How to get an Emaar move-in or move-out permit

Emaar Community Management (ECM) runs the master communities Emaar developed, and the move permit is how it controls access to them. That covers the towers and low-rise buildings of Downtown Dubai and the villa and townhouse communities, where the permit also clears the moving vehicle at the gate.

Most residents apply in the Emaar One app, which also handles service charges, access cards and amenity bookings. The same request can be made on the Sakani portal on ECM's website, and Emaar's toll-free line, 800-EMAAR (800 36227), can help if neither works for you.

The form asks for the unit and street number, the move date and time, and the moving company's name and supervisor. Sources agree you must apply at least 24 hours ahead and that approval usually comes within one to two working days once the documents check out. A few guides quote up to five working days, so if your date is fixed, apply as soon as you have the Ejari and a confirmed mover.

Upload clear scans. A blurred Emirates ID or an Ejari for the wrong unit is the most common reason an application comes back.

Leaving an Emaar home needs its own move-out permit, applied for the same way. Tenants upload the Ejari and Emirates ID or visa. When you pick the unit, the app shows any outstanding community service fees, and the permit is not issued until they are cleared.

That catches two groups. Owners selling, who must settle service charges before handover anyway, and tenants whose landlord is behind on them: the charges are the owner's, but the move-out is held until they are paid. Check the account in the app a week before the move, not the night before, and ask your landlord to clear anything shown.

Some buildings also take a refundable deposit against damage to lifts and common areas, and some agents quote a 30-day notice period. Those are building or contract rules rather than one Emaar-wide process, so confirm with your building management.

Emaar communities generally allow moves from 08:00 to 19:00, Saturday to Thursday. Friday and public holiday moves are restricted or need special approval, so plan the whole job, including placement and clearing packaging, inside the approved window.

In a tower, the permit is only half of it. The building then allocates a service lift slot and a loading bay window against the permit, and those slots go first in the last week of the month. Ask for the lift booking the day the permit comes through.

In villa and townhouse communities there is no lift, but security at the gate checks the moving vehicle against the permit. This is what people usually mean by an Emaar gate pass for a move: the registration on the permit must match the truck that arrives. Visitors and contractors use a separate access process; a move permit does not cover other work.

Emaar issues the permit to the resident or owner, so the application has to come from you or your landlord. We do everything around it: send our company, supervisor and vehicle details for the form, book the service lift or confirm the gate details once the permit is issued, protect the lift and lobby, and work strictly inside the approved hours. If the app shows outstanding charges, tell us early and we will hold the date while they are cleared rather than send a truck that will be turned away.