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A Dubai work visa for an Ethiopian is filed by the UAE employer, never bought from a visit visa agent. The employer gets a MOHRE work permit, a GDRFA entry permit at AED 200 plus 5% VAT, then your medical test and residence, and UAE law makes the employer pay those costs. Skilled jobs need an attested certificate. Household jobs use a separate domestic worker visa.
Two routes for Ethiopian workers
| Company job (skilled or not) | Household job (domestic worker) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sponsors you | A licensed UAE company | The UAE household you work for |
| UAE permit | MOHRE work permit, then GDRFA residence | Domestic worker visa |
| Certificate needed | Depends on skill level | Set by the domestic worker rules |
| Medical in Dubai | Standard fitness test | Standard test plus pregnancy test |
| Our guide | Work visa requirements | Maid visa Dubai |
The rest of this page follows the company job route, then explains what was reported on domestic work.
Your skill level decides the paperwork
MOHRE sorts every job into nine skill levels. The level is set by the job and the certificate you hold.
| MOHRE level | Certificate you show |
|---|---|
| 1 and 2 | Bachelor's degree or higher |
| 3 and 4 | Diploma |
| 5 | High school certificate |
| 6 to 9 | None |
A job paying under AED 4,000 a month, or held without a degree, counts as not skilled. For levels 1 to 5, the certificate must be attested before MOHRE accepts it. Start attestation in Ethiopia early, since it is often the slowest part. Levels 5 to 9 also attend a guidance workshop when the contract is filed.
Government fee lines in Dubai
| What | Fee | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Permit application | AED 50 | MOHRE |
| Two-year work permit, Category 1, 2 or 3 company | AED 250, AED 1,200 or AED 3,450 | MOHRE |
| Entry permit for employment | AED 200 plus 5% VAT | GDRFA |
| Medical test, 24-hour result | AED 270 | DHA |
| Medical test, 6-hour VIP | AED 700 | DHA |
| Pregnancy test, domestic workers only | AED 50 | DHA |
| Residence permit | AED 200, AED 10, AED 10, AED 20 delivery | GDRFA |
| Emirates ID | AED 100 per year plus AED 100 | ICP |
Source: MOHRE, GDRFA, ICP pages and Dubai Health Authority Administrative Resolution 66 of , checked . No official page gives one total.
By law the employer pays recruitment, travel and residence costs. Charging recruitment fees to job seekers is illegal in the UAE.
What Dubai agencies charge
For a company job, Dubai PRO and visa firms publish about AED 3,500 to AED 8,000 per employee, all in, for a two-year mainland visa (published prices of 4 Dubai providers, checked ). This is the employer's cost.
Documents checklist
- Ethiopian passport with more than 6 months left
- Photo with a white background
- Signed MOHRE job offer
- Attested certificate for skill levels 1 to 5
- Professional licence for regulated jobs, such as nursing
- For household jobs: the contract from the licensed recruiter
Steps, Addis Ababa to Dubai residence
- Offer. The company sends the MOHRE job offer. Check the job title against your certificate.
- Permit. MOHRE issues the work permit in about 2 working days.
- Entry. GDRFA issues the entry permit in about 48 hours. You have 60 days after arrival to finish the residence steps.
- Ethiopian exit steps. Complete what Ethiopia asks of workers leaving for a job abroad.
- Arrival. Medical test and Emirates ID biometrics in Dubai.
- Residence. GDRFA issues a two-year residence and MOHRE records the contract.
Domestic work: what was reported
Gulf News reported that the UAE labour ministry stopped issuing permits for Ethiopian domestic workers from , after Ethiopia banned its domestic workers from taking those jobs. Later reports said deployment restarted in after new agreements between the two countries. We could not confirm the restart on a UAE or Ethiopian government page. Treat it as reported, and ask the recruiter to show you the contract and the sponsor's name before you pay for anything.
Ethiopia also regulates overseas jobs under its own proclamation, reported as amended. Its exit steps are set in Ethiopia, not by the UAE.
Processing time
On the UAE side, a complete file moves fast: 2 working days at MOHRE, 48 hours at GDRFA for each of the entry permit and residence, 5 days for the Emirates ID. Delays usually come from attestation, the Ethiopian exit steps and getting a medical slot.
Why Ethiopian work files are refused or delayed
- The certificate is not attested, so the skill level on the permit cannot be approved
- The job title does not fit the company's licensed activity
- The company has no available quota for a new permit
- You travelled on a visit visa to "find the job later" and worked without a permit
- An old overstay fine is unpaid; the fine runs at AED 50 a day, see UAE overstay fine
Practical tips
- Keep scans of your passport, certificates and offer on your phone and with a relative at home.
- Read the salary on the MOHRE offer. That figure, not a verbal promise, goes into the contract.
- If you plan to visit first, use our Dubai visa for Ethiopians page. A visit visa does not let you work.
How it works with us
Message us on WhatsApp, or use the form on this page, with your passport page and the job offer or the recruiter's details. A visa adviser checks which permit the job needs and whether your certificates support the skill level. For employers who want the filing done, the team prepares the MOHRE permit, the GDRFA entry permit and the residence steps, and follows each one to the end. The payer, by law the employer, gets one total price before any payment. DubaiVisaDesk.com is a private visa service. MOHRE and GDRFA decide.
If a permit is refused, government fees stay with the authorities. Before payment, your adviser confirms in writing which part of the total, if any, is returned in that case.
Official sources
- MOHRE recruiting a worker from overseas: documents, skill levels, permit fees
- Dubai medical fitness charges: test prices, pregnancy test line
- GDRFA employment entry permit: fee and timing
- u.ae labour rights: employer pays, passport rule
More on permit types: work permit types in the UAE.
