Can you face extradition from Dubai?

Yes, extradition from Dubai is a real possibility and occurs frequently. The United Arab Emirates handle extradition matters according to Federal Law No. 39 of 2006 and various international agreements. The UAE has established numerous extradition treaties and also cooperates based on the principle of reciprocity. If an arrest warrant exists and the necessary conditions are met—such as dual criminality, absence of political motivation, and sufficient evidence—an individual can be detained and handed over to another country.

Beyond the existence of a valid arrest warrant, UAE law requires that the conduct in question constitutes a criminal offence under both the requesting country’s law and UAE law, applying the same substance-over-form approach used in most extradition systems: the underlying act must be punishable in both jurisdictions, regardless of how each country labels the offence. The requesting state must also demonstrate that sufficient evidence supports the case, and the UAE courts retain the authority to examine whether the request is genuinely criminal in nature rather than a vehicle for pursuing someone over a political, religious, or commercial dispute dressed up as a criminal matter.

Once a request is received through diplomatic or Interpol channels, it is referred to the Public Prosecution, which examines the documentation and refers the matter to the competent court, typically the Court of Appeal, for a formal ruling on whether the legal conditions for surrender are met. The final administrative decision on whether to proceed with the handover rests with the Minister of Justice, who retains discretion even after a favourable judicial ruling, mirroring the layered structure found in most extradition systems where judicial approval and political sign-off operate as separate stages.

Where no bilateral extradition treaty exists between the UAE and the requesting country, extradition can still proceed on the basis of reciprocity, meaning the UAE agrees to cooperate on the understanding that the other state would do the same in a comparable case. This route gives UAE authorities considerably more discretion than a treaty-based request would, since there is no fixed set of binding obligations governing the exchange, and outcomes can depend more heavily on diplomatic relations between the two governments.

UAE courts can decline a request where the offence is classified as political in nature, where the person has already been tried for the same conduct, where the statute of limitations under UAE law has expired, or where there are substantial grounds to believe the request is intended to prosecute someone based on their race, religion, nationality, or political opinions. UAE nationals also benefit from additional protection under domestic law, which generally restricts their surrender to other jurisdictions, often resulting in the case being pursued domestically instead when refusal is based on nationality.

Because the window between provisional arrest and the Public Prosecution’s referral to court is often narrow, securing legal representation as early as possible allows a lawyer to examine whether the dual criminality and evidentiary requirements are genuinely met, and to raise any applicable grounds for refusal before the matter progresses further through the courts.