The United Arab Emirates remains one of the most attractive destinations for international professionals, offering world-class infrastructure, tax-free salaries, and strong career opportunities. This makes for a strong and varied talent pool for employers. However, finding the candidate is often the easiest part; Onboarding can be a long and costly process if you do not have a clear understanding of the requirements.

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We draw on our own experience of hiring in the UAE and outline the process, requirements and approx. costs to give you the tools to make sure you are ‘recruiting ready’ in good time.
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LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
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It is important to know your legal obligations as an employer, prior to launching your recruitment drive as they may influence your decision to hire and how to hirecandidates. As an employer you are legally obliged to:
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- Pay for the employee visa and EID which includes a medical test and biometrics capture
- Provide medical insurance to all employees
- Accrue an end of service gratuity each month from payroll
- Pay to cancel the work visa or employment card if the person leaves or is dismissed
- Pay for a return flight to the employee’s home country if the visa is cancelled
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THE VISA QUOTA
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Every company has a set visa quota depending on where the company was incorporated – Free Zone or Mainland - and the visa quota is tied to the size of the business. Increasing that quota in a free zone can be costly and require the business to purchase additional office space. For mainland companies’ approval is granted on a case-by-case basis by MOHRE (Ministry of Human Resources) and this can take some time. Cost to increase visa quota in a free zone AED 15,000-30,000 and this is variable in the mainland depending on each specific situation.

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THE VISA PROCESS
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The employment visa application process involves working with several government agencies, as well as either the Free Zone or the MOHRE depending on where the company is incorporated.
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The smallest mistake or omission will result in rejection of the application and possibly additional costs to re-submit. The employment contract has to be registered with either the Free Zone or MOHRE before a visa can be issued and if everything is in order, the process, including the medical testing and biometrics capture will take between 10-20 days. The cost of a standard UAE employment visa for a two-year duration typically ranges from AED 3,000 to AED 7,000, plus AED 700 for medical and biometrics, although the total amount can vary significantly based on factors such as the employee’s job category, qualifications, urgency, the type of company (mainland vs. free zone), and the emirate. All fees are legally required to be paid by the employer.

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MEDICAL INSURANCE & GRATUITY
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Employers are legally obliged to provide medical insurance to all employees. The cost of insurance varies greatly depending on the tier of cover and the type and scope of cover provided, as well as the insurer. Insurance can start from as low as AED 800 per month and increase to as much as AED4,000 or more, depending on the plan and cover.
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Gratuity is a payment accrued each month by employers to pay to an employee when they leave. Think of it as a pension accrual. Each month 10% of the basic salary is set aside and, if the employee leaves after 12 months of continued employment the accrued amount is paid to them. If they leave before 12 months, no payment is made. The % to accrue is approx. 6% of basic salary per month, for the first five years, but there are online calculators to help you calculate the right amount each month.
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OUR TIP
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Consider using an Employer of Record (EoR) when you are starting out in UAE. The EoR is expert in this field and is a great solution for small companies who need to recruit but want to avoid the high costs and administration associated with hiring. As we illustrated before, the process to recruit is quite involved and can be time consuming as well as expensive and this is sometimes just not affordable for a small, new to region company.
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For a monthly or fixed fee, the EoR will essentially take care of everything from the contract to the visa, patrol and medical insurance, leaving you free to manage the day-to-day relationship with the candidate. It can be a very cost-effective way to grow your team.

And finally……
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CERTIFICATE ATTESTATION
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Attestation of education certificates was not something we had come across before. However, we soon realised that many executive and professional roles need to provide an attested degree certificate to get an employment visa or employment card.
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The attestation verifies that the qualification is legitimate, and that a person is qualified for the position that they are being hired for. The document also needs to be translated into Arabic which costs approx. AED 200 per page.
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The cost for attestation can be as much as AED 2,000 and processing time varies 7 business days to 30+ business days, subject to the country where the qualification was gained. This can lead to lengthy delays in hiring and potentially lost business if you cannot put people on the ground because they don’t have a visa.

OUR TIP

If a candidate is not yet in region, encourage them to have their educational certificates attested before travelling to UAE as it is much faster and cheaper than doing so from UAE. The total cost in the UK, as an illustration, will be between £150-£250 and involves, versus AED 2,200 from inside UAE. The process is very simple and involves;
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1. A lawyer or notary public making a certified copy of the certificate(s) and adding their stamp
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2. An Apostille from the foreign office. This can be done online in many countries, but will vary from country to country
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3. UAE Embassy will verify the apostille and add their own approval seal
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4. Finally, the MOFA must attest the document. This can be done in country when the applicant arrives either online (www.mofaic.gov.ae), sending the documents by courier or by visiting a Customer Happiness centre.

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