From the first work permit to the final settlement, we carry the legal, administrative and payroll weight of employing people in the UAE, with Employer of Record and PEO support in the UK too, so your team can focus on the work itself.
We sponsor expat employees under our own UAE trade licence: work permit, entry permit, status change, medical fitness test, Emirates ID and residence visa, plus timely renewals.
Bilingual, MOHRE-registered employment contracts built to Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, with the correct fixed term, probation, notice and benefit clauses.
Monthly salary paid in AED through the Wage Protection System via approved channels, with payslips, allowance structuring and full record-keeping.
Health insurance that meets the nationwide mandate, plus enrolment in the ILOE unemployment-insurance scheme, both handled and kept current.
We accrue end-of-service gratuity correctly from day one, track annual and sick leave, and manage public holidays and any contractual allowances.
When someone leaves, we calculate and pay the final settlement within the legal window and cancel the visa promptly to avoid overstay penalties.
End-to-end visa mobilisation on Dubai immigration visas: entry permit, status change, medical, Emirates ID, residence stamping and renewals. See the full timeline below.
Hire in the United Kingdom without a UK entity: Employer of Record, PEO co-employment, PAYE payroll, pensions and UK work-visa support.
You want one or two people on the ground in Dubai or Abu Dhabi before committing to an entity. We let you start now and decide later.
You have already found the person, perhaps an expat relocating or already in the UAE, and simply need a compliant way to employ and sponsor them.
You employ people globally and want the UAE handled with the same compliance bar as everywhere else, without standing up local infrastructure.
Sponsoring an expat is the part of UAE hiring that trips up foreign employers most often, because it touches three separate federal authorities. We manage all of them on your behalf: MOHRE for the work permit and labour contract, GDRFA for the residence visa, and ICP for the Emirates ID and entry permit.
A standard employer-sponsored work visa runs for two years and is renewable. For senior or specialist hires we can also advise on the Green Visa and Golden Visa routes, which let qualifying professionals self-sponsor for five or ten years.
Only an entity that holds a valid UAE trade licence and visa quota can legally sponsor and employ expats. We hold ours directly, so your team is sponsored by a real, licensed employer, not routed through an unverified third party.
Every private-sector salary in the UAE must be paid through the Wage Protection System. We run your team's payroll through approved channels each month, structure salary into a compliant basic-plus-allowances split, and keep the documentation regulators expect. Because there is no personal income tax, the employee receives their full gross pay.
As the legal employer, we hold the obligations that come with UAE labour law: correct fixed-term contracts, probation handled within the rules, accurate gratuity accrual, lawful notice periods and protection against arbitrary-dismissal claims. If a rule changes, and UAE employment rules change often, it is our job to keep your contracts current.
All expatriate employees are mobilised on Dubai immigration visas. Our trade-licence activities let us compliantly sponsor and second employees to you, so your team works under your day-to-day management while we hold the legal employment and sponsorship. Below is the full onboarding timeline once you have selected a candidate.
Indicative total: VIP track 16–24 working days · Standard track 25–36 working days.
| # | Step | Working days | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Employee signs offer letter | 1 | Candidate shares passport copy, attested education certificate (for certain managerial or specialist roles), email, phone and a passport photo. If already in-country with a previous employer, also: visa cancellation paper, previous visa copy and Emirates ID (front and back). |
| 2 | E-visa / entry permit (in-country or overseas) | VIP 1–2 Standard 3–4 | Valid for 2 months from issue. Overseas hires must enter the UAE within that window; in-country hires must complete their status change within it. The employee can compliantly start working on the e-visa. A skilled job title requires an attested UAE degree; without one, an unskilled job title is issued. |
| 3 | Visa change of status (in-country only) | 1–2 | Status change completed inside the country. |
| 4 | Medical fitness test | VIP 1 Standard 3–4 | Medical screening: blood and X-ray samples. |
| 5 | Emirates ID application / biometrics | VIP 1 Standard 3–4 | With an existing EID, the application can be prepared in a day. For a new EID, the authority schedules an appointment and the employee visits an EIDA centre for biometrics. |
| 6 | Residence visa stamping | VIP 1–2 Standard 3–4 | Completed after the medical fitness report is issued by the Dubai Health Authority. |
| 7 | Emirates ID card delivery | 5–10 | Delivered within about 10 days after biometrics and once the residence visa is stamped in the passport. |
| 8 | Medical insurance application | 5–7 | Usually issued in 5–7 working days; linking to the Emirates ID can add time, and declared pre-existing conditions may extend it. |
Indicative total: VIP track 8–11 working days · Standard track 12–16 working days.
| # | Step | Working days | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renewal medical fitness test | VIP 1 Standard 3–4 | Renewal medical screening: blood sample. |
| 2 | Emirates ID renewal application | 1 | Renewal application prepared and submitted. |
| 3 | Residence visa renewal | VIP 1–2 Standard 3–4 | Completed after the medical fitness report is issued by the Dubai Health Authority. |
| 4 | Emirates ID card delivery | 5–7 | Delivered within 5–7 days once the renewed residence visa is issued. |
The documents, steps and final timeline depend on the individual worker's details and on government approvals. They can change during the application process, at the discretion of the local authorities and without advance notice.
After your hire is under our sponsorship on an employment contract with us, we process monthly payroll through the Wage Protection System, arrange the necessary bank cards, and support ongoing HR administration. All payroll inputs are confirmed by you before salaries are released. Employees can raise HR requests directly or through your own HR team, whichever you prefer. When someone resigns or is terminated, we manage offboarding and the full and final settlement in line with UAE labour law.
Hiring in the United Kingdom alongside your UAE team? We provide Employer of Record and PEO services in the UK so you can employ talent there compliantly, without setting up a UK entity of your own.
As your UK Employer of Record, we become the legal employer of your hires. We run PAYE payroll with the correct income tax and National Insurance deductions, enrol employees into a workplace pension under auto-enrolment, issue compliant UK employment contracts, and administer statutory entitlements such as holiday, sick pay and family leave. You direct the work; we carry the employment compliance.
If you already have a UK entity, our PEO service takes on the HR and payroll administration on a co-employment basis: payroll processing, benefits administration, pension management, and day-to-day HR support, so your team stays lean while staying compliant.
For international hires who need the right to work in the UK, we support sponsorship under the UK's points-based immigration system. That includes guidance on the Skilled Worker route, the Certificate of Sponsorship process, salary and skill thresholds, and the documentation employees need to obtain and maintain their visa. Where a role and candidate qualify, we help you move from offer to a worker who is legally cleared to start.
Whether your next hire is in Dubai or London, you work with a single team for contracts, payroll, visa support and compliance. Tell us where you are hiring and we will map the right route.
Fill out the form and we will map the exact services, cost and timeline for your UAE hire.