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Yes, Ugandans can get UAE employment visas again. New visas were suspended from over Ebola, and Khaleej Times reported on that the measure was lifted for Uganda. Your UAE employer files the work permit and entry permit and pays for them. In Dubai the entry permit is AED 200 plus 5% VAT.
What the suspension changed for job offers
| Period | What happened | Source type |
|---|---|---|
| From | New visas suspended for Uganda, DR Congo and South Sudan | Gulf News, citing NCEMA and ICP |
| Uganda removed from the measures; DR Congo and South Sudan still restricted | Khaleej Times, citing NCEMA |
Neither step appeared on a GDRFA, ICP or MOHRE service page, so treat both as reported by major UAE media. If an employer stopped your file in the summer, it now has to be filed again or picked up where it stopped. Ask the employer one direct question: was a work permit or an entry permit issued for you, and on what date? That tells you whether you need a fresh application.
Wider "ban" stories from still circulate. Uganda's foreign affairs minister said then there was no total ban, only restrictions, and the UAE ambassador to Uganda called the reports false. Our Dubai visa for Ugandans page covers those reports and the visit visa side.
Recruitment from Uganda: what we could and could not confirm
We could not read Uganda's own rules for agencies sending workers abroad on an official page, so this page states none of them as fact. Before you pay a recruiter in Kampala, ask Uganda's labour authorities whether the agency is licensed for jobs abroad.
On the UAE side the rules are clear and published:
- Charging recruitment fees to job seekers is illegal in the UAE.
- The employer pays recruitment, travel and the residence permit.
- Employers may not confiscate a worker's passport.
Source: u.ae labour rights, checked .
Fee lines in Dubai, from outside or inside the UAE
Many Ugandans are offered a job while already in Dubai on a visit visa. The entry permit then costs more, because GDRFA adds an inside-the-country fee.
| Fee line | Worker in Uganda | Worker already in the UAE |
|---|---|---|
| MOHRE application | AED 50 | AED 50 |
| MOHRE two-year permit | AED 250 to AED 3,450 by company category | Same |
| GDRFA employment entry permit | AED 200 plus 5% VAT | AED 200 plus 5% VAT, plus AED 500, AED 10 and AED 10 |
| Medical test, 24 hours (Dubai) | AED 270 | AED 270 |
| Emirates ID | AED 100 a year plus AED 100 | Same |
| Residence permit | AED 200, AED 10, AED 10, AED 20 delivery | Same |
Source: MOHRE, GDRFA, DHA and ICP service pages, checked . These are lines, not a total. Insurance and typing are extra.
What Dubai agencies charge
Dubai PRO and visa firms list about AED 3,500 to AED 8,000 per employee for a two-year mainland employment visa (published prices of 4 Dubai providers, checked ). The employer pays that bill.
Documents the employer will ask you for
- Ugandan passport valid for 6 months or more
- Passport photo on a white background
- The MOHRE job offer, signed by both of you
- Attested certificate if the job is skilled (a degree for levels 1 and 2, a diploma for 3 and 4, high school for 5)
- Your current UAE visit visa page, if you are already in the country
Steps for a Ugandan worker
- You and the employer sign the MOHRE job offer.
- MOHRE issues the work permit in about 2 working days, if the company has a free quota.
- GDRFA issues the entry permit in about 48 hours. Abroad, you fly in on it. Inside the UAE, it replaces your visit status without an exit.
- You do the medical test and Emirates ID biometrics.
- GDRFA issues the two-year residence. The employment contract follows at MOHRE.
Already here on a visit visa? Read changing visa status in the UAE before your visit visa runs out.
Processing time
The listed times are 2 working days at MOHRE, 48 hours at GDRFA for the entry permit, 24 hours for the standard medical result, 48 hours for the residence and 5 days for the Emirates ID card. Files paused in June may need checking first, so leave margin before booking a non-refundable ticket from Entebbe.
Probation and changing jobs
Probation can last up to six months and cannot be extended. To leave during probation and exit the UAE, you give at least 14 days of written notice. To move to another UAE employer during probation, you give at least one month, and the new employer compensates the old one for recruitment costs unless agreed otherwise. Our changing jobs in the UAE page goes further.
Why Ugandan files get stuck
- The employer filed in the suspension period and the file was never reopened
- The job title on the permit does not fit the company's licensed activity
- Your visit visa expired while you waited, which starts the AED 50 a day overstay fine
- A past absconding report in your name; read absconding cases first
- No attestation on a degree that the skilled job needs
Uganda's missions in the UAE
The Embassy of the Republic of Uganda is in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of the Republic of Uganda is in Dubai. They handle passport matters for Ugandans in the UAE and post their own notices.
How it works with us
Send your passport page, your current visa and the job offer through WhatsApp or the form here. A visa adviser checks whether anything was issued for you before the pause, then sets out which permit and entry permit are needed now. When the employer asks us to file, the team prepares each step with MOHRE and GDRFA and keeps them updated until the residence is stamped. Whoever pays, normally the employer, sees one total price first. We are a private visa service, not a UAE authority. The authorities make every decision.
If a permit is refused, MOHRE and GDRFA keep their fees. You get it in writing, before you pay, which part of our total comes back in that case, if any.
Official sources
- u.ae labour rights: who pays, fee ban, passports
- u.ae employment contracts: probation and notice
- GDRFA employment entry permit: fee and inside-country lines
- MOHRE recruiting from overseas: permit fees and quota
- Embassy of Uganda, Abu Dhabi: missions
Also see the UAE work permit guide and the page for Kenyan workers.
