Hiring an Indian domestic worker: eMigrate, ECR passports and the embassy minimum wage

As of September 2026, the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi asks a family recruiting an Indian woman with an ECR passport directly to register on eMigrate, have her UAE employment visa attested with a refundable deposit, and generate her contract there before her emigration clearance. It says to check India's minimum wage first; we couldn't verify the amount.

A few terms first. eMigrate is the Indian government's online system for recruiting its workers for jobs abroad, at emigrate.gov.in (opens in a new tab). ECR is a status shown in some Indian passports: the Consulate General of India in Dubai (CGI Dubai) spells it out as Emigration Clearance Required, and the Embassy's insurance page as Emigration Check Required. Passports without it are called ECNR passports. Emigration clearance comes from India's Protector of Emigrants (POE). 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.

What does an ECR passport mean when you hire an Indian maid?

It decides whether the Embassy's eMigrate process applies to her. The Embassy's recruitment page (opens in a new tab) is headed "Recruitment of Indian Female Workers (ECR Passport Holders) through E-Migrate", and its steps lead to her emigration clearance from the POE in India.

CGI Dubai's FAQ (opens in a new tab), updated on 5 May 2026, adds two answers. The Consulate General of India in Dubai says that to recruit a housemaid from India, the sponsor has to get the employment visa attested by the Embassy or Consulate, and that attestation is not required for Indians with an ECNR passport. It doesn't say which of the two applies to a housemaid with an ECNR passport, so if hers is ECNR, ask the Embassy or CGI Dubai what they need before she travels.

The status is shown in her passport, so look at it together. 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.

How do you hire an Indian maid through eMigrate?

You register as an employer on eMigrate and follow the Embassy's steps for direct recruitment, alongside the UAE's own permit and visa. Here are the Embassy's steps, from its page last updated on 12 June 2025, with the UAE's steps where they fit:

1. Check the job and the pay. Before you recruit, the Embassy asks you to check India's job designation and minimum wage criteria (see the wage section below).
2. Register as an employer on eMigrate.
3. Apply for her UAE work permit. MOHRE issues it, and our maid visa process guide covers the UAE steps.
4. Have her employment visa attested. The Embassy's page sends you to the Embassy in Abu Dhabi or to CGI Dubai, with the documents it lists; for an Indian family, these include a no-relationship affidavit. A UAE family recruiting an Indian woman with an ECR passport directly through eMigrate pays a refundable AED 9,200 deposit when her visa is attested at the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General of India in Dubai, as applicable.
5. Generate her employment contract on eMigrate.
6. Make sure her PBBY insurance is in place. A Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY) policy, India's insurance scheme for emigrant workers in the ECR category, has to be obtained in India, through one of the authorised insurance companies, before emigration clearance.
7. Apply for her emigration clearance through eMigrate. It comes from the POE in India.
8. Finish the UAE steps after she arrives. The visa process guide covers her medical test, Emirates ID and residence.

How much is the Indian Embassy deposit, and how do you get it back?

A UAE family recruiting an Indian woman with an ECR passport directly through eMigrate pays a refundable AED 9,200 deposit when her visa is attested at the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General of India in Dubai, as applicable. The Embassy's page, as we read it in September 2026, applies it to employers of all nationalities, not only Indian families.

You claim it back when she leaves for good. The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi says a sponsor who recruited a female ECR worker from India through eMigrate has to bring her for an exit interview at the Embassy before her final departure to India. When the contract ends by mutual consent, the page says you and she should go to the Embassy in Abu Dhabi in person and submit a written request for the refund before she leaves, and she confirms in writing that her dues have been settled.

The page also says no refund is made if she is sent back to India without her dues cleared. If she complains of unpaid dues, or the Embassy pays costs for her, such as accommodation, food, local transport, medical treatment or her flight home, those costs come out of the deposit and only the balance is refunded. Read the page's full conditions before you pay.

If you use one of the agencies the Embassy lists instead, the deposit isn't mandatory (see the next section). It is India's requirement, separate from the UAE's own government charges, which our maid visa cost guide covers.

Can you use an agency to hire an Indian maid?

Yes, but for a woman with an ECR passport, only through one of the agencies the Embassy lists. The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi says that if Indian women with ECR passports are recruited through an agency, the agency must be one of the 11 state government-run recruitment agencies on its list, and the refundable deposit is then not mandatory.

The Embassy's recruitment page names each one, from Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Bihar.

The same page links a list of approved Tadbeer centres for recruiting female domestic workers in the UAE. Tadbeer centres are among the domestic worker service centres MOHRE approves. We couldn't read the list, so if you'd like to use a Tadbeer centre, ask the Embassy which ones are on it and on what terms. Our guide to choosing an agency, Tadbeer or a direct hire compares the UAE routes.

Is there an age limit for an Indian maid?

Yes, according to India's consulate in Dubai. The Consulate General of India in Dubai's FAQ on labour contracts, updated on 5 May 2026, asks whether there is any age restriction 'for female workers under individual employer/company sponsorship' and answers 'Yes, any female worker recruited should be 30 years of age or above'.

The FAQ gives no more detail, so confirm with CGI Dubai how the rule applies to her before you start.

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.

Is there a minimum wage for an Indian maid in the UAE?

India sets one through eMigrate, but we couldn't verify the amount for domestic workers in the UAE. 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. India's floor is its Minimum Referral Wages (MRW).

The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi tells employers to check the job's minimum wage criteria before recruiting Indian workers through eMigrate, and says food and accommodation should be provided on top of the total wages set in India's Minimum Referral Wages, as of September 2026.

The amounts are in a report on eMigrate, linked from the Embassy's minimum wages page (opens in a new tab). We couldn't read the figure for domestic workers in the UAE, so we don't quote one. Ask the Embassy what applies to her job before you agree her salary.

UAE law has its own rules on board and lodging:

• Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, the employer must provide a domestic worker with suitable accommodation.
• Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, the employer must provide a full-time domestic worker with meals and work clothing, unless they agree otherwise.

Each helper lists her own salary range on her profile. Our salary guide shows what helpers ask for, and our guide to minimum salaries by nationality compares the home-country rules.

Can you hire an Indian maid who is already in the UAE?

MOHRE's permit service covers helpers who are already inside the UAE, but we found no official page that says whether India's eMigrate steps also apply to her. The Embassy's steps are for recruiting a worker from India and lead to her emigration clearance there, so ask the Embassy or CGI Dubai what applies before you start.

On the UAE side, our guide to hiring a helper who is already in the UAE 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.

Most helpers listed on MaidMatch are already in the UAE and ready to work, so ask each Indian helper what visa she holds now and who sponsors her.

How can MaidMatch help you find an Indian helper?

By helping you find her: you can browse the Indian 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, what the two years cover, and whether its service includes India's eMigrate steps. Our partners page has the details and the current price.