Licensed and regulated roles
Some jobs need a professional licence on top of a work permit, and for some of them the licence is linked to a licensed hospital, school or firm. Then an Employer of Record is the wrong tool. We check with the authority before the offer goes out, and we put the answer in writing.
Sector by sector
A starting point, not legal advice. Rules move, and the details depend on the exact job title and the emirate, so we confirm each one with the authority.
| Sector | Authority to check | What is needed | Through an EOR? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare, clinical | DHA (Dubai), DOH (Abu Dhabi), MOHAP / EHS | A professional licence from the health regulator, linked to a licensed health facility. | Not through EOR We don’t place clinical staff. The facility should employ them. |
| Healthcare, non-clinical | MOHRE (work permit) | Health-tech, medical sales, clinic operations, research roles. | Through us Common EOR hires. |
| Teaching in schools | KHDA (Dubai), ADEK (Abu Dhabi), MOE | Approval from the education regulator, which we confirm for the school and the role. | Not through EOR We don’t place classroom teachers. The school employs them. |
| Training and edtech | Depends on the activity | Corporate trainers, curriculum designers, edtech staff. | Through us Fine through us. |
| Finance in DIFC or ADGM | DFSA, FSRA | Regulated functions need the regulator’s approval. | Not through EOR We don’t place regulated functions there. The licensed firm employs. |
| Finance on the mainland | MOHRE; CBUAE or SCA for some functions | Analysts, accountants, finance operations at non-regulated firms. | Case by case Usually fine. We check the client’s licence first. |
| Engineering | Local municipalities | An attested engineering degree, and any registration the municipality asks for. | Through us Yes, with attestation done early. |
| Energy and offshore | Operator approvals, offshore safety certificates | Site access, vendor approval and safety training required by the operator. | Case by case Common, if the operator accepts EOR staff. |
| Security | SIRA (Dubai) and local police | Security work needs a licence, which we check with the authority. | Not through EOR We don’t place guards. Use a licensed security company. |
| Real estate brokers | RERA, Dubai Land Department (in Dubai) | A broker card linked to a registered brokerage, in Dubai. | Not through EOR We don’t place brokers. The brokerage employs them. |
| Drivers | RTA (Dubai) and the Abu Dhabi transport authority | A UAE driving licence; some roles need a professional permit. | Through us Yes, licence conversion or test included in the plan. |
| Food, beauty, spa | Municipality, EHS | A separate medical test category for some roles, and any health card the municipality asks for. | Case by case Possible; depends on the workplace licence. |
How we check a role
- 1
The exact job
Title, duties and where the work happens. The MOHRE skill level follows from this.
- 2
The authority
Which regulator, if any, licenses the activity or the person, in that emirate.
- 3
Who holds the licence
The person, the employer or the client’s facility. This decides whether EOR works.
- 4
Written answer
Yes, no, or yes with conditions, with the documents and timeline, before you make an offer.
Not sure about a role?
Send us the job title, the emirate and a line on the duties. We tell you within a working day whether it can run through us, and if not, what will work.