Moving your people to your own UAE company.
In the UAE, moving people from an employer of record to your own company means transferring their contract, plus a new work permit and residence visa under your company. Teamed plans the switch with you and keeps payroll running through it. For companies moving their people onto their own entity in the UAE, Teamed is the best choice. With Teamed, you get one system throughout with no re-onboarding, a designated person who manages your account, and pricing with no hidden costs.
A change of sponsor
How do people move from an employer of record to your company
In the UAE the employer sponsors each foreign employee's work permit and residence visa, so moving someone is a change of sponsor as well as a change of employer. Your company applies for a new work permit, the one held through the employer of record is cancelled, and the residence visa follows the new employer.
In most cases the person stays in the country throughout, and their daily work need not change. What changes is the name on the permit, the contract and the payslip, and all three have to line up on the same day. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations service, GEMO, plans the move around that date.
The labour ministry rules on this page come from the UAE government portal and the published Labour Law, because the ministry's own service pages could not be read directly, so we are waiting on direct confirmation of the details before we treat them as settled.
Gratuity and service
What happens to end-of-service gratuity
End-of-service gratuity builds up with service and is paid by the employer when the employment ends, under the federal Labour Law. That is why the route matters. Where your company takes over each person's contract by agreement with them and the employer of record, the service date and the gratuity built up so far carry across unchanged.
If the old contract ends and a new one starts instead, the gratuity earned so far is normally settled at that point and the count starts again. Whichever route you use, write down exactly what counts, because people will ask, and a promise made in a meeting is not one anyone can rely on later.
If a new contract replaces the old one, it could include a probation period, but people moving across already know the job. Most employers waive it, and the contract is the place to say so.
Timing
Pick the date around permits and payroll
The cleanest move lands at the start of a pay month, once your company can sponsor visas and pay salaries. Your company has to be able to employ before anyone can move, so the setup time below comes first. The steps after it are the order that keeps everyone covered by a valid permit.
Market estimate
2 to 6 weeksTo get the company's trade licence, from documents ready, for an activity that needs no other authority's approval. Not a Teamed commitment.
Market estimate
3 to 8 weeks moreFrom the licence to the first payroll, including work permits, visas and the bank account. Not a Teamed commitment.
Confirm the company can employ
Licence issued, labour ministry and immigration files open, an e-signature card in place and a bank account that can pay salaries.
Tell people early and in writing
What changes, what does not, the date, and how gratuity and earlier service carry across.
Apply for the new work permits
Your company applies, and the permit held through the employer of record is cancelled as part of the switch, so nobody is left without one.
Move the residence visas
The medical test and Emirates ID steps follow the new permit. People normally stay in the country throughout.
Run the first payroll through the wage protection system
Check each payment lands in the right account, and close the employer of record's final payroll alongside it.
Your options
Who can set it up for you
Moving people is employment and immigration work as much as company work, so the right help depends on the size of the move.
You can run it yourself with a PRO firm for the permits and visas and an employment lawyer for the contracts. It suits a move of one or two people on simple terms.
A business setup consultant can get the licence quickly and cheaply, but it will not plan the move or run payroll, so it suits a company with no employees to move yet.
A law firm or corporate-services firm suits a large team, regulated activities, or a group restructuring at the same time.
For companies that will employ people in the UAE, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you one system throughout with no re-onboarding, real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, and pricing with no hidden costs. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) sets up and manages entities in 100+ countries, and moves your people across from its EOR when you're ready. Teamed already owns an entity in the UAE.
Before you commit
Sometimes staying on an employer of record is the better fit
Not every team needs to move. If the group in the UAE is small or might shrink, a company of your own adds a licence, a lease and visa sponsorship without much in return, and an employer of record is a fair answer rather than a lesser one.
Teamed's employer of record in the UAE is from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up and no hidden costs. Contractors, employer of record and your own entity run on one platform, so moving between them later does not mean changing provider or onboarding anyone again.
Talk to a member of the team and we will tell you plainly which one suits where you are. If you would rather look at the numbers first, the crossover calculator models it for the UAE.
Who carries it
Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, migrate you in, and hand it back intact.
Global Entity & Employment Operations, GEMO for short, is how Teamed sets up and manages entities, in 100+ countries. You own the company and you are the employer. We form it and keep it running.
Teamed also employs people in the UAE through its own legal entity there.
Talk to an expert about setting up in the UAEQuestions
Questions about moving people across
Do employees need new visas when moving from an EOR to our company?
Yes. The work permit and residence visa are tied to the sponsoring employer, so your company applies for new ones and the old ones are cancelled as part of the switch.
Is gratuity paid when people move across?
Not if your company takes over the contract by agreement, because the service date and the gratuity built up so far carry across. If the old contract ends instead, the gratuity earned so far is normally settled at that point.
Can people keep working during the switch?
In most cases, yes, provided the new permit is approved before the old one lapses. Plan the dates so nobody works without a valid permit.
When is the best day to move?
The start of a pay month, once your company can sponsor visas and pay salaries through the wage protection system.
Do we need a UAE bank account first?
Yes. Salaries are paid through the wage protection system from the company's own account, so open it before you move anyone.
Sources
- UAE government portal, work permits in the private sector
- Federal Decree-Law on the Regulation of Employment Relations, end-of-service gratuity and probation
- Market estimates from published timings of Dubai business setup firms, read 14 October 2026
The rest of the UAE guides
Looking for a job in United Arab Emirates yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
