If you are hiring a domestic helper in the UAE, you are obliged by law to issue a visa for your helper.  There are multiple ways of doing this, and our Visa Service partner is happy to explore the different options with you.  The most common way of issuing a visa for a domestic helper, is through maids.cc or Tadbeer.  The approximate cost of this is 8500 aed for a 2 year visa.  There are also other possibilities, such as direct sponsorship if you hold a Golden Visa, however it most instances this will be more expensive which is why most people go for the Tadbeer visa.

Contact our visa partner today and they will walk you through you options.

Working in the UAE without a visa is not legal, both for the employer and the employee. Once you have found someone who is a good fit for you and your job, you should start the visa process.

Please also be aware that those who are here on tourist visa or cancelled visa have a limited number of days where they are allowed to stay in the UAE, hence it’s very important to them to get their working visa approved asap to avoid fines. 

While many domestic workers are offering their services under a freelance visa, please note that this is illegal under UAE law. Likewise, it’s illegal to hire any domestic worker who is under sponsorship of another resident.

The exception from this is if you hire agency staff who are employed via a registered company, typically on hourly basis, like cleaning services from a cleaning company.

The specific law states that fines between 50-200k can be imposed on those who hires domestic workers without obtaining the proper work permit.

As per Decree Law, domestic workers are entitled to (but not limited to):

Payment of wages, as set out in the standard contract, within 10 days from the day they are due

Weekly day off/rest 12 hours of rest per day, including 8 hours of consecutive rest

30 days of paid annual leave

A round-trip ticket home every 2 years

30 days of sick leave per year

Visa sponsorship and Emirates ID

Health insurance

End of service gratuity

Keeping their own passport

Please have a look at this link to learn more

There are 19 occupations that falls in under the definition of a domestic worker in the UAE, the most relevant for users of Find A Helper is:

Housemaid, Housekeeper, Cook, Nanny/Babysitter, Home Nurse and Personal/Family Driver.

It’s imperative that you feel confident in your helper before offering a contract, as changing for another helper is both costly and time consuming. When you have paid for a visa, you cannot get refunded if you cancel the visa. However, if you have issued the visa through maids.cc or a similar partner, there is often an option to transfer the visa to someone else. That means that you can support the helper in finding another employer, transfer the visa, and recover some of your costs.