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A Dubai employment visa costs the employer a chain of government fees: AED 50 plus AED 250, AED 1,200 or AED 3,450 to MOHRE for the two-year permit, AED 200 plus VAT for the entry permit, AED 270 for the standard medical, AED 100 a year plus AED 100 for the Emirates ID, and AED 200 plus small fees for residence. By UAE law, the employer pays.
Agencies publish all-in figures. Below, each official line comes first, then the market price.
Stage 1: MOHRE work permit
| Line | Category 1 | Category 2 | Category 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application | AED 50 | AED 50 | AED 50 |
| Two-year permit | AED 250 | AED 1,200 | AED 3,450 |
Source: MOHRE "Recruiting a worker from overseas", checked . Tax and collection charges are extra.
This is the line that moves the most. A Category 3 company pays almost fourteen times what a Category 1 company pays for the same permit. If you are an employer comparing quotes, ask first which category your file sits in. The UAE work permit page explains how MOHRE assigns it.
Stage 2: GDRFA employment entry permit
| Line | Worker abroad | Worker inside the UAE |
|---|---|---|
| Entry permit | AED 200 plus 5% VAT | AED 200 plus 5% VAT |
| Knowledge Dirham | none | AED 10 |
| Innovation Dirham | none | AED 10 |
| Fee inside the country | none | AED 500 |
Source: GDRFA "Visa issuance for foreigners linked with job contract", checked . GDRFA notes the total can vary with the person's case.
You may see older figures online for this permit. They come from a previous version of the GDRFA page. Use the live page.
Stage 3: medical fitness test
| Dubai package | Result in | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 24 hours | AED 270 |
| VIP | 6 hours | AED 700 |
| Smart Salem | 30 minutes | AED 700 |
| VIP | 2 hours | AED 1,020 |
Source: Dubai Administrative Resolution No. 66 on medical fitness charges, checked . The standard price is AED 250 plus the Knowledge and Innovation Dirham. See the residence visa medical test.
Stage 4: Emirates ID
ICP charges AED 100 for each year of residence plus a AED 100 smart service fee, so a two-year card works out at AED 300. Urgent issue at an ICP centre adds AED 150. Source: ICP Emirates ID service page, checked . More on the Emirates ID for residents.
Stage 5: residence permit
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Residence permit, private sector | AED 200 |
| Knowledge Dirham | AED 10 |
| Innovation Dirham | AED 10 |
| Delivery | AED 20 |
| Inside the country, where it applies | AED 500 |
| Each year beyond two | AED 100 |
Source: GDRFA private sector residence page, checked .
Other emirates: the ICP scale
Outside Dubai, the MOHRE fees stay the same but ICP issues the visa. The entry visa is AED 100 application, AED 100 issuance and AED 100 smart services. The residence is AED 100 application, AED 100 per year and AED 100 smart services, plus an AED 20 deposit fee, and AED 500 for status adjustment inside the UAE. ICP also lists UAE health insurance. Source: ICP service pages, checked . See work visa Abu Dhabi.
Costs that sit outside the government lines
- Health insurance: required by ICP; priced by insurers, not the government.
- Typing or business centre fees: MOHRE caps a business centre's commission at AED 72 per service. Amer and typing charges for GDRFA steps vary.
- Ta'qeem: AED 406 for the MOHRE establishment card. This is per company, not per worker.
- Degree attestation: for skilled jobs, done in the country that issued the degree and then at MOFA in the UAE.
Who pays, by law
The UAE government's labour rights page says the costs of recruitment and travel, and of the residency permit, shall be borne by the employer. It also says charging recruitment fees to job seekers is illegal. Media quoting Article 6 of Federal Decree-Law 33 of say the employer may not recover these costs from the worker directly or indirectly. We could not read the law text itself, so check the u.ae page if your employer disagrees.
That covers the permit, the entry permit, the medical for the visa and the residence. A worker who is asked to pay any of these, or to sign a salary deduction for them, can raise it with MOHRE.
Renewal costs
Renewal repeats the permit fee for the company's category, the medical, the Emirates ID and the residence lines, without the entry permit. Our visa renewal cost page lists them.
What Dubai agencies charge
Dubai setup and PRO firms publish about AED 3,500 to AED 8,000 per employee for a two-year mainland employment visa, all in for the employer (4 firms, checked ). The PRO or service part alone runs from about AED 500 to AED 6,000 (2 firms). The spread follows the company category, insurance and the in-country fee. These are other firms' prices.
Papers that affect the price
- The company's MOHRE category
- Worker's passport, to see if they are inside the UAE
- The job title and salary, which set the skill level
- Attested degree, if the job is skilled
- Insurance quote
How fast the money turns into a visa
MOHRE lists 2 working days for the permit, GDRFA 48 hours each for the entry permit and residence. A slow medical package or a missing attestation adds days, never a lower fee. See work visa processing time.
Mistakes that raise the bill
- Changing status inside the UAE when an exit and entry would save AED 520.
- Picking the 2-hour medical when the 24-hour result is fast enough.
- Letting the entry permit's 60 days run out, which starts overstay fines of AED 50 a day.
- Filing a skilled title without an attested degree, then filing again.
How it works with us
Send each worker's passport copy and the company's trade licence on WhatsApp or through the form on this page. A visa adviser checks the MOHRE category, where each worker is and which fee lines apply, then quotes one total price per employee before you pay. The team pays the government fees from that total, files each stage, books the medical and biometrics and tracks the file to the residence. DubaiVisaDesk.com is a private visa service. MOHRE and GDRFA, or ICP outside Dubai, approve or refuse.
A refused permit or visa does not bring back the government fees. Before you pay, your adviser confirms in writing what part of our total, if any, is returned in that case.
Official sources
- MOHRE recruiting from overseas: permit fees, AED 72 cap.
- GDRFA employment entry permit: entry permit fees.
- GDRFA private sector residence: residence fees.
- ICP Emirates ID: card fees.
- ICP residency issuance: ICP residence scale.
- Dubai medical fitness charges: medical prices.
- u.ae labour rights: who pays.
Checked . Fees change, so confirm on the MOHRE and GDRFA pages before you pay.
