Last updated
To work in Dubai, a Filipino needs a job offer from a UAE employer, a MOHRE work permit and a GDRFA employment visa, all filed and paid for by that employer. Before you fly, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) must issue your Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC), valid 60 days for one exit. The hiring itself must go through a channel DMW recognises.
The UAE treats a Filipino worker like any other foreign employee. The Philippine rules are the ones that catch people out, at the NAIA departure counter or months later when a contract dispute starts. For holidays and family visits, see the Dubai visa for Filipinos page.
The three hiring channels DMW recognises
The Migrant Workers Office in Dubai (MWO Dubai) lists the ways a UAE employer can hire a Filipino:
- Through a Philippine Recruitment Agency (PRA) that is licensed and accredited by DMW, working in partnership with the UAE company.
- Through an accredited Tadbeer service centre, together with a DMW-licensed PRA, for domestic workers such as housemaids and nannies.
- Direct hire, only within the exemptions in the DMW rules and regulations.
Direct hire is the one people underestimate. MWO Dubai wants every document in two sets, refuses incomplete files, and now also asks the employer for a contingency and evacuation plan. Only a company employee with proof of employment, a PRA liaison officer, or someone holding the employer's special power of attorney may hand the papers in. Employer accreditation runs through MWO Dubai too, and it published an advisory on accreditation applications in .
A job that comes through none of these channels may still give you a valid UAE visa. It will not give you an OEC.
The OEC: your exit pass from the Philippines
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) says Filipinos travelling to work abroad are required to secure an OEC from DMW. Three points matter:
- It is valid for 60 days from issue.
- It works for one exit only. The DMW app also carries the OFW Pass, so ask DMW which one your departure needs.
- BI checks it at the counter. It has publicly reported stopping a traveller who carried a fake pre-departure certificate.
Leaving as a tourist when the real plan is a job is the classic way to skip all this. It also leaves you outside the protections that come with a verified contract.
The reported new-hire ban
The Filipino Times reported on that DMW would stop deploying newly hired workers to the UAE after an alert level change. Gulf News reported on that the UAE had not been placed under any alert level. When we read the MWO Dubai advisory page on , the latest entries (up to ) covered card payments for contract verification, holiday closures and a MOHRE warning about fake job offers. None mentioned a ban. We could not confirm the DMW side. Treat the ban as unconfirmed and check DMW and MWO Dubai the week you sign.
UAE fees your employer covers
| Stage | Government fee | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| MOHRE work permit, two years | AED 50 application, then AED 250, AED 1,200 or AED 3,450 by company category | Employer |
| GDRFA entry permit linked to the job contract | AED 200 plus 5% VAT | Employer |
| Medical fitness in Dubai, standard 24 hours | AED 270 | Employer |
| Emirates ID card | AED 100 per year plus AED 100 smart service | Employer |
| Residence permit stamped to the employer | AED 200 plus AED 10, AED 10 and AED 20 delivery | Employer |
| Status change, if hired while inside the UAE | AED 500 plus AED 10 and AED 10 | Employer |
Source: MOHRE recruiting service page (checked ), GDRFA entry and residence permit pages, ICP Emirates ID page and DHA medical fee resolution, checked . These are separate lines. No official page adds them up.
u.ae states that recruitment, travel and residence permit costs "shall be borne by the employer". A deduction from your first salary for the visa is not a fee you owe.
What Dubai agencies charge: business setup and PRO firms in Dubai publish about AED 3,500 to AED 8,000 per employee for a two-year mainland employment visa, all in (4 providers, checked ). That is a cost to the company, not to you.
Philippine documents the UAE will accept
The Philippines joined the Apostille Convention in . The UAE has not, so a DFA apostille on its own is not enough. A Filipino diploma or transcript for a skilled UAE permit also needs the UAE Embassy in Manila step and then MOFA in the UAE, which lists AED 150 per personal or educational document. Ask the UAE Embassy in Manila how it takes documents before you send originals.
MOHRE only asks for an attested degree for skilled levels. Nurses, engineers and teachers usually fall there. Many service jobs at levels 6 to 9 need no degree at all.
Documents checklist
- Philippine passport valid at least 6 months
- Photo on a white background
- MOHRE job offer signed by you and the employer
- Attested diploma, for skilled positions
- Professional licence for regulated jobs such as nursing
- Proof of the hiring channel: PRA papers, Tadbeer contract or direct hire approval
- OEC, issued within the last 60 days, before you fly
Steps and timing
- You sign the MOHRE job offer. It goes into the permit file.
- The employer applies for the work permit. MOHRE states 2 working days.
- The Philippine side runs in parallel: contract verification, accreditation where needed, then the OEC.
- GDRFA issues the employment entry permit, stated at 48 hours.
- You fly in and have 60 days to complete the medical, the Emirates ID and the residence, then sign the MOHRE contract.
The Philippine steps usually take longer than the UAE ones. The work visa process in the UAE page covers the Dubai side in detail.
Where Filipino work files go wrong
- Direct hire outside the DMW exemptions, so no OEC.
- A tourist visa used to start work, then trouble leaving or returning to Manila.
- A job title on the UAE permit that differs from the verified contract.
- An OEC older than 60 days on the travel date.
- A domestic worker hired outside Tadbeer. See the maid visa page for that route.
How it works with us
Message us on WhatsApp, or use the form on this page, with the offer letter, your passport page and the name of the hiring company. A visa adviser checks the UAE side: the permit, the entry permit, and the status change if you are already here. Where the employer has no PRO, our team can file and follow up those steps for them. We point you to DMW and MWO Dubai for the Philippine papers, which you or your agency handle. Before anyone pays, you get one total price, confirmed on WhatsApp. We are a private visa service in Dubai. MOHRE and GDRFA approve or refuse, and DMW decides the OEC.
A refusal does not bring back the government fees. Before payment, the adviser puts in writing which part of the total, if any, is returned if the permit or visa is refused.
Official sources
- MWO Dubai direct hire information: hiring channels, two sets, contingency plan.
- MWO Dubai advisories: checked for any deployment ban.
- MWO Dubai on the OEC: validity and single use.
- Bureau of Immigration on fake pre-departure papers: OEC from DMW required.
- MOHRE recruiting from overseas: permit documents and fees.
- GDRFA employment entry permit: fee and 60-day window.
- u.ae labour rights: employer pays, fee ban.
The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai and the Northern Emirates help Filipinos already in the UAE.
