Luxury.me

Hiring household staff in Dubai and the UAE

As of 18 October 2026

This guide summarises what a private household in Dubai and the other Emirates needs to know when it hires household staff or searches through a recruitment office: which licence the office needs and where it can be verified, what the Domestic Workers Law prescribes, how sponsorship and visa work, which insurance is compulsory and where a dispute leads. Every statement comes from a legal text or an official page and carries its source, all retrieved 18 October 2026. The English versions of the laws are translations; the Arabic text is authoritative. This text is guidance, not legal advice.

At a glance

Licence requirement for recruitment offices

Recruiting domestic workers and supplying them on a temporary basis are prohibited without a MoHRE licence (Law No. 9 of 2022, Article 4 paragraph 1). The details of the licence are governed by Ministerial Decision No. 676 of 2022. The Ministry calls the offices Domestic Worker Recruitment Offices; many operate as Tadbeer centres, licensed franchisees that recruit domestic workers and supply them by the week, month or year. The list of licensed offices, 136 at the start of 2026, is on the Ministry's website under the authorised service centres. Information is available from the hotline 600590000; complaints are received by the Labour Claims and Advisory Centre on the toll-free number 80084.

Anyone who recruits without a licence risks up to one year in prison and a fine of AED 200,000 to 1,000,000 (Article 27 paragraph 4); anyone who employs a domestic worker without a work permit, AED 50,000 to 200,000 (Article 27 paragraph 3). The Ministry closes unlicensed offices and refers them to the Public Prosecution, as it did with twelve offices in February 2026.

A free zone company licence is something different from a recruitment licence: it permits business operations in the respective free zone, whereas the recruitment of household staff requires the MoHRE licence under Article 4 of the Law. For agencies in Dubai, Luxury.me shows which licence the website names.

The Domestic Workers Law

Federal Law No. 9 of 2022 concerning domestic workers and its Executive Regulations (Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2022) apply to 19 occupations, including housekeeper, cook, babysitter, gardener, private tutor, home caregiver, personal assistant and chauffeur. The employment contract follows MoHRE's uniform standard contract. The probation period may not exceed six months (Article 8). The Law does not state a maximum working time; it prescribes rest: at least twelve hours a day, eight of them consecutive (Article 9), and one day off a week, to be agreed by the parties (Executive Regulations, Article 8). Annual leave is at least 30 days, sick leave 30 days per contract year (Article 10). Under the standard contract, the wage must be paid within ten days of falling due. The Law does not itself regulate the end-of-service gratuity but leaves it to a Cabinet resolution (Article 22).

For the offices: they may not charge the worker any commission or any costs for the recruitment (Article 5 paragraph 2) and must provide the household with a replacement or refund amounts paid (Article 5 paragraph 9). The Executive Regulations name the grounds: lack of suitability or misconduct during probation, leaving the position without legitimate reason, medical unfitness during probation with a full refund. The refund is calculated in proportion to the remaining term of the contract and is due within two weeks of the worker's return (Executive Regulations, Article 6). In its guide for households, the Ministry calls this duty a two-year guarantee; the Law itself names no period. The offices' fees are capped by the Ministry (Executive Regulations, Article 4).

Sponsorship and visa

The household applies to MoHRE itself for the domestic worker's work permit. Requirements: a valid residence permit for the head of household, a worker aged at least 18 and at most 60, insurance on the employer's account. The permit is valid for two years; full-time, part-time, temporary, flexible and shared employment are provided for. Apart from federal fees, the application through the Ministry's website and app is free of charge. This is followed by the entry permit, medical test, biometric data capture, Emirates ID and the residence permit, which must be issued within 60 days of entry. The federal authority ICP charges foreign sponsors a guarantee of AED 5,000 per year for the recruitment of domestic workers.

In Dubai, the immigration authority GDRFA and MoHRE have offered a joint package in the Dubai Now app since December 2024; the employment contract is signed electronically there. The sponsor first opens a sponsor file for domestic workers with the GDRFA. Instead of a bank guarantee of AED 3,000, the household can take out insurance covering the worker's claims: AED 105 for 30 months with cover of AED 20,000. Anyone who needs staff only by the hour, day or month can employ them flexibly through a licensed office; the worker then remains registered with the office.

Insurance

In Dubai, every sponsor must provide health insurance for the persons they sponsor unless these are insured through an employer (Law No. 11 of 2013 of the Emirate of Dubai, Article 11); breaches cost AED 500 to 150,000. The Dubai Health Insurance Corporation expressly names domestic workers. In Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain, a compulsory federal policy for AED 320 a year has applied since 1 January 2025. The Domestic Workers Law obliges the employer to provide medical care or health insurance.

Wages

There is no statutory minimum wage for domestic workers. The Labour Law (Law No. 33 of 2021) excludes domestic workers from its scope and leaves a minimum wage to a Cabinet resolution that has not been issued; the Domestic Workers Law names no amount. The wage is stated in the standard contract and must be paid within ten days of falling due.

Staff outside the 19 occupations

An estate manager is not on the list of domestic occupations; personal assistant and chauffeur are. For occupations outside the list, general labour law applies: on the mainland, no one may be employed without a MoHRE work permit (Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 6). In a free zone, the free zone authority issues the work permit and sponsors the employees.

Disputes

Disputes between household, worker and office go first to MoHRE. Since 1 January 2024, the Ministry has decided cases up to AED 50,000 with final effect; the decision can be appealed to the court within 15 working days of service (Law No. 21 of 2023). If a case is not settled within two weeks, the Ministry refers it to the court.

Sources

All sources retrieved 18 October 2026.

  1. Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 Concerning Domestic Workers, uaelegislation.gov.ae
  2. Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2022, Executive Regulations of the Domestic Workers Law, uaelegislation.gov.ae
  3. Federal Decree-Law No. 21 of 2023 Amending Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, u.ae
  4. Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 Regarding the Regulation of Employment Relationship, mohre.gov.ae
  5. UAE Government Portal, Domestic workers, as of 6 October 2025, u.ae
  6. MoHRE, Awareness Package for Employers of Domestic Workers, mohre.gov.ae; Tadbeer Service Centers, mohre.gov.ae
  7. MoHRE, 12 unlicensed domestic worker recruitment offices closed, 25 February 2026, mohre.gov.ae; MoHRE calls on families to deal exclusively with licensed offices, 5 September 2023, mohre.gov.ae; MoHRE shuts down 11 unlicensed offices in Al Ain, 10 September 2025, mohre.gov.ae
  8. MoHRE, Issuance of a New Work Permit, Domestic Workers, mohre.gov.ae
  9. Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP), FAQ Work Bundle Domestic Workers, icp.gov.ae; Issuing Residency Permit, 11 December 2024, icp.gov.ae
  10. GDRFA Dubai, Domestic worker package in Dubai Now, 11 December 2024, gdrfad.gov.ae; Sponsor File Registration, gdrfad.gov.ae
  11. Dubai Law No. 11 of 2013 Concerning Health Insurance, dlp.dubai.gov.ae%20of%202013.html); Dubai Health Insurance Corporation, Service Catalogue, 20 February 2020, dha.gov.ae
  12. MoHRE, Health insurance scheme, mohre.gov.ae; UAE Government Portal, Insurance system for workers in the private sector, u.ae
  13. UAE Government Portal, Laws applicable on free zones employees, 16 April 2026, u.ae; Working in free zones, 30 December 2024, u.ae

Guides: hiring household staff