Last updated: 6 October 2026
The work permit sits with the company that employs the person. It does not sit with the client whose office they work in. Nobody can start on a UAE client site before that permit is in place. The UAE government states that it is illegal to work in the UAE without a valid work permit. An employer cannot take someone on without one either.
So the sequence is what you plan around, not the paperwork itself. A signed work offer has to be registered before a permit is applied for. Any vetting the client runs has to clear before either. This page sets out the order, the checks worth making early, and the parts that change from one person to the next.
Who needs a company-sponsored work permit?
Almost everyone working for a UAE employer needs a valid work permit. In most cases the employer applies for it. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation lists the permit types. It is clear that working without one is not lawful. The permit belongs to the employing company. Whoever signs the contract is the party that sponsors the person into the country, and carries the duties that come with it.
That point catches out firms that place people with clients. The client sets the project, the site rules and often the security standard. The client is not the employer on the permit. If you place contractors, the permit follows your employment relationship, not the desk. So the first question on a new placement is a plain one. Which legal entity will employ this person, and does it have room to sponsor them now?
Who might already have the right to work?
Some people in the UAE hold residency that is not tied to your company, and their paperwork is different. MOHRE's list of work permit types covers this. Two of them are a work permit for a resident on a family sponsorship, and a work permit for a Golden visa holder. In both cases there is still a permit to obtain. What changes is that you are not starting a new residence sponsorship. So the cost and the timing can look quite different.
The Golden visa is a long-term residence visa. It lets the holder live, work or study in the UAE without a sponsor, and runs for up to ten years. Someone living here on a family member's residency is in a different position again. Treat both as categories to check, not as a shortcut to assume. Ask every candidate what residence they hold and who holds it. Get the answer in writing, then match it to a permit type. The right answer depends on your employee's situation. Talk to an Expert at Teamed to work through yours.
What order do the steps go in?
The government end of the sequence is fixed. A work offer has to be signed by both sides and registered with MOHRE before the work permit is applied for. Once the permit is issued, an employment entry permit lets the person into the country for 60 days while the residence side is finished. The residence permit that follows is normally valid for two years, or one year on request. UAE law also puts the entry visa, the travel, the medical test and the residence permit on the employer.
Client vetting is the step most plans leave out. Where a client runs its own security clearance, nothing else should begin until it clears. Starting a visa first risks money spent on a person who is later turned down. It can leave a candidate in limbo too. Put the clearance first. Tell the client the start date runs from the day it clears, not the day the work is won. That one change makes most UAE placement plans honest.
| Step | Who owns it | What blocks it |
|---|---|---|
| Client security clearance, where the client requires one | The client | Nothing else starts until it clears |
| Work offer signed and registered with MOHRE | The employing company | Agreed salary, role and terms |
| Work permit application | The employing company | Passport, photo and attested qualifications where the role needs them |
| Entry and arrival | The employee | The entry route the permit provides |
| Medical test, Emirates ID and residence permit | The employing company | Appointment slots and document quality |
| First day on the client site | Client and employer together | A valid permit and residence in place |
Two things stretch most plans: document attestation and client vetting. Neither is in your gift. Build both into the date you give the client, and keep a weekly check on where each candidate sits.
Why would a firm with its own entity still use a provider?
Holding a UAE entity does not always mean the next hire can go through it. Licences are issued for set activities. One written around a small core team may not suit hiring that rises and falls with project wins. Visa allocations are set by the authority that issued your licence. They are finite. Where your people will work can matter too. Ask, rather than assume.
Treat these as questions for your own licensing authority. Does our licence cover the activity we are hiring for? How many visas can we hold today, and what does it take to raise that number? Are there conditions on placing our staff at another company's premises? If the answers do not fit the work, firms take one of three routes. They hire through their own entity, use an employer of record, or engage people as contractors where that is truly the right relationship.
What does it cost to get someone working?
Government costs depend on the permit type, the company and the emirate, so a single figure would mislead you. The reliable part is who pays. UAE law puts the entry visa, the travel, the medical test and the residence permit on the employer. Medical insurance is a separate cost and often a large one. Ask for government charges at cost and in writing. Ask what is left out before you build a client rate card on top.
On the provider side, ask what the monthly fee covers and what sits outside it. Teamed charges from $599 per employee per month, with no setup fee, no exit fee, and you can cancel any month. Two payments fall due upfront: a refundable deposit of one month's gross salary, and the first month's employment cost. What a whole placement costs still turns on the role, the permit type and the cover you buy. That is why it is quoted case by case.
Teamed's employer of record service covers 187+ countries, and a designated person will manage your account. Planning UAE placements? We will walk the sequence through with you, and say where your own UAE hiring plan is likely to slip.