A new fee structure for work permit has been enforced today in UAE by the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE) after its approval by cabinet recently. According to new regulations, the companies will now be divided in three categories according to cultural diversity and the skill level of their workers.
According to details, the 1st category will be comprised of local fishing boat owners, small & medium entrepreneurs that are members of ‘Youth Support’ organizations and members of the Emiratisation Partners Club. There is no work permit fee for boat owners while others will pay AED 300 for both skilled and unskilled worker. In case of transfer of workers, the fee for skilled and low-skilled worker will be AED 100 and AED 150 respectively.
The 2nd category is divided in four subcategories. A company with 40% or more skilled workforce along with minimum 50% multicultural ratio (the multicultural ratio is common in all subcategories) is given the rank of “2A”. Company with same percentage of multicultural ratio and skilled workforce from 10 to less than 40% is placed at “2B”. Companies with skilled workforce from 5% to less than 10% are ranked at “2C” while company with less than 5% of skilled workforce is ranked at the bottom with “2D” category.
Work permit fee for this category is from AED 500 to AED 2,000 (skilled workers) and from AED 1,200 to AED 3,200 (for unskilled workers). The fee for transfer of workers is from AED 250 to AED 1,000 (skilled workers) and from AED 500 to AED 1,500 (unskilled workers). The fee is minimum for 2A category and maximum for 2D category.
There is also a 3rd category in the latest regulations. It is for those companies that have committed one or more violations of the 10 listed in the ‘Labour Law’.
The recent law is another step by the UAE government to bring meaningful changes in the economic condition of the country. Due to lower oil prices in international market, the UAE government is taking such steps to minimize the role of hydrocarbon exports and diversify its economy. Such steps will increase the use of skilled foreign workers in UAE that will impact positively on various financial sectors.
