Dubai work visa requirements

Last updated 24 October 2026

The requirements for a Dubai work visa come in two sets. You give a passport valid for at least six months, a photo with a white background, the MOHRE job offer you signed and, for skilled jobs, an attested degree or diploma. Your employer needs a valid licence, a MOHRE establishment card and a free quota. Later you pass the medical test and give Emirates ID biometrics.

Here is what each stage asks for, and who brings it.

Worker documents, stage by stage

Source: MOHRE recruiting page (checked 23 October 2026), GDRFA entry permit and private sector residence pages, checked October 2026.

Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran nationals also give a copy of their national ID card at the permit stage.

Skill levels and which certificate you need

MOHRE asks for a qualification that matches the job's skill level:

Source: MOHRE recruiting a worker from overseas, checked 23 October 2026.

Under AED 4,000 a month, or without a qualification, MOHRE does not count you as skilled. That matters later. Skilled levels 1 to 3 get a 90-day grace period after cancellation on the ICP list, and the green visa and job seeker visa both ask for level 1, 2 or 3.

Attesting your degree

A foreign certificate is attested in two parts. First in the country that issued it, through that country's own attestation chain. Then at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which lists AED 150 per personal document in its FAQ. Ask MOFA's page whether your certificate falls under that line.

Start this before you resign at home. No UAE page gives a time for the foreign part, and it is often the slowest item in the whole file. The nationality pages listed on our Dubai work visa hub cover the exit rules that may also apply.

Employer requirements

• A valid trade licence with no violation that would suspend it
• A MOHRE establishment card, with the Ta'qeem fee of AED 406 paid
• An available electronic quota on the company file
• A job title that fits the licensed business activity
• The authorised signatory, registered with MOHRE and ICP, to submit the request
• No active work permit for the worker at another company

Source: MOHRE recruiting and establishment card pages, checked 23 October 2026.

Medical test and Emirates ID

Workers 18 and over take the medical fitness test at a Dubai health authority centre. The standard package is AED 270 with a 24-hour result. Smart Salem gives a result in 30 minutes for AED 700. More on the medical test for a residence visa.

The Emirates ID needs your biometrics. ICP charges AED 100 per year of residence plus a AED 100 smart service fee, and lists 5 days for the card.

Health insurance

ICP names UAE health insurance as a condition for the work entry visa and residence in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the northern emirates. The GDRFA private sector residence page we read lists only the passport, photo and medical. Ask your employer what cover comes with the job. Our page on health insurance for a residence visa has the details.

If you are already in the UAE

• Your previous visa or work permit must be cancelled first.
• If you are moving from another company, the transfer must be filed within 90 days of the old permit's cancellation. See changing jobs in the UAE.
• If you are here on a visit visa, the employer changes your status inside the country. GDRFA adds AED 500 plus AED 10 and AED 10.
• If you are on a family visa, the company uses the permit for residents on family sponsorship instead.

Steps to get your papers ready

1. Ask the employer for the job title and MOHRE skill level on the offer.
2. Attest your degree in your home country if the level needs one.
3. Renew your passport if fewer than six months are left.
4. Take a photo on a plain white background.
5. Sign the MOHRE job offer and send the set to the employer.

How long the papers take

MOHRE issues the permit in 2 working days once the file is complete. GDRFA lists 48 hours for the entry permit. The attestation abroad has no official time. See work visa processing time.

Papers that cause rejections

• A degree that does not match the level on the offer, for example a diploma for a level 2 job.
• An unattested or partly attested certificate.
• A passport with under six months left.
• A photo with a coloured or shadowed background.
• A job title the company's licence does not cover.

What Dubai agencies charge

Dubai firms that handle employment visas publish all-in employer costs of about AED 3,500 to AED 8,000 per employee (4 firms, checked October 2026). By law the employer pays, so ask your company before paying anyone yourself.

How it works with us

Send your passport copy, the MOHRE job offer and your certificate on WhatsApp, or upload them through the form on this page. A visa adviser checks them against the skill level and the stage your file is at, and tells you what is missing or needs attesting. You get one total price before you pay. The team then files the permit and visa stages for the employer and follows them up until the residence is issued. DubaiVisaDesk.com is a private visa service. MOHRE and GDRFA, or ICP, make the decision.

If an application is refused, the authorities do not refund government fees. Before you pay, the adviser writes down which part of our total, if any, comes back.

Official sources

• MOHRE recruiting a worker from overseas: documents, skill levels, conditions.
• MOHRE establishment card: company registration, Ta'qeem.
• GDRFA employment entry permit: entry permit documents.
• GDRFA private sector residence: residence documents.
• ICP work entry visa: health insurance condition.
• MOFA FAQs: attestation fee.

Checked 24 October 2026. Document rules change, so confirm with MOHRE before you attest anything.