Procedure and time frame of getting UAE employment visa

Receiving the offer letter – Signing the contract – Getting the work visa

STAGE 1 – OFFER LETTER: The offer letter and its annexures contain important details of the job and both parties must sign these documents.

1.1) Penalty: If it is proved that a worker did not go through the annexes before signing the labour contract, the employer will be fined AED 20,000 for submitting incorrect data to Ministry of labour, therefore, the employer must ensure that the employee has gone through the annexures.

1.2) If the employee is in the UAE, he must sign the offer letter before the employer can seek Ministry of Labour's preliminary approval for his employment.

STAGE 2 – SIGNING THE CONTRACT

2.1) Then the employer applies for labour approval which will grant the employee permission to work in the UAE. This is subject to Employer's employee quota.

2.2) If the quota is approved, then the PRO of the Employer will be presented with a Labour contract. The employment contract is a document signed by the employer and the employee in which the latter undertakes to serve the employer and work under his management against an agreed fee paid by the employer. Once the Employment contract is signed it replaces the Offer letter and must be submitted WITHIN 14 DAYS to the Ministry of Labour.

STAGE 3 – EMPLOYEE'S WORK PERMIT

3.1) If the Employee is outside the UAE: The process starts with procuring a work permit for an expatriate from Ministry of Labour valid for two months from the date of issue. Then the employment contract (based on the offer letter) must be signed by both parties and submitted to Ministry of Labour WITHIN 14 DAYS of the employee's arrival in the UAE.

STAGE 4 – COMPLETING THE LAST FORMALITIES ie. WORK VISA

4.1) Then sponsoring company arranges to complete the formalities of:

• medical testing,
• obtaining UAE Resident Identity (Emirates ID) Card,
• Labour Card, and
• stamping the work residency permit on his passport all WITHIN a period of 60 DAYS.