How to hire a maid in the UAE: the routes, costs and timeline
How to hire a maid or nanny in the UAE: the main legal routes, what MOHRE and ICP ask for, the published costs and the official time limits.
15 min read
Guides to hiring a maid or nanny in the UAE
Practical, plain-English answers on costs and salaries, visas, choosing a helper and your duties as an employer, written for families hiring in the UAE.
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Hiring a helper who is already in the UAE: the visa transfer, step by step
Hiring a maid or nanny who is already in the UAE: whose consent is needed, what MOHRE and ICP ask for, the fees, and each step to your sponsorship.
11 min read
Maid visa cost in the UAE: government fees, deposits and service fees
What a maid visa costs in the UAE as of September 2026: ICP's guarantee and residence fees, MOHRE's charges, deposits, insurance and service fees.
15 min read
Maid and nanny salaries in the UAE: what helpers ask for
What maids and nannies on MaidMatch ask for, by arrangement and nationality, with dates and sample sizes, plus UAE rules on minimum pay and paying a helper.
9 min read
Getting started
The basics of hiring a maid or nanny in the UAE, from your first decision to your first month.
How to hire a maid in the UAE: the routes, costs and timeline
How to hire a maid or nanny in the UAE: the main legal routes, what MOHRE and ICP ask for, the published costs and the official time limits.
15 min read
Maid, nanny, caregiver or housekeeper: which helper does your family need?
Nanny vs maid, housekeeper or caregiver: what each helper does in a UAE home, how the roles overlap, and what to agree with her before she starts.
7 min read
Agency, Tadbeer, platform or direct hire: how to choose
Maid agency, Tadbeer centre, platform or direct hire? Who sponsors your helper on each route, what MOHRE says on costs and refunds, and how to choose.
11 min read
Tadbeer centres explained: what they do, what they cost, and the alternatives
What Tadbeer centres do, MOHRE's three recruitment packages, what is and isn't published about their prices and refunds, and the alternatives.
10 min read
Own visa, visit visa or part-time: what is legal when you hire help?
Can you hire a maid on her own visa, a visit visa or part-time in the UAE? What the Domestic Workers law and MOHRE allow, the legal routes and the fines.
10 min read
How long does it take to hire a maid in the UAE?
How long it takes to hire a maid or nanny in the UAE: the official time limits we found, what makes a hire slower or faster, and hiring someone already here.
9 min read
Costs and visas
What hiring actually costs, and how sponsorship and the visa process work.
Maid and nanny salaries in the UAE: what helpers ask for
What maids and nannies on MaidMatch ask for, by arrangement and nationality, with dates and sample sizes, plus UAE rules on minimum pay and paying a helper.
9 min read
Minimum salaries for domestic workers, by nationality
The UAE sets no statutory minimum wage for domestic workers. As of September 2026, only the Philippines, of nine home countries, has a floor we could verify.
8 min read
What a live-in maid really costs: a first-year budget
A first-year budget for a live-in maid in Dubai and the UAE: her salary, government fees, insurance by emirate, housing, leave, the ticket home and final dues.
13 min read
Maid visa cost in the UAE: government fees, deposits and service fees
What a maid visa costs in the UAE as of September 2026: ICP's guarantee and residence fees, MOHRE's charges, deposits, insurance and service fees.
15 min read
Who can sponsor a maid in the UAE? Income, housing and family rules
Who can sponsor a maid in the UAE: what MOHRE asks citizens, expatriates and Golden Visa holders for, the income figure, and the housing and family rules.
10 min read
Hiring a helper who is already in the UAE: the visa transfer, step by step
Hiring a maid or nanny who is already in the UAE: whose consent is needed, what MOHRE and ICP ask for, the fees, and each step to your sponsorship.
11 min read
The maid visa process, step by step: entry permit, medical test and Emirates ID
The maid visa process in the UAE, step by step: MOHRE's work permit, which doubles as her entry permit, then the medical test, Emirates ID and residence.
10 min read
Renewing your maid's visa: steps, costs and timing
How to renew a maid's or nanny's visa in the UAE: what MOHRE asks for, the renewal fees by sponsor, health insurance by emirate, and when to start.
11 min read
Health insurance for your maid: what each emirate requires
Maid health insurance in the UAE, emirate by emirate: what Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates require, who pays, and what the basic package costs.
9 min read
Choosing and checking a helper
How to compare helpers, ask the right interview questions and check a candidate before you hire.
Live-in or live-out maid: cost, rules and which suits your family
Live-in or live-out maid in the UAE? What the Domestic Workers law asks of you, who sponsors a live-out helper, asking salaries and which suits your family.
10 min read
Maternity nurse, night nanny or live-in nanny: support for a newborn
Maternity nurse, night nanny or live-in nanny for a newborn in the UAE: what each does, how long you need her, and the legal ways to hire each one.
11 min read
Caregiver or home nurse? Care for an elderly parent at home
Live-in caregiver or home nurse for an elderly parent in the UAE: what MOHRE's occupation list says, when WPS applies, and who to ask about licences.
10 min read
Choosing a helper: why skills and experience matter more than nationality
Is there a best nationality for a maid? What to compare instead, from skills and experience to languages and references, and when nationality does matter.
9 min read
Maid and nanny interview questions, including video calls on WhatsApp
Maid and nanny interview questions for UAE families: what to ask, what to listen for, the visa checks to make and how to run a WhatsApp video call.
14 min read
How to check a helper's references and documents
How to check a maid's visa status, documents and references before you hire in the UAE: what MOHRE asks for, what to look at, and when to stop.
11 min read
Avoiding maid-hiring scams on WhatsApp and social media
How to spot a maid-hiring scam on WhatsApp or social media: the UAE rules on recruiter licences, contracts, fees and visit visas, and where to complain.
8 min read
Nationality rules
Nationality-specific rules and requirements for hiring a helper in the UAE.
Hiring a Filipino helper in the UAE: rules, minimum salary and contract verification
Hiring a Filipina maid or nanny in the UAE: the Philippine recruitment route, MWO Dubai's minimum basic wage and contract verification, and her documents.
12 min read
Hiring a Kenyan or Ugandan helper: rules, salaries and languages
Hiring a Kenyan or Ugandan maid in the UAE: each country's recruitment rules and agency checks, what helpers ask for, languages and the documents to see.
10 min read
Hiring an Ethiopian helper in the UAE: rules, costs and languages
Hiring an Ethiopian maid or nanny in the UAE: MOHRE's permit rules, what Ethiopia's 2025 overseas employment law requires, who pays which costs, and languages.
11 min read
Hiring an Indian domestic worker: eMigrate, ECR passports and the embassy minimum wage
Hiring an Indian maid in the UAE: the Embassy of India's eMigrate steps, what an ECR passport means, the refundable deposit and India's minimum wage rule.
10 min read
Which nationalities can work as maids in the UAE? Bans and hiring routes by country
Which nationalities can work as maids in the UAE: each home country's position, the bans we found and the hiring routes, as of September 2026.
13 min read
Hiring a Sri Lankan helper in the UAE: SLBFE rules, deposits and documents
Hiring a Sri Lankan maid in the UAE: SLBFE registration, the direct-hire deposit, life insurance, age rules and documents, as of September 2026.
13 min read
Your rights and duties as an employer
What UAE law entitles both families and helpers to, from contracts to rest days.
UAE domestic worker law: an employer's checklist
An employer's checklist to UAE domestic worker law: what Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 and MOHRE require, from the contract and pay to leave and insurance.
13 min read
The domestic worker contract, clause by clause
What goes in a UAE maid or nanny contract, clause by clause: the terms the Decree-Law requires, from pay, rest and leave to probation and how it ends.
15 min read
Day off, working hours, rest and public holidays for your helper
Your maid's weekly day off, daily rest and working hours under UAE law, what you owe if she works her day off, and what we found on public holidays and Ramadan.
8 min read
Annual leave and flight tickets for your helper
Annual leave for a maid or nanny in the UAE: how much she gets, when she takes it, how it is paid, her sick leave, and who pays for her flight home.
10 min read
Do you have to pay your maid through WPS?
Is WPS mandatory for your maid or nanny? What MOHRE lists as optional or mandatory, the pay rules for every helper, and how to prove you paid her.
8 min read
Probation, replacement and refunds when you hire a domestic worker
The UAE's limit on a maid's probation, when a recruitment office must replace her or refund you, how MOHRE works out refunds, and the rules for a direct hire.
13 min read
Day to day, and moving on
Practical guidance for life with a helper at home, and for ending the arrangement properly.
When your helper stops coming to work: what to do, and what the law says
Your maid or nanny has stopped coming to work? What UAE law asks of you, the deadline to tell MOHRE, her pay and visa, agency refunds and hiring again.
10 min read
Maid room requirements and a setup checklist
Maid room requirements in Dubai and the UAE: what the Domestic Workers law says, what it leaves open, and our practical checklist for setting up her room.
9 min read
Your helper's first week: an onboarding checklist and house rules
A first-week checklist for a new maid or nanny in the UAE: her contract, day off, passport, pay records and insurance, and the house rules to agree.
14 min read
How to cancel a maid visa: steps, dues and timing
Cancelling a maid's visa in the UAE: where to apply, MOHRE's fee, her final dues, who pays her flight home, and timing it around a transfer.
9 min read
Ending a domestic worker's contract: final dues, the flight home and gratuity
Ending your maid's contract in the UAE: the deadline for her final dues, unused leave, who pays her flight home, and what the law says on gratuity.
12 min read
Leaving the UAE? What to do about your helper
Leaving Dubai or the UAE? How your maid can transfer to a new sponsor or go home, how her visa is cancelled, and what you owe her before you leave.
11 min read