UAE ministry cuts work permit fees by 50% to 94%
Fees slashed for work permits, part-time permits, temporary permits across categories
Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) has started reducing fees for 145 services and transactions — with anywhere from 50 to 94 per cent fee reductions — it was announced on Wednesday.
The move is being implemented through service centres — including Tas’heel, Tadbeer, Tawafuq and Tawjeeh.
The fee reductions of between 50 per cent and 94 per cent apply to 17 services, the ministry stated.
The reduced rates come as part of the implementation of a Cabinet decision on the service fees and fines levied by MOHRE.
The ministry explained that the revised fee structure for issuing work permits is linked to a new classification system of companies based on the skills level and the diversity of workers.
Exemptions continue
According to the decision, the ministry will continue to exempt companies from paying the work permit fee to employ an Emirati worker or a GCC national, as well as exempt fishing boat facilities from work permit fees.
Nasser Bin Thani Al Hameli, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said that the new fees are part of the government’s policy to promote the incubator environment for investors and support entrepreneurship and employers by reducing the operational costs related to labour recruitment costs and boost the presence of Emiratis in private sector enterprises.
Al Hameli affirmed the importance of the decision in terms of enhancing the productivity of the labour market in the country by encouraging the private sector businesses to employ skilled workers who have expertise and competencies, in line with the objectives of the National Agenda 2021.
He pointed out that the new reduced fees will enhance the flexibility of the labour market. Moreover, the move is expected to meet the needs of private sector businesses for workers already in the country, and enable those who are sponsored by their families to invest their energies through working in the private sector.
At the same time, with the fee reductions, enterprises would have additional options to meet their operational needs.
Other work permits
For the application fees of work permit for teenagers, temporary work permits, work permit for part-time, the training permit, the worker’s provisional permit were reduced by 50 per cent across different categories of establishments.
The decree also reduced the annual license fee for employment agencies, which were reduced by 50 per cent.