‘Avoid overstay fines’: UAE gives war-hit visa holders until July 9 to regularise status

Posted on by Taiwo Adebulu

2 min readJun 19, 2026 01:00 PM IST

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has granted a 30-day grace period to those affected by war and situational circumstances to rework their visa status before leaving the country to avoid penalties. The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) in the UAE has extended the grace period from June 10 to July 9, 2026.

This applies to those who had previously been exempted from overstay fines when they were unable to leave UAE because of the disturbances caused by the US-Iran war.

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Grace period to fly out comes after exemptions due to war

The grace period aims to reinforce compliance with UAE laws and regulations while giving affected individuals an opportunity to correct their status and continue living and working in the country legally, following the restoration of stability in the region, the authorities said, The Gulf News reported.

“The circumstances that necessitated the exemption from fines no longer exist in light of the stability currently prevailing in the region,” the authority said.

Individuals do not require to take any extraordinary steps to avail the grace. According to the authorities, people wishing to remain in the UAE can make changes to their status according to the visa that they hold — whether it be residential or employment based, while those wanting to depart can directly do so.

Individuals have been requested to follow instructions, updates from official channels for regulatory guidance.

The authorities had exempted visa holders, exit permit holders from overstay penalties after they were unable to leave the UAE in February 2026 because of airspace closures because of the US-Iran conflict.

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US-Iran peace deal

After weeks of deliberation, the United States and Iran finally signed the deal on June 17, 2026, to end the war in the Middle East. The deal was finalised on the sidelines of the G7 Summit that took place in Evian-les-Bains in France. The 14-clause Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) notes that the framework to deploy these funds will be finalised within a 60-day window as a part of the final deal.

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