprised to find it canceled on August 22, with around two years still remaining.
Interviewees do not believe the events can simply be explained by violations involving their employers or jobs. One says his employer is a major contractor on Abu Dhabi projects, pays wages regularly, yet several employees’ residency permits were canceled after they left for holidays. Another says friends at foreign companies and major energy-sector firms also experienced cancellations despite their employers’ affairs being in order. One man argues that problems with an employee’s or company’s documents should lead to requests to correct or complete paperwork, rather than sudden cancellation of an existing permit: “If documents need amending, it is normal to contact the person or company and not renew until requirements are met. What we do not understand is canceling residency that has already been approved.”
A teacher’s case differs from those of newer arrivals. He says he has spent 14 years in the UAE; his residency is sponsored by his school, his salary is paid regularly, his qualifications have been recognized and he holds a good-conduct certificate. Yet his permit was canceled during his annual leave abroad. “I am a teacher, my residency is through the school, my salary arrives regularly, and I have spent 14 years in the country. I completed qualification equivalency and hold a good-conduct certificate. Still, my residency was canceled while I was outside the country on annual leave.”
Private-sector employment in the UAE is governed by rules for issuing, renewing and canceling work permits under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labor Relations, effective from February 2022. Employees may not work, and employers may not employ them, without a Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation permit under the law and its implementing regulations. Conditions include a profession consistent with the establishment’s activity, a valid company license and no violations. The regulations also govern renewal and cancellation and authorize the ministry to refuse issuance or renewal, or cancel permits, in specified cases. Valid residency is therefore linked to a worker’s legal position and work permit. The unanswered question—neither addressed in official statements nor explained to interviewees—is the precise legal basis for each cancellation and why it affected permits described as valid and compliant.
Another interviewee says he is an investor with an operating UAE company that has staff, premises, bank accounts and a tax registration. He says the business works normally without legal or administrative problems, yet his residency was canceled while he was abroad. A subsequent visitor-visa application was rejected. He asks what will happen to his business and whether he can enter the UAE to resolve his status.
Some discovered the cancellation only when trying to return. One man employed by a major international company says he learned of it at the airport after arrival and had to return, losing the cost of his ticket. Another discovered cancellation at the airport on August 22, applied for a visitor visa the next day and was refused. When he asked why, he was told it involved “security procedures”; someone advised him not to reapply for a month. Another person’s residency was canceled on August 24 and he learned of it while attempting to travel, despite still working for a large company. One woman likewise says her husband’s residency was canceled while he was abroad on leave, without a clear explanation to the family.
Why now?
Shaaban Khalifa, head of the Private Sector Workers’ Union and a labor and political activist, tells Zawia3 that he followed recent reports and complaints about canceled residency among Egyptians in the UAE and the resulting anxiety within the community. Sudden cancellations during holidays in Egypt place people in extremely complex humanitarian, professional and legal circumstances, he says. He sees legitimate questions, particularly because he believes other communities have not experienced similar incidents at the same rate. But he stresses that he does not want to prejudge investigations or make accusations without evidence.
If repeated cases among long-standing residents and workers are established, he argues, they should not be treated as passing administrative incidents. “Are we dealing with individual measures to enforce residency laws, or a broader policy targeting Egyptian labor?” If individual, UAE authorities should explain their reasons and criteria publicly and to Egypt’s embassy, and ensure that no citizen faces sudden or arbitrary action without a clear legal basis. If new restrictions apply to Egyptian workers, he says, the matter goes beyond administration and affects economic and social security and the rights of millions of Egyptian families. He rejects using workers as leverage in any political disagreement between Cairo and Abu Dhabi: an Egyptian worker “is not a party to any political dispute, but a citizen who left in search of a livelihood.”
Khalifa points to the community’s scale—about 1.3 million people and $3.6 billion in remittances in fiscal 2024/25—as evidence of the issue’s sensitivity. These are not marginal figures, he says; broad disruption would directly affect millions of families and Egypt’s foreign-currency inflows. Intertwined interests heighten the sensitivity, with bilateral trade reaching about $9.7 billion in 2025 according to official UAE figures. He calls for urgent Egyptian action, proposing a joint crisis unit involving foreign affairs, labor, migration and consular authorities to identify cases and follow every canceled or refused renewal, formally request clarification from the UAE about any new instructions concerning Egyptian workers, and provide legal and consular protection.
He also calls for urgent high-level diplomacy and transparent public information rather than vague statements. “Egyptians have the right to know what is happening to their citizens abroad,” he says. “Relations between states are built on interests and mutual respect, not on pressure on Egypt through its workers.” If systematic targeting is established, he believes the government should move from inquiries to a firm political and diplomatic position. Workers are more than numbers, he warns: behind each is a family waiting for a salary. “Egyptians are not a bargaining chip. The Egyptian worker’s dignity is not negotiable. Protecting citizens abroad is a state responsibility, not a favor.” He urges action before individual cases become a collective crisis that is difficult to contain.
Unannounced tensions
In May, The Economist described cautious tensions between Egypt and the UAE, combining Egyptian financial dependence with concern over expanding Emirati regional influence. It framed the relationship as “the mother of the world” versus “the upstart.” Egypt’s State Information Service called this simplistic, stressing a strategic partnership rather than a donor–recipient relationship. The magazine said Egypt needs the UAE but worries about its growing influence, while Abu Dhabi has become a powerful economic player by capitalizing on Cairo’s need for foreign currency and investment. Some Egyptians view the economic crisis as forcing the state to sell assets, land and sectors to Gulf investors, especially Emiratis—a sentiment the magazine said generates resentment. Some Emiratis, in turn, view Egypt’s response as ungrateful toward a country that has provided substantial support.
Dr. Amr Hashem Rabie, deputy director of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, tells Zawia3 that relations under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed are deeply confusing, combining friction with attraction and cooperation. He points to economic and political contradictions: large Emirati investments and what he describes as opening access to Egyptian resources to the point of appropriation, including beaches, port management and factory purchases, alongside political rapprochement reflected in reciprocal visits. Conversely, he sees a darker dimension in the UAE’s positions on Sudan, Libya and Ethiopia and what he considers its support for actors there. “How can these contradictory aspects exist in the same relationship?” he asks.
Rabie says developments following the recent Israeli–Iranian war may affect dealings between the two countries. One potential pressure mechanism, he suggests, could be expelling workers or restricting those already in the UAE. He regards Egyptian labor as a possible manifestation of tensions in a relationship he has considered ambiguous since 2013. He stresses that no definitive forecast is possible: predictions would be impressions rather than certain analysis, and discussing scenarios amid this ambiguity resembles fortune-telling.
Emirati economic involvement in Egypt has expanded markedly in recent years beyond real estate and tourism into finance, industry, logistics, food and pharmaceuticals. Abu Dhabi sovereign investment company ADQ has been central. In April 2022 it announced investments in stakes in major Egyptian companies including Commercial International Bank (CIB), Fawry, Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling, MOPCO and Abu Qir Fertilizers, and expanded into pharmaceuticals through its acquisition of Amoun Pharmaceutical. In January 2024, ADQ and ADNEC signed an agreement to acquire a 40.5% stake in Talaat Moustafa Group’s hospitality arm ICON, indirectly involving a stake in seven historic government-owned hotels, including Mena House, Cairo Marriott/Omar Khayyam, Luxor’s Winter Palace and Aswan’s Old Cataract. The expansion culminated in February 2024 with the Ras El-Hekma deal, described by Egypt’s government as the country’s largest-ever foreign direct investment, worth $35 billion: $24 billion for development rights and conversion of $11 billion in Emirati deposits at Egypt’s central bank into investment, according to ADQ. The project covers about 170 million square meters—more than 40,000 feddans—and is being developed by the UAE’s Modon. ADQ’s financial statements say $24 billion was paid in 2024 for land rights; Egypt’s government said the state retained a 35% stake in the project.
The overlapping accounts of Egyptian workers in the UAE require a transparent official investigation that clarifies reasons and criteria and offers a clear appeal route. Interviewees consistently described valid residency being canceled suddenly without written explanations; some were verbally told the cancellation was “security”-related, without a specified legal basis. Linking the events to a political dispute between Cairo and Abu Dhabi remains the interviewees’ personal interpretation, not an official reason communicated to them or established in a published decision. Between both governments’ denial of a crisis targeting Egyptians and their description of individual regulatory breaches, and residents’ accounts of compliant permits canceled without explanation, distinguishing individual enforcement from a broader policy depends on what authorities in both countries disclose about the precise legal grounds in each case.
