Employment visa Dubai

In short: A Dubai employment visa is a two-year residence that a UAE employer applies for on behalf of a foreign worker; you cannot apply for one yourself. On the mainland, the employer first gets a MOHRE work permit (AED 300, 1,250 or 3,500 including the AED 50 application, depending on whether the company is in category 1, 2 or 3), then a GDRFA entry permit, a medical test, an Emirates ID and the residence. Published government fees come to about AED 1,964 to 5,164 for a hire from abroad, or AED 1,090 more from inside the UAE, before centre charges and health insurance. A clean file usually takes two to four weeks.

How to get an employment visa in Dubai, step by step

The employer is the applicant at every stage. A mainland hire goes through MOHRE for the right to work, then through GDRFA (in Dubai) or ICP (in the other emirates) for the right to enter and live in the UAE. The order is fixed: GDRFA will not issue the entry permit until MOHRE has approved the work permit.

1. Company checks and job offer. The company needs a valid trade licence, an establishment card and available quota on its MOHRE file. The candidate and the employer sign MOHRE's official job offer.
2. MOHRE work permit. The authorised signatory applies on the MOHRE website or app with UAE PASS, or through a Tasheel centre. MOHRE's service card gives two working days, and the permit is valid for two years.
3. Entry permit for work. Once the permit is approved, the employer applies to GDRFA (AED 200 plus 5% VAT, 48 hours on GDRFA's card). A candidate abroad then enters the UAE on it; a candidate already in the UAE changes status instead of leaving. An existing employee who has been outside the UAE for more than six months needs a re-entry permit to come back on the same visa.
4. Medical, Emirates ID and insurance. The employee takes the medical fitness test, gives Emirates ID biometrics, and the employer arranges health insurance, which Dubai requires for every employee.
5. Residence and contract. GDRFA issues the two-year residence (48 hours on its card). There is no passport sticker any more: since 2022 the Emirates ID is the proof of residence. The signed employment contract must reach MOHRE within 60 days of entry.

Documents. MOHRE asks for a colour photo on a white background, a passport copy valid for at least six months and the signed job offer. Academic certificates depend on the skill level: a bachelor's degree for levels 1 and 2, a diploma for levels 3 and 4, a high school certificate for level 5, and none for levels 6 to 9. Regulated jobs such as doctors, nurses and teachers also need a professional licence. Where a degree is required, it must be attested, so start the attestation early.

Where to apply online. The official channels are the MOHRE website and app for the work permit, and the GDRFA website and app (or an Amer centre) for the Dubai entry permit and residence; ICP handles the other emirates. A job seeker cannot buy a Dubai work visa directly. Self-sponsored routes, such as the green visa, work differently.

Checking the status. Track the work permit through the inquiry service on mohre.gov.ae, the MOHRE app or MOHRE's call centre on 600590000. Track the entry permit and residence on the GDRFA website or app in Dubai, or ICP's smart services elsewhere, using the application or file number. Our MOHRE labour card guide shows how to check and download the permit once it is issued.

Employment visa fees in Dubai at a glance

The single biggest variable is one most people have never heard of: the company's MOHRE classification. The same two-year work permit costs a category 1 employer AED 300 and a category 3 employer AED 3,500. The table summarises the published lines for a Dubai mainland hire; every line, with its source and a real centre sheet reconciled against it, is in our UAE employment visa cost breakdown.

Why MOHRE category matters so much

Since 1 June 2022 MOHRE has placed mainland companies in three categories based on compliance, Emiratisation and workforce diversity. The category sets the work permit fee.

• Category 1: AED 250 for the two-year permit. A compliant company with an extra achievement, such as strong Emiratisation or cultural diversity.
• Category 2: AED 1,200. The ordinary compliant company, where most established businesses sit.
• Category 3: AED 3,450. A company with recorded breaches, such as unpaid wages or fake Emiratisation.

The gap between category 1 and category 3 is AED 3,200 per hire, every two years, until the classification is restored. If your per-visa costs have jumped without explanation, check your category before you check your provider.

How long does an employment visa take in Dubai?

The official completion times are short. Most of the two to four weeks goes on appointments, document corrections and, for an overseas hire, the employee's travel.

Mainland versus free zone

A free zone visa is not automatically cheaper per head; the saving is usually in the company set-up. It is also a false economy if the role requires client sites outside the zone. Our free zone vs mainland guide covers the structural differences, and our free zone visa service handles zone files.

What we check before we take the file

Many of the files that come to us have at least one of these outstanding. Finding it on day one takes a file check (AED 100, credited to your fee). Finding it on day fourteen costs a cycle.

Common scenarios

Hiring someone already in the UAE on another visa

A status change avoids an exit and re-entry. On GDRFA's published lines it adds AED 1,090 to the file (AED 520 on the entry permit plus the AED 570 status amendment) and saves a flight and several days. The current visa must be cancelled cleanly first, and cancellation starts a grace period clock, so sequencing matters. Our status change fees guide has the GDRFA and ICP rules.

Can a visit visa be changed to an employment visa in Dubai?

Yes, through the same in-country status change, so the employee does not need to leave. Check the visit visa's remaining validity carefully: if it expires mid-process the applicant starts accruing overstay at AED 50 per day.

Hiring someone with a previous employer still open

MOHRE will not issue a new permit while the candidate holds an active work permit, so the prior one must be cancelled first. If the former employer is unresponsive, or has filed an absconding report, resolve that before you start; the permit will not move otherwise.

Renewing an existing employee

Renewal is a separate process with its own fees and deadlines. It has its own page, with the steps, documents, fees at every speed and grace periods: employment visa renewal in Dubai.

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