Cost Of Work Permit In Dubai

Determining the cost of work permit in Dubai is a crucial step towards ensuring a person understands the factors they need to prepare prior to getting their work permit. The UAE’s Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, also known as MOHRE, is the competent authority which oversees work permits for foreigners across the country.

If you are an expatriate in Dubai and looking to work in the United Arab Emirates, then you will definitely have to apply for a work permit. Despite the fact that there have been several complaints against this system, the authorities have continued with this practice over the years. A number of companies are offering assistance to their employees in this regard.

Cost Of Work Permit In Dubai

It’s no secret that now, more than ever, there is a strong desire to live and work outside one’s home country. Dubai has become an attractive home away from home for many people. The city-state is said to have the fastest growing population of ex-patriots in the world.

On 4 December 2017, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (formerly Ministry of Labour) (“MOL”) announced the implementation of a new Ministerial Resolution (No. 729 of 2017) which sets out a revised fee structure for issuing work permits to companies in respect of new employees that they wish to hire.

Under the new system, companies are classified in categories depending on the percentage of skilled employees they employ and the cultural diversity of the employees.  This article looks at the different categories and the revised work permit fees which are now applicable.

Skilled/unskilled employees and cultural diversity

A skilled employee is one whose job requires an attested academic degree higher than a high school degree or equivalent.  An unskilled employee is one whose job does not require an attested academic degree.

With regard to cultural diversity, as a starting point, the MOL has implemented a formula for calculating cultural diversity as follows: (Number of non-Pakistani, non-Indian and non-Bangladeshi employees / Total number of employees) * 100. Where the cultural diversity percentage is more than 50% (i.e. where non-Pakistani, non-Indian and non-Bangladeshi employees comprise more than 50% of the total employees in a company), then the MOL will consider the percentage of skilled employees in order to categorize the company (see the table below).

Company categories

Pursuant to the new Ministerial Resolution, companies are now categorized as set out in the table below. A company with a higher category can expect to pay lower fees for work permits issued through the MOL.

Class	Cultural diversity and skilled worker percentage requirements
Class 1	No minimum requirement for cultural diversity and skilled workers.Fishing boats owned by UAE nationals and small and medium establishments (subject to certain conditions to be determined by the MOL) fall under this class.
Class 2A	Companies with a cultural diversity percentage of more than 50% (i.e. where non-Pakistani, non-Indian and non-Bangladeshi employees constitute more than 50% of the total employees) AND where over 40% of the employees are skilled workers.
Class 2B	Companies with a cultural diversity percentage of more than 50% (i.e. where non-Pakistani, non-Indian and non-Bangladeshi employees constitute more than 50% of the total employees) AND where 10 – 40% of the employees are skilled workers.N.B. Companies with 0 -3 employees fall under Class 2(B) regardless of cultural diversity or skilled worker percentages. Companies with 4 -10 employees and a cultural diversity percentage of more than 50% fall under Class 2(B) regardless of skilled worker percentages.
Class 2C	Companies with cultural diversity percentage of more than 50% (i.e. where non-Pakistani, non-Indian and non-Bangladeshi employees constitute more than 50% of the total employees) AND where 5 -10% of the employees are skilled workers.
Class 2D	Companies with a cultural diversity percentage of less than 50% (i.e. where Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi employees constitute more than 50% of the total employees) AND/OR where less than 5% of employees are skilled workers.N.B. Companies with 4 -10 employees who do not have a cultural diversity percentage of at least 50% also fall under this category regardless of the percentage of skilled workers.