Dubai employment visa process: the steps and the costs

The Dubai employment visa lets a company sponsor a foreign employee to live and work in the UAE. It runs through a set sequence: the work permit, the entry permit, a status change or entry, the medical, the Emirates ID and the visa stamp. The whole process usually takes a couple of weeks per person when the file is clean.

What are the steps of an employment visa?

The company first needs a valid trade licence and an establishment card. Then comes the work permit from the labour authority, the entry permit, a status change if the person is already in the country, the medical fitness test, the Emirates ID biometrics, and finally the residence visa stamp. Each step has its own government fee, which is why a realistic quote lists them rather than giving a single round number. We run the sequence so nothing is done out of order, which is the usual cause of delay.

Who pays for the employment visa?

Under UAE labour rules the employer generally bears the cost of the work permit and the residence visa for the employee, and must not pass those specific costs to the worker. The exact split and the deposits involved depend on the licence type and the jurisdiction, mainland or free zone. We set the costs out clearly up front so there is no dispute later and so the company budgets correctly for each hire it plans.

How long does an employment visa take?

Roughly one to two weeks per person once the company documents are in order and appointments are available. The medical and the Emirates ID biometrics are the steps most affected by appointment availability, which we book ahead. A delay almost always traces back to an incomplete file or a step taken in the wrong order, not to the authority itself, which is what careful preparation avoids.

Can the family come on an employment visa?

Yes. Once the employee holds a residence visa and meets the salary and housing conditions, they can sponsor a spouse and children, and in defined cases parents. The income threshold and the attested documents are what decide it. We handle the dependant applications alongside the main visa so the family relocates together rather than in separate trips weeks apart.

What does Layerz handle?

We run the whole employment visa process end to end, from the establishment card and work permit through to the Emirates ID and the family visas, for one fixed, itemised fee per person. See our employment visa and family visa services, and the UAE Government visa guide for the official overview. We only quote figures we can trace to the issuing authority, such as the UAE Government business guide, so what you plan on is real and current.