UAE public holidays 2027: dates and confirmation status

What is confirmed for 2027?

As of November 2026, the UAE's standing Cabinet schedule establishes the holiday names and their Gregorian or Hijri date rules. It does not make every predicted Gregorian Islamic date final. This guide separates the recurring legal schedule, calendar estimates and sector-specific days off.

The fixed dates in that schedule are 1 January and 2–3 December. In 2027 these fall on Friday and Thursday–Friday respectively. They are confirmed schedule dates, subject to any later official transfer decision. We have not verified a complete set of 2027 MOHRE or FAHR holiday circulars.

UAE public holidays 2027: dates and status

The official UAE holiday list applies to public and private sectors. The table below gives the legal date first. Where the checked sources did not establish a Gregorian conversion, we leave it open rather than turn a widely repeated forecast into a confirmed date.

The Ramadan estimate comes from the Hijri dates in the supplied Awqaf-sourced prayer records, which label 8 February as 1 Ramadan and 9 March as 30 Ramadan. These calendar labels support advance planning. The moon-sighting committee's announcement decides the actual start of the month and Eid.

The school pointers come from the Ministry of Education's 2026–2027 calendar. It covers public schools and private schools following the Ministry curriculum. Its closure windows do not establish a private employee's entitlement to the same dates away from work.

How should you plan for Eid al-Fitr?

Our Ramadan 2027 guide uses an expected first fasting day of 8 February. If that start holds, a 29-day month ends on 8 March and Eid begins on 9 March. A 30-day month ends on 9 March and Eid begins on 10 March.

Applying the Cabinet date rule to those alternatives gives Eid dates of 9–11 March or 10–12 March. In the latter case, 9 March would also be a holiday as 30 Ramadan. These are conditional calendar calculations, not published 2027 employment holiday windows. A different confirmed start would change the examples.

Keep your leave request flexible where possible. Ask your employer whether it needs you to request annual leave around a provisional break now and amend it later, or wait for its circular. Do not assume a tentative calendar entry reserves the same dates for the whole team.

For fasting and iftar, the religious month and each day's prayer time are separate checks. A lunar confirmation establishes which day is Ramadan; the local timetable supplies the day's times. Use Dubai's Ramadan guide or Abu Dhabi's guide for the local detail.

Public sector, private sector and local government

The Cabinet sets the shared baseline. MOHRE publishes private-sector announcements. FAHR publishes notices for federal government entities. Local governments can publish notices for their own departments. Read the audience of a circular before applying its dates to your job.

This matters even when the holiday name is identical. For example, FAHR's 2026 Eid al-Fitr notice covered a federal-government window. It is useful evidence for that year and sector, but it cannot establish a 2027 private-sector break.

If a company calls itself government-owned, ask HR which employment regime covers your contract. Ownership and legal coverage are not the same question. Staff who work shifts or provide public services also need the actual roster, even when their employer announces a holiday.

1. Find the authority and year on the announcement.
2. Check whether it addresses your employment sector.
3. Read the start date, last holiday date and return-to-work wording.
4. Ask HR about shifts, weekend days and any annual leave around the break.
5. Save the final circular beside your approved leave request.

Long weekends and replacement days

For a worker with Saturday and Sunday off, the standing 1 January date could join the weekend for a three-day break. The standing 2–3 December dates could join the following weekend for four days. These examples assume the schedule remains unchanged and that you are not rostered to work.

A worker whose weekly rest falls on different days should calculate the break from their own roster. A school closure or a colleague's weekend pattern cannot establish yours. Count approved leave separately from statutory holidays so you know what a proposed trip would use.

Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024 permits non-Eid holiday transfers by Cabinet decision under Article 2. Under Article 3, overlap with a weekend or another holiday does not produce a transfer. Wait for an actual decision rather than assuming the following working day becomes a holiday.

What if your employer asks you to work?

For workers covered by Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 28, an official holiday is paid. Required holiday work is compensated with another day off per holiday worked, or the normal wage for the day plus at least 50% of its basic wage.

Ask payroll which option applies before checking the amount. The basic wage can differ from total salary including allowances. A headline such as “extra holiday pay” is insufficient to explain the calculation. Keep the payslip, attendance record and written replacement-day arrangement together.

The law's implementing rules also set workplace requirements. Article 14 of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 addresses work rules, including official holidays, for establishments with 50 or more workers. Separate regimes need their own employment guidance; do not apply this pay explanation to a government contract automatically.

School holidays and household planning

Public holidays and school breaks overlap without being interchangeable. The Ministry's 2026–2027 school calendar lists an Eid al-Fitr school break of 8–12 March. That does not mean a parent has every one of those working days off. Confirm attendance and collection arrangements directly with the school.

Ask about your child's actual curriculum and academic year. Private schools following another calendar may have different breaks. Reduced Ramadan school hours also need a separate school notice; a holiday table does not supply bus times, exam arrangements or childcare cover.

Build a household plan with separate entries for each adult's work, each child's school and any booked travel. Add the confirmation status to each. If a lunar date changes, review the affected entries together before assuming the rest of the plan still works.

Where to check the final announcements

Start with the official government holiday list for the standing rule. For actual time away from work, check MOHRE, FAHR or your local government authority, then your employer's circular. WAM carries official announcements and is useful when an authority's page is difficult to access.

For dates still ahead this year, use the separate 2026 holiday archive and remaining dates. Check the year in search results: an old circular with a familiar holiday name can look current while describing a different weekday, moon-sighting outcome or employment sector.

SettleUAE is an independent guide, not a government website, and is not affiliated with any UAE authority. This is general information, not personal legal, financial or immigration advice.