Recruitment in the UAE: who may do what

Who regulates private-sector employment

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, known as MOHRE, is the authority the UAE Government portal names as responsible for regulating labour relations in the private sector. The governing statute is Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relationships, in force since 2 February 2022, which replaced Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 and has since been amended, including by Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2023. The portal says it applies to all employees working in the UAE, nationals or expatriates, but not to federal and local government staff, the armed forces, police and security, or domestic workers.^[1]

Detail on how the statute is applied sits in its executive regulations, Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, and in ministerial resolutions. MOHRE publishes a consolidated PDF of the Decree-Law with its amendments and the executive regulations, and that text is the primary source for this guide. Where the government portal only summarises a rule, the text says so. Anyone relying on a specific provision should check the current official text and later amendments, because this page reports what the sources said on 15 October 2026.^[1][2]

Work permits

The Decree-Law states that an employer may not recruit or employ a worker without a work permit from MOHRE, and the government portal adds that it is illegal to work in the UAE without a valid permit. MOHRE issues 13 types of permit to establishments registered with it, depending on the nature of the job, including permits to recruit from outside the UAE, to transfer a worker between establishments, for part-time work, for freelancers, and for UAE and GCC nationals. Several of the main types are valid for two years.^[2][3]

The portal sets conditions for issuing a permit: the worker must be at least 18 except under the juvenile and student permits, the occupation must match the establishment's activity, the trade licence must be valid and free of violations, and an authorised representative must apply. MOHRE may refuse, decline to renew or cancel a permit if the establishment submits incorrect documents, is fictitious, or does not comply with the Wage Protection System. For recruitment from abroad, the establishment must also have an electronic quota available and the candidate must not hold an active permit.^[3][4]

MOHRE's service page for overseas recruitment lists federal fees for a two-year permit of AED 250, AED 1,200 or AED 3,450 by category, plus an application fee of AED 50. The government portal describes the range as AED 250 to AED 3,450 depending on the establishment's classification as A, B or C, with companies that have a history of violations placed in C. The two pages describe the basis differently, so the current fee schedule should be checked before budgeting.^[3][4]

Licensing of recruitment agencies

The Decree-Law states that it is not permissible to carry on the activity of employment or mediation to recruit or employ workers except under a MOHRE licence, on conditions set in the executive regulations. Those regulations distinguish an intermediation agency, which brings employer and worker together to negotiate a contract without becoming a party to it, from a temporary employment or outsourcing agency, which employs a worker in order to place that worker with a third party. A licence can cover both activities together.^[2][5]

Licensing conditions include a bank guarantee held throughout the licence: not less than AED 300,000 for an intermediation agency, and not less than AED 1,000,000 for a temporary employment and outsourcing agency or a combined licence, with insurance allowed as an alternative. The applicant must submit a credit report, and owners or partners must not be employed by the Ministry. The licence is renewed annually, subject to checks that the conditions are still met.^[2][5]

MOHRE may suspend or revoke an agency licence if a licensing condition is no longer met, if submitted documents prove incorrect, if the agency is involved in forced labour or human trafficking, or if workers' wages go unpaid. For a branch of an existing agency, MOHRE lists federal licence fees of AED 25,000 for a mediation agency, AED 50,000 for a temporary employment agency and AED 75,000 for the two combined. The Decree-Law also prohibits an employer from charging a worker the fees and costs of recruitment and employment, directly or indirectly.^[2][5]

Employer responsibilities at hiring

The government portal treats the job offer as the starting document. It sets out the rights and obligations of both parties under the Labour Law and must be provided in Arabic and English, with a third language the worker understands, together with an annex outlining the law. The employer signs it electronically and sends it to the worker abroad directly, through a recruitment agency or through another designated entity. Employers must ensure the worker has read and understood the offer, and the portal says that giving false information to the ministry can bring fines of up to AED 20,000.^[6]

Once the worker arrives, both parties sign the offer, and MOHRE registers it as the binding employment contract. The contract must state the start date, type of work, workplace, terms, duration and salary, and must reach MOHRE within 14 days of arrival, or of the change of status for a worker already in the country. The portal says that after signing, the employer may not alter or replace provisions of the offer unless the worker consents and the change is within the scope of the law. The Decree-Law adds that the contract is made in two copies, one held by each party.^[6][2]

Questions