Hiring a Filipino helper in the UAE: rules, minimum salary and contract verification

Recruiting from the Philippines goes through an accredited Tadbeer centre and a DMW-licensed agency unless a DMW exemption applies, MWO Dubai says. For contract verification, MWO Dubai requires a Filipino domestic worker's contract to set a basic wage of at least AED 1,500 a month. A Filipina already in the UAE needs a MOHRE work permit, like any other helper.

MWO Dubai is the Philippines' Migrant Workers Office in Dubai, and DMW is its Department of Migrant Workers. MWO Dubai serves Dubai and the northern emirates (Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah); if you live in Abu Dhabi, check the requirements with the Philippine Embassy. MOHRE, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, issues her UAE work permit.

Can you recruit a helper from the Philippines right now?

Check first. As of September 2026, the official signals from the Philippines are mixed, so confirm the current position with DMW or MWO Dubai before you start, or with the Philippine Embassy if you live in Abu Dhabi. Our guide to which nationalities can work as maids in the UAE covers the other source countries.

On one side, DMW said on 8 April 2026, as reported by the Philippine News Agency, that there was 'no ban imposed for those bound for the Middle East'. On the other, DMW's Advisory No. 10 of 2026, dated 6 March 2026, on strengthened monitoring and welfare measures for overseas Filipino workers in nine Middle East countries including the UAE, was still listed as active on 29 September 2026. The advisory itself is a scanned document we couldn't read, so we can't say what it requires.

DMW also issued Advisory No. 22 of 2026 on 30 April 2026, titled 'Warning against illegal recruiters exploiting the Middle East crisis'. Recruit only through the route MWO Dubai sets out below, and see our guide to avoiding maid-hiring scams for the warning signs.

How do you hire a Filipino maid in the UAE?

It depends on where she is now. A Filipina recruited from the Philippines comes through the route MWO Dubai sets out, and one who already lives in the UAE can move to your sponsorship from inside the country, through MOHRE's work permit service. The Philippine rules differ between the two:

If you live in Abu Dhabi, ask the Philippine Embassy wherever this guide says MWO Dubai.

Recruiting from the Philippines

Many of the domestic worker service centres MOHRE approves carry the Tadbeer name. MWO Dubai processes direct (name) hiring of Filipino domestic workers only under DMW's exemptions; otherwise, a worker newly recruited from the Philippines goes through an accredited Tadbeer service centre and a DMW-licensed Philippine recruitment agency.

Whether your family qualifies for a direct-hire exemption is set by DMW's rules, so check with MWO Dubai before you plan one.

POEA stands for the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. MWO Dubai's hiring page says processing of individual employment contracts may begin only once the Tadbeer centre's accreditation is registered in the POEA system, and that employers must now also submit a Contingency and Evacuation Plan.

Before you commit, work through these checks in order:

1. Confirm the deployment position with DMW or MWO Dubai (see above).
2. Check the centre. MOHRE publishes its list of approved domestic worker service centres (opens in a new tab). Ask the centre to confirm its MWO Dubai accreditation and which DMW-licensed agency it works with.
3. Agree her pay in writing. For MWO Dubai to verify her contract, her basic wage must meet its minimum (see the salary section below).
4. Check the fees. A 2006 resolution of the POEA's Governing Board prohibits collecting a placement fee from household workers, whether before their deployment or on-site through salary deductions. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a recruitment agency may not take any commission or expenses from a domestic worker.
5. Plan the UAE side. She needs a MOHRE work permit before she starts work, and our maid visa process guide covers each UAE step.

Hiring a Filipina who is already in the UAE

MOHRE's work permit service covers helpers who are already in the country, and our guide to hiring a helper who is already in the UAE covers the move step by step. If she still works for another family, check the consent rule first. The ILO's May 2024 brief on UAE rules, citing Ministerial Resolution No. 674 of 2022, says a domestic worker's move to a new employer during the contract term needs the current employer's written consent.

Then plan her next trip home. A Filipino worker needs an exit clearance, such as an OEC, to leave the Philippines. MWO Dubai's page says DMW's Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) exemption for returning Filipino workers is only for a worker going back to the same employer, with the same company name or sponsor, jobsite and position, and that a worker whose details differ is redirected to set an appointment. Once she works for you, her employer has changed, so ask MWO Dubai what she needs before she books her trip.

What is the minimum salary for a Filipino maid in the UAE?

The UAE sets no statutory minimum wage for domestic workers, the ILO's May 2024 summary of UAE rules says, but the Philippines sets a floor for the contracts MWO Dubai verifies. For contract verification, MWO Dubai requires a Filipino domestic worker's contract to set a basic wage of at least AED 1,500 a month, according to its contract verification page (opens in a new tab) as of September 2026.

A floor like this applies only to contracts verified through the Philippine system. MWO Dubai serves Dubai and the northern emirates, so if you live in Abu Dhabi, check the requirement with the Philippine Embassy.

If you're re-hiring a helper you sponsored before, MWO Dubai's re-hire page (opens in a new tab) has its own checklist. MWO Dubai's re-hire checklist, which applies to employers who previously sponsored the worker they intend to hire, says the minimum basic wage, excluding allowances, must be at least AED 1,500. We found no MWO Dubai page that says the checklist covers renewing the contract of a helper who stays with you in the UAE: that renewal is a MOHRE service, which our guide to renewing your maid's visa explains.

The Philippines also sets a minimum wage in US dollars for household workers deployed abroad. We found no official text saying how its current rate applies to the UAE, so we don't quote a dollar figure.

What do Filipina helpers ask for on MaidMatch?

Each helper lists her own salary range on her profile. We take the bottom of her range as her asking salary. The median is the figure in the middle when helpers are lined up from the lowest asking salary to the highest, and the middle half is the range where the middle 50% of them sit.

These are asking salaries on one platform on one date, not a market survey or an official figure, and her pay is for the two of you to agree. Our salary guide has the figures for all available helpers, and our guide to minimum salaries by nationality compares other countries' rules.

What do you need for MWO Dubai contract verification?

For a domestic worker's contract verification, MWO Dubai asks for two copies each of the employment contract signed by the employer and the worker, an addendum to the contract, the worker's valid passport, and the worker's valid visa or Emirates ID issued in Dubai or the northern emirates, according to its contract verification page (opens in a new tab) as of September 2026. The contract must also set at least the minimum basic wage above.

MWO Dubai charges AED 40 in cash for each domestic worker contract it verifies, and lists one-day processing for on-site, in-person processing. The contract it lists is the UAE domestic labour contract or the POEA standard employment contract, whichever applies. If you live in Abu Dhabi, check the requirements with the Philippine Embassy instead.

MWO Dubai's verification page doesn't say which contracts must be verified. On the recruitment route, its hiring page ties the processing of individual contracts to the Tadbeer centre's accreditation (see above). For a Filipina already in the UAE who moves to your employment, we found no official page that says whether her new contract must be verified, so ask MWO Dubai before you agree her terms.

Which documents does a Filipina helper need?

Two sets: Philippine documents for working abroad, and UAE documents for her work permit. OFW stands for overseas Filipino worker, OWWA for the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and TESDA for the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. On the Philippine side, as MWO Dubai's and DMW's pages showed them in September 2026:

• An exit clearance to leave the Philippines. MWO Dubai's page on the DMW Mobile App says an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) is valid for 60 days and can be used only once, and that the OFW Pass is free in the app and valid until the worker's contract expires.
• OWWA membership. MWO Dubai's OWWA membership page puts the membership fee at AED 92 and says membership is valid for two years, regardless of contract duration or change of employer. The page doesn't say who pays the fee, so ask MWO Dubai.
• Pre-qualifications, if she is recruited from the Philippines. A 2006 resolution of the POEA's Governing Board makes a TESDA National Certificate for household service workers (NCII) and a country-specific language and culture orientation from OWWA pre-qualifications for domestic helpers bound overseas.
• A minimum age, if she is recruited from the Philippines. DMW's archive lists a 2007 resolution of the POEA's Governing Board lowering the minimum age of Filipino household service workers to 23, except in countries where the age requirement for household service workers is higher. We couldn't confirm that this is still the rule, so confirm her eligibility with MWO Dubai or the agency.
• Police clearance. DMW's Advisory No. 52 of 2026, dated 13 August 2026, is titled 'New Police Clearance Certificate Requirement for Filipino Workers applying for Employment Visas in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)'. We couldn't read the advisory itself or confirm which workers it covers, so ask MWO Dubai or your agency whether it applies to her.

On the UAE side, MOHRE sets its own conditions for a new work permit, as its service card listed them in September 2026:

• For a new domestic worker work permit, MOHRE requires that the worker does not already hold a valid work permit and has a passport valid for at least three months.
• MOHRE's service card for a new domestic worker work permit lists a copy of the worker's passport and a colour photograph of the worker among the required documents.
• A domestic worker must be at least 18, and MOHRE applies an upper age limit of 60 for a new work permit. MOHRE can exempt a domestic worker who is already in the UAE from its upper age limit if their domestic-worker residence was cancelled no more than three months earlier.

Her passport stays with her. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker has the right to keep all their official documents, including their passport and ID, and an employer may not hold them. Our guide to checking a helper's references and documents shows what to look at before you hire.

Which languages will a Filipina helper speak?

It depends on the helper, so ask her rather than going by her passport. Find out which languages she speaks and how well, and have a WhatsApp video call before you decide: it quickly shows how easily you understand each other.

Two rules touch on language. On the Philippine side, see the language and culture orientation among her pre-qualifications above. On the UAE side, the contract rule applies. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker's contract must be in Arabic with a translation into a language the worker understands, and if the two versions conflict, the Arabic prevails. Our guide to choosing a helper explains why skills, experience and a shared language tell you more than a passport does.

How can MaidMatch help?

By helping you find a helper: you can browse the Filipina helpers listed now. MaidMatch is a free platform for families: they can browse every profile at no cost, with no registration or subscription required. Families contact helpers directly on WhatsApp, through the Hire button on each profile.

Sponsorship is the employer's responsibility; families can manage the visa themselves or ask MaidMatch to connect them with its visa partners. MaidMatch's visa partner offers a two-year employment visa, with the visa, medical test, Emirates ID and insurance handled end to end. Ask the partner who sponsors her on that visa, and what that period covers. Our partners page has the details and the current price.

Before you agree anything, ask each helper what visa she holds now, and check the Philippine points in this guide with MWO Dubai, or with the Philippine Embassy if you live in Abu Dhabi.