Employer of Record in the UAE
Hire in the UAE without setting up a company. You find the person. We employ them, get their visa and their family’s, pay them through WPS and look after them on the ground. You run the work.
- Contract
- MOHRE, Arabic and English
- Visa
- 2 years, renewable
- Payroll
- WPS, by the 1st
- Start
- 8 to 23 working days
- Our fee
- AED 2,000/mo
- Government fees
- At cost
In 30 seconds
How Employer of Record works
You choose the person and run the work. We employ them in the UAE: the contract, the visa, insurance and payroll.
Read the transcript
Hiring in the UAE?
You don't need a company here.
On paper, we are the employer.
In practice, they work for you.
You choose the person.
We register the contract with the labour ministry
and handle the visa, insurance and payroll.
You run the work.
We handle the rest.
Tell us who you want to hire.
Who does what
On paper, we are the employer. In practice, the person works for you and reports to you.
You
- Choose the person and agree the salary
- Set the work, the hours and the goals
- Approve leave, expenses and pay changes in the platform
- Pay one monthly invoice
Us
- Employment contract registered with MOHRE
- Work permit, residence visa, medical test and Emirates ID
- Health insurance in place before the residence visa, as every emirate requires
- Payroll through WPS by the 1st of each month, with payslips
- Gratuity set aside monthly, leave tracked, ILOE checked
- Arrival, housing, bank account and family visas on the ground
- Notice, final settlement and visa cancellation when it ends
You see everything we do
Each hire’s visa, arrival, payslips and renewals, in the client platform. Approve leave, expenses and payroll there, and see who each step is waiting on.
Read the transcript
Everything about your people in the UAE, in one place.
Home shows what's waiting on you, and what we're doing on the ground.
Adding a hire takes a few fields.
We check the visa route before anything is filed.
Then you follow each step: the offer, the work permit, the Emirates ID and the visa.
Each month, you approve the payroll before the deadline.
Salaries go out through WPS.
Contracts, permits and letters live here.
We renew them before they expire.
Your people get their own app, for payslips, leave and their visa.
Open the demo and have a look around.
EOR or your own company?
We would rather tell you now than lose you later. Our rule of thumb: past roughly 15 to 20 people, a year of our fees usually costs more than running your own company, and selling to UAE customers can tip it sooner. We show you the sums and move people across when that day comes.
| Compare | Through us (EOR) | Mainland company | Free zone company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to first hire | About 2 to 5 weeks | Usually a few months, licence and visas included | Weeks to a few months |
| Upfront | Visa and permit fees, a refundable deposit | Trade licence, office lease, establishment card, PRO | Licence, flexi-desk or office, visa quota |
| Office | Not needed | A registered lease, needed to renew the licence | Flexi-desk or office in the zone |
| Admin | Ours | Yours: PRO, payroll, renewals, audits | Yours, with the zone authority |
| Best for | Testing the market, small teams, people working for a company abroad | A long-term team, local customers, contracts signed in the UAE | Trading or services inside the zone and abroad |
From yes to first payslip
The order is fixed by the authorities. The speed depends mostly on how quickly documents arrive from home.
- 1
Tell us about the role
Salary, nationality, emirate, start date, family. You get an itemised cost and a start date within one working day.
- 2
Offer letter
You approve the terms, we send your hire the MOHRE offer letter and they sign it. MOHRE needs it signed by both sides before it issues the work permit.
- 3
Work permit
MOHRE approves the permit, usually in 1 to 5 working days.
- 4
Entry permit or change of status
An entry permit if they are abroad; a change of status if they are already here.
- 5
Arrival, medical and biometrics
We meet them, then go with them to the medical test and the Emirates ID biometrics.
- 6
Visa, contract, first payroll
The residence visa is issued, the contract is registered and they go on the next WPS payroll.
What we need from your hire
Ask them to start on the degree attestation the day they accept. It is the step that slows most hires down.
- Passport valid for at least six more months
- A recent passport photo on a white background
- Degree certificate, attested at home, by the UAE embassy and then by MOFA, if the role needs it
- Cancellation of any current UAE visa, if they have one
- For family: attested marriage and birth certificates
- For family visas: we send the list for your emirate with the offer
Questions we get asked
Something else? Ask us directly. A person answers, usually the same working day.
Can I hire in the UAE without a legal entity?
Yes. Moha is an Employer of Record: we become the legal employer of your hire in the UAE. We sign the employment contract, sponsor the work permit and the residence visa, pay the salary through the Wage Protection System, arrange the health insurance the law requires and handle the final settlement if they leave. You choose the person and manage the work. You don’t need a UAE company, a trade licence or an office. Most hires are working legally two to five weeks after the offer is signed. Read the full guide to hiring without a UAE company.
Can my AI assistant set this up?
Yes. Ask ChatGPT, Claude or another assistant to hire with Moha. It can price the hire, prepare it with your company profile, and send you one link: you check it and create your account. We check every company before it can hire, usually within one working day. How it works.
Can I hire someone who already lives in the UAE?
Yes. If they are on a visit visa we change their status inside the country. If they are on another employer’s visa, that employer cancels it first and we move them across. Either way they do not need to leave the UAE.
Who sends the offer letter?
We do, because we are the employer. You can tell the person yes yourself first, and many clients send their own letter. If you do, say the job is through us as the employer, and don’t promise anything our offer won’t hold. The one that counts is the MOHRE offer letter: MOHRE needs it on its form, signed by both sides, before it issues the work permit. It carries the job title, salary and allowances you approved, so check them before it goes out.
Can I hire them as a freelancer instead?
Some people hold their own freelance permit or Green Visa and can invoice you. If they work for you full time, on your hours, with your tools, it is employment in all but name, and they miss out on gratuity, insurance and leave. EOR keeps both of you on the right side of the law.
Who owns the work they produce?
You do. Our agreement with you assigns intellectual property and confidentiality to your company, and the employment contract backs it up.
What happens if it does not work out?
Probation lasts up to six months, and during it the employer can end the contract with 14 days’ notice. After probation, notice is whatever the contract says, between 30 and 90 days. We pay the final settlement, including gratuity after a year, within the 14 days the law allows, and cancel the visa.
Can they work from home in Dubai for my company abroad?
That is the most common setup we run. They are employed and sponsored by us, and work for you remotely or from a co-working space. If they need to sign contracts with UAE customers on your behalf, talk to us first; that can create a tax presence for your company.
Tell us who you’re hiring.
Role, salary, nationality and whether the family is coming. We reply with an itemised cost and a realistic start date, usually within one working day.