Work permits and visa types for workers in the UAE

To work on the UAE mainland, a person needs a work permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). Most people hired from abroad also need a residence visa, which the employer sponsors. Some people already have their own residence, and then the employer only needs the right work permit.

Work permit or residence visa?

They are two different things, issued by two different authorities.

• The work permit comes from MOHRE. No one may be recruited or employed on the mainland without one (Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021, Article 6). The job must fit the company’s licensed activities.
• The residence visa comes from ICP, or from GDRFA in Dubai. For an employee, ICP needs the MOHRE work permit first.

So a Golden Visa holder already has a residence, but still needs a work permit from each employer. And a spouse living on their partner’s family visa can take a job without changing their visa, with the right permit.

The 13 MOHRE work permits

Cabinet Resolution 1 of 2022 set out 12 types, and a private teacher permit was added in December 2023. u.ae now lists these 13:

The permit from abroad and the one mission permit need a free place in the company’s MOHRE quota. The family-sponsored, temporary and part-time permits don’t. Since February 2026, MOHRE issues quotas at once instead of within up to 10 days.

Residence routes for workers

Green and Golden Visa holders sponsor themselves, so their residence doesn’t depend on the job. The employer still applies for a work permit: for Golden Visa holders, MOHRE has a permit just for them. GDRFA says a skilled professional’s Golden Visa is cancelled if the salary falls below AED 30,000 or the contract ends, so keep that in mind when you change a package.

Not ways to employ someone in the UAE

• The remote work visa is for people employed by a company outside the UAE who want to live here. It needs proof of that foreign job and an income of at least USD 3,500 a month. A UAE employer, including an Employer of Record, can’t use it to employ someone.
• The job seeker visit visa (60, 90 or 120 days) lets skilled people and graduates of the world’s top 500 universities look for work. To start the job, the employer still needs a work permit and a work residence.
• Visit visas of any other kind don’t allow work.

Domestic workers

Domestic workers fall under Federal Decree-Law 9 of 2022, not the Labour Law. MOHRE issues their permits and contracts, and licensed domestic worker offices do the recruiting. We don’t recruit or supply domestic workers. If you’ve already found someone, we can handle the paperwork for you as the sponsor.

Which route fits your hire?

1. Coming from abroad: a permit for recruiting from abroad, then the entry permit, medical test, Emirates ID and a two-year employment residence. This is the standard route, and the one our visa cost calculator prices.
2. Already in the UAE with another employer: a transfer permit and a new residence. The old permit has to be cancelled first.
3. Living here on a spouse’s or parent’s visa: a work permit for a resident on family sponsorship. No new visa, and no quota.
4. Holding a Golden or Green Visa: a work permit only. Their residence stays as it is.
5. Emirati or GCC national: a work permit, no visa. For Emiratis, the salary must be at least AED 6,000 a month on new, renewed and amended permits.
6. A short project: a one mission permit, for up to three months, renewable once.

Working for yourself instead? A freelance permit or a free zone freelancer licence, often with the Green Visa, is the route. Our freelancers page covers both, and when it makes more sense for a client to employ you through us.

Through an Employer of Record

With an Employer of Record, the provider is the employer. MOHRE says the worker’s employment relationship is with the licensed agency, and the agency is first responsible for the employer’s duties. For a hire from abroad or a transfer, we hold the work permit and sponsor the two-year residence. For someone who already has their own residence, we confirm the right permit with MOHRE before the offer goes out. Official pages don’t yet spell out every route for agencies, so we check each case.

Government fees for the main permits

Business service centres can add up to AED 72 per transaction; the MOHRE app and website charge only the federal fees. The full cost of an employment visa, step by step, is in our guide to the employment visa.

Where official pages disagree, for example on the grace period after a residence visa ends, we check with the authority for each case rather than guess.