Hiring a Sri Lankan helper in the UAE: SLBFE rules, deposits and documents

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi says every Sri Lankan migrant worker should be registered with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) before departure. For a direct hire, SLBFE asks the employer to pay a deposit, buy her life insurance and supply documents. As of September 2026, the official pages disagree on the deposit amount.

SLBFE is the Sri Lankan body that registers workers going abroad. Its website and the labour pages of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi (the Embassy) are the sources for Sri Lanka's rules below. In the UAE, MOHRE, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, issues her work permit, and the law for domestic workers is Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, the Domestic Workers Decree-Law.

Can you hire a Sri Lankan maid in the UAE?

As of September 2026, we found no Sri Lankan ban on recruiting its domestic workers for the UAE. SLBFE sets out how an employer in the Middle East recruits a Sri Lankan woman directly as a domestic worker, and the Embassy publishes the steps for UAE sponsors. Its page on SLBFE registration was updated on 6 October 2025.

Rules like these can change, so confirm the current position with the Embassy or SLBFE before you start. Our guide to which nationalities can work as maids compares Sri Lanka with other countries.

On the UAE side, MOHRE's permit service lets you apply yourself: MOHRE describes it as a service for employers recruiting a domestic worker from inside or outside the country. Our guide to how to hire a maid in the UAE compares the routes, and our guide to who can sponsor a maid covers MOHRE's conditions for sponsors.

How do you hire a Sri Lankan maid directly?

Through two sets of steps: SLBFE's for a direct recruitment, and MOHRE's for her work permit. Sri Lanka's mission here means its embassy or consulate. SLBFE says an employer directly recruiting a Sri Lankan female domestic worker for the Middle East should pay a deposit to the labour and welfare section of the Sri Lankan mission, and buy her life insurance for employment in the UAE.

SLBFE says that when someone goes abroad for domestic work, the employment contract they submit to register should be verified by the Embassy of Sri Lanka. The Embassy's page for a UAE sponsor recruiting a domestic worker individually is Registration of Individual Job Contracts (Domestic Workers) by an individual (opens in a new tab). On 30 July 2025, the Embassy also posted a notice titled Mandatory Authentication of Employment Contracts (opens in a new tab). Its text is in images we couldn't read, so ask the Embassy what it requires before you sign anything.

Put together from SLBFE's pages and the Embassy's, the steps run like this as of September 2026. The Embassy's detailed page dates from June 2020, so check each step with the Embassy before you start:

1. Check that she can register with SLBFE. Sri Lanka sets a minimum age, and asks for a family background report from some women and for experience or training (see below).
2. Apply for her UAE work permit. Through one of MOHRE's channels, such as its website or app, you log in with UAE PASS, the UAE's digital ID, submit the request with the information and documents it asks for, and pay the fees. MOHRE issues the permit once the request is complete, and tells you if anything else is needed. MOHRE's service card for a new domestic worker work permit states a processing time of 2 working days. Our maid visa process guide covers the entry permit that follows.
3. Have her contract verified by the Embassy. Ask which contract form it wants, and what its July 2025 notice requires.
4. Pay the deposit and buy her life insurance. SLBFE has the deposit paid with the documents it lists, which include a copy of her visa (see below). Confirm the amount with the Embassy first.
5. Send her the papers for her SLBFE registration. The Embassy's 2020 page says you send her the signed contract with copies of the payment slips and insurance certificates, and she submits them to SLBFE.
6. Complete the UAE steps after she arrives. The same visa process guide covers her medical test, Emirates ID and residence.

The Embassy's 2020 page puts the Sri Lankan steps after her UAE entry visa is issued, and says they should all be completed before she arrives in the UAE.

What deposit and insurance does Sri Lanka ask for?

For a direct hire, SLBFE asks you for both: a deposit with the Sri Lankan mission, and life insurance for her. The amount of the deposit is where the pages disagree. SLBFE's page (opens in a new tab), which shows no date, and the Embassy's page (opens in a new tab), posted in June 2020, give different amounts, and the Embassy's page calls it non-refundable.

SLBFE's page gives no amount for the life insurance, and the Embassy's figure dates from 2020, so ask the Embassy what applies now and how to buy it.

Her life insurance is Sri Lanka's requirement, and the UAE has its own. Before a work permit is issued, the employer must buy a domestic worker insurance policy that covers the worker's unpaid dues up to AED 20,000. Health insurance rules depend on the emirate: our health insurance guide sets them out, and our maid visa cost guide covers the UAE's government fees.

What does SLBFE ask of a Sri Lankan helper before she leaves?

Registration, and the conditions SLBFE sets for it as of September 2026: a minimum age, a family background report for some women, and experience or training. Most of it is hers to arrange in Sri Lanka, so ask her early where she stands.

Registration and its fees

SLBFE's registration page, as of September 2026, gives the initial registration fee as 'Rs. 22,027 / = (18,200 + 18% (VAT) +2.5%(SSCL))' and the registration renewal fee as 'Rs.4,599 / = (Rs.3,800 +18% (VAT)+2.5(SSCL) )'. Rs. means Sri Lankan rupees. Check the current fee with SLBFE before she registers.

Renewals can also be made in the UAE. The Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi says domestic workers can renew their SLBFE registration there but not register for the first time, paying AED 50 with the same sponsor after a two-year contract or AED 230 with a new sponsor after the contract period.

Her age

SLBFE says a Sri Lankan woman going abroad for a domestic job should be at least 23 to register with it for a Middle East country other than Saudi Arabia, where the minimum is 25. We found no maximum age on SLBFE's page.

The UAE's own limits apply as well. 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.

Family background report, experience and training

A Divisional Secretariat is a local government office in Sri Lanka. SLBFE says a woman under 45 who registers with it for a job abroad should submit a family background report from the Divisional Secretariat of her area.

SLBFE says a woman going abroad for domestic work should have foreign work experience, or complete one of its training courses, to register. SLBFE's pages describe more than one course, so ask SLBFE which one applies to her.

What documents do you need to hire a Sri Lankan maid?

SLBFE lists what it needs from you for a direct hire, and MOHRE lists what it needs for her work permit. For the direct recruitment of a Sri Lankan female domestic worker for the Middle East, SLBFE lists the documents it needs from the employer: an individual employment contract, a copy of the employer's identification document, the employer's profile, and copies of the worker's passport and visa.

As of 29 September 2026, MOHRE's permit card sets these for the worker, among others:

• 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.
• 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.

Your own documents as a sponsor are covered in our guide to who can sponsor a maid.

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. Ask her which languages she reads and speaks, and talk on a WhatsApp video call before you decide. Our guide to choosing a helper explains why skills and experience matter more than nationality.

Look at her passport and visa 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 covers what else to look at.

Can you use an agency to hire a Sri Lankan maid?

Yes. In the UAE the agency needs a MOHRE licence, and on Sri Lanka's side the Embassy in Abu Dhabi registers agencies there that recruit from Sri Lanka. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, recruiting domestic workers or placing them temporarily requires a MOHRE licence, and doing either without one is punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine of AED 200,000 to AED 1,000,000, or both.

MOHRE publishes a list of the domestic worker service centres it approves, many of them branded Tadbeer, so check an agency against it or call MOHRE on 600 590000.

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi says a recruitment agency in Abu Dhabi that expects to recruit from Sri Lanka should register with SLBFE through the Embassy for AED 130, renew the registration each year for the same fee, and work with no more than five Sri Lankan agencies. Once registered, the agency gets a certificate with a registration number, so ask to see it, and ask which Sri Lankan agency it works with. If your agency is outside Abu Dhabi, ask it whether, and where, it is registered on Sri Lanka's side.

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi charges AED 555 to register a job order, the document a UAE recruitment agency signs with its Sri Lankan partner agency, including the attestation of the documents that go with it. Both Embassy pages date from June 2020.

Ask the agency and the Embassy whether a deposit and her life insurance apply when an agency recruits her, and who arranges them. Our guide to agency, Tadbeer, platform or direct hire compares the UAE routes.

Can you hire a Sri Lankan maid who is already in the UAE?

Yes, as far as MOHRE is concerned: its permit service covers a helper who is already inside the country. When the worker is already inside the UAE, MOHRE asks for the worker's tourist visa, if they are on one, or for the cancellation of their previous visa. On Sri Lanka's side, the Embassy's renewal amounts above are for a worker whose contract period has ended, and its page doesn't say what applies when she changes sponsor before then, so ask the Embassy which registration she needs and what it costs. SLBFE's registration page says a change of employer makes a worker's SLBFE registration void, and that under a new employment contract with the new employer the registration should be done by paying the initial registration fee.

We found no official page that says whether the deposit, the life insurance or the Embassy's contract verification applies when she moves to a new employer inside the UAE, so ask the Embassy before you start. If she has never registered with SLBFE, the Embassy's page says it can't make a first registration for a domestic worker, so ask the Embassy what she should do.

If another family employs her now, read our guide to hiring a helper who is already in the UAE first: it covers her current employer's consent, the permit and the change of status. She can't start work for you until she holds a MOHRE work permit for the job. Employing a domestic worker without a work permit for that job is punishable by a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 200,000.

Is there a minimum salary for a Sri Lankan maid in the UAE?

We found none. We found no current official minimum salary for Sri Lankan domestic workers in the UAE on the pages of SLBFE or the Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi. If you see a figure quoted elsewhere, check it with the Embassy before you rely on it.

The UAE sets no statutory minimum wage for domestic workers, the International Labour Organization's May 2024 summary of UAE rules says, so any floor comes from her home country and applies only to contracts verified through that country's system.

Each helper lists her own salary range on her profile. We don't give a MaidMatch figure for Sri Lankan helpers: on 29 September 2026, too few had available profiles for a reliable one. Our salary guide shows what helpers on MaidMatch ask for, and our guide to minimum salaries by nationality covers other countries.

How can MaidMatch help you find a Sri Lankan helper?

By helping you find her: you can browse the Sri Lankan 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.

Most helpers listed on MaidMatch are already in the UAE and ready to work, so ask each Sri Lankan helper what visa she holds, who sponsors her now and whether her SLBFE registration is current.

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, what the two years cover, and whether its service includes Sri Lanka's steps. Our partners page has the details and the current price.