You can employ a domestic worker on your own sponsorship, or use an outsourced service where a licensed office is the employer. A Tadbeer centre can offer different packages, so first establish whose file the worker will be registered on. A worker employed by the office can also live with your family; outsourcing is not limited to hourly cleaning.
The AED 25,000 family-income requirement below applies to the resident applying to sponsor the worker on their own file. It is not a general income threshold for every family buying an office-employed service. The contract, paperwork and way you calculate the cost depend on which route you choose.
If you already employ someone abroad and want to bring her, settle the employment route and eligibility before making travel arrangements. If she is an Arab national, confirm her eligibility first.
Go to: Choose the service · Outsourcing through Tadbeer · Bringing a worker you know · Counting the cost · The worker's rights
First decide who will employ the worker
| Option | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Personal sponsorship, including the traditional package | The office recruits the worker for you, but the worker is registered on your file. You are the employer and meet the relevant sponsorship requirements |
| Temporary package through a licensed office such as Tadbeer | The worker remains registered with the office. MoHRE describes a two-year service contract; living with your family is possible under the arrangement |
| Flexible package through a licensed office | The worker remains registered with the office. Service can be hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, six-monthly or annual |
| Home cleaning from a licensed company | You buy a defined service. A cleaning invoice is not a permit for you to employ that worker privately |
These package distinctions are set out in MoHRE's employer guide. Using a Tadbeer centre does not automatically mean the worker is on the centre's sponsorship. The traditional package and the office-employed packages are different arrangements.
The domestic-workers law defines recruitment by name as a licensed office recruiting a worker identified by the employer, from outside the office's registered list. Under temporary staffing, the office is the employer. Direct recruitment does not mean skipping official procedures.
Before you pay any amount, read the employer name on the contract. Do not assume you are the sponsor, or that the office is the sponsor, from the package name alone. Also record who handles wage, insurance, leave and housing.
Choose the office through Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation domestic-worker channels, and match its legal name to the contract and invoice. An advertisement on social media does not prove that it is licensed.
Outsourcing through Tadbeer or another licensed office
If the worker remains employed by the office, you contract for the service rather than apply to sponsor her personally. The salary certificate, marriage documents and housing documents in the personal-sponsorship checklist below are not a universal checklist for this arrangement. Ask for the documents required for the specific service contract; do not assume the office requires no identification or customer paperwork.
Under MoHRE's operating guide for recruitment offices, the office handles the worker's residence procedures, monthly wage, legal entitlements and medical-care costs for the temporary and flexible packages. Your bill is the agreed service-package price. Confirm its inclusions and any additional charges in writing.
Before signing, settle four practical points:
- Who employs her: the worker must remain registered with the licensed office under the agreed package.
- Where and when she works: live-in or visiting, duties, hours and rest. Being employed by the office does not prevent a live-in arrangement. For the flexible package, MoHRE's guide limits work to eight hours a day.
- What your payment covers: wages, residence, medical care, accommodation, transport where relevant, tax and any separately charged items. Do not add costs already included in the package.
- What happens if the arrangement ends: replacement, absence cover, cancellation, notice and refunds for unused service.
The family must still provide a safe, respectful working environment and honour the agreed duties and rest. If the worker lives with you, make the accommodation and meals arrangement clear. Office sponsorship does not remove these responsibilities or bypass nationality and immigration approvals.
If there is a worker you want to bring with you
First decide whether you will sponsor her yourself or ask a licensed office to employ and provide her to your household. If you want the office-employed route for a named worker, ask whether the office can offer it for her specific circumstances. An office's offer to process paperwork on your behalf is not the same as employing her on its own file.
A contract with you abroad does not become a UAE work permit. Complete the applicable work-permit, entry and residence procedures before she starts work. Do not book travel before the required entry approval.
If your current helper is an Arab national
Before paying recruitment fees or booking travel, confirm that you can obtain a UAE domestic-worker permit and entry approval for her nationality. Her existing employment with you does not guarantee approval.
A Gulf News report, marked last updated 22 July 2019, quoted a senior residency official confirming a restriction on recruiting Arab nationals as domestic helpers. As of 25 September 2026, we have not found a newer official clarification confirming whether that restriction remains in force or has been lifted.
- Work-permit eligibility: contact MoHRE on 600590000 or email ask@mohre.gov.ae.
- Entry and residence in Dubai: contact GDRFA through Amer on 8005111, or +971 4 313 9999 from abroad.
- Entry and residence in other emirates: contact ICP on 600522222, or use its online enquiry channels.
Give her nationality, intended occupation and current country of residence, and explain that she already works for your household. Ask specifically whether she can receive a new domestic-worker permit and entry approval, and keep the written reply or enquiry reference before making arrangements.
If you will sponsor her on your own file
Apply through MoHRE's new work permit service for domestic workers. On the MoHRE website or app you pay only the government fees. A service centre can apply for you, and its commission is capped at AED 72, excluding tax and collection charges. During the application, MoHRE sends you a link to approve either the standard package contract or the direct-recruitment contract.
For a resident applying as the worker's sponsor, the service lists these requirements as of 25 September 2026. This is the personal-sponsorship checklist, not the paperwork for buying an office-employed package.
| Condition | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Family income | A resident employer submits a recent salary certificate showing total family income of at least AED 25,000 a month. An investor submits three months of bank statements with the same monthly minimum |
| Family and housing | Proof of marriage and your spouse's residence, plus a lease contract or title deed for your home |
| The worker | Aged 18 to 60 for recruitment from abroad, with a passport valid for at least three months and no active UAE work permit. An in-country age exception is explained below |
| Insurance | An insurance policy for the worker on your file, paid at the start of the application |
| Permit length | One year for a resident employer. Golden visa holders can choose one or two years |
If you do not meet the personal-sponsorship conditions, the office-employed route is a separate option to discuss with a licensed provider.
- Define the occupation and tasks: housemaid, nanny, or another domestic-work occupation. Actual work must match the contract.
- Write the wage and conditions before travel: tasks, housing, rest, leave, wage and how it is paid, in a language the worker understands.
- Complete the sending-country procedures as well: UAE approval does not replace the travel and employment documents that country requires. If an office handles the case, its written quote must set out what it does in each country.
- Wait for the entry visa: MoHRE emails it to you after approval. Then complete the medical examination, Emirates ID and residence. The worker must not start work on a visit visa.
If the worker is already in the UAE and works for another household, a verbal agreement between the two families is not enough. MoHRE asks for proof that the worker's previous residence was cancelled, together with a copy of the worker's current visa, so the old status must be closed before the new permit.
The service card allows an exception to the age-60 limit for a domestic worker already in the UAE whose domestic-worker residence was cancelled by the employer no more than three months previously. The exception remains subject to the other application conditions.
The AED 25,000 condition is separate from the salary condition for sponsoring your spouse and children, which our guide to documents before moving explains.
Calculate the cost for the route you chose
For an office-employed package: start with the service price. For a full year at a fixed monthly rate, calculate the monthly package price × 12, then add only the charges explicitly excluded from the package and any living costs you provide. For hourly or daily service, use the number of hours or days you actually need. Do not add a separate salary, visa or medical bill when the package already covers it.
For a worker on your own sponsorship: ask for a written quote that shows each of these items separately:
| Item | What you need to know |
|---|---|
| Office fees | What service does the amount pay for, and is tax included? |
| Government fees | Application, permit, entry, residence and identity fees that apply to your case. A service centre's commission is up to AED 72, excluding tax and collection charges |
| Medical examination and insurance | The examination cost, health insurance, and worker-entitlement protection insurance |
| Travel | The arrival ticket, who books it, and later leave tickets |
| Wage | The wage agreed in the contract, and when and how it is paid |
| Living costs | Suitable housing, food and the needs you will provide |
| Cancellation or replacement | Covered cases, refunds, deductions and time limits |
Personal-sponsorship calculation example only: if you agree a wage of AED 2,000 a month, wages over a year total AED 24,000. This is not a market average, recommended wage or outsourced-package price. Add fees, travel, insurance and living costs applicable to that arrangement.
To see this cost inside a whole household budget, read What Is a Good Salary for a Family of Four in the UAE?
Protection insurance is different from health insurance
The official worker-entitlement protection scheme publishes a fee of AED 105 for a domestic-worker certificate lasting 30 months, with a coverage limit of AED 20,000. This is protection for entitlements. It is not medical treatment cover, and it is not the total cost of hiring.
Health insurance is calculated by emirate, policy and treatment network. Do not treat a published health-package price for other emirates as a guaranteed Dubai or Abu Dhabi price. See the official health-insurance guidance.
Match the fee breakdown in the official application with the office quote, and keep proof of payment. The fees applicable to your request matter more than a package advertised for someone else.
For an office-employed worker, confirm these protections within the service package; do not treat the insurance figures above as automatic additional payments by the family.
The worker's rights, agreed from day one
The worker keeps her legal rights under either employment route. According to official domestic-worker guidance, these include:
- The agreed wage: paid within ten days of the due date.
- Weekly rest: one paid day.
- Daily rest: at least 12 hours, including at least eight consecutive hours.
- Annual leave: at least 30 paid days.
- Travel ticket: a return ticket to the worker's country once every two years.
- Keeping documents: passport and ID remain with the worker.
If you are the employer, you must also provide suitable housing, food, clothing and medical care or health insurance. In an office-employed arrangement, the office retains its employer obligations; your service contract must explain the practical arrangements at your home. In either case, respect the worker's dignity, safety and rest. No one under 18 may be employed, and a commission must not be collected from the worker in return for obtaining the job.
Define the tasks clearly. Caring for a child, cleaning a whole home and caring for a person who needs continuous help are different jobs, not one job by default. Agree the work and rest from the start, and each of you should keep a copy of the contract.
If an employment dispute arises, the worker or employer can submit a complaint to MoHRE. If you bought an outsourced service, keep the office contract and receipts and raise service issues with the office; the office is the worker's employer. Unresolved domestic-worker service complaints can also be raised with MoHRE.
Sources reviewed on 25 September 2026, including MoHRE's service card for a new domestic-worker work permit. The wage example is a hypothetical calculation, not a quote or an average. Cover image generated with AI for illustration.
