Avoiding maid-hiring scams on WhatsApp and social media

Pay a recruiter only if it holds a MOHRE licence and has signed MOHRE's standard contract with you, and never let a helper start work on a visit or tourist visa. The Domestic Workers Decree-Law punishes unlicensed recruitment, bars agencies from charging workers, and fines families who employ a helper without a work permit for that job.

MOHRE, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, licenses recruitment offices, also called agencies, and issues domestic workers' work permits. The Domestic Workers Decree-Law is Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022. There's nothing wrong with messaging a helper or an office on WhatsApp: the warning signs are about who asks you for money, when, and whether the hire follows MOHRE's rules.

What are the warning signs of a maid agency scam?

As of September 2026, five follow from UAE rules: a recruiter without a MOHRE licence, a request for money before there's a contract, a fee taken from the helper, an offer for her to start on a visit or tourist visa, and a helper who still works for another family. Any one of them is a reason to stop and check.

The recruiter has no MOHRE licence

This is the first thing to check. 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. In September 2023, MOHRE urged employers and families to deal only with licensed domestic worker recruitment offices.

The risk isn't only to your money. MOHRE warns that hiring from unauthorised sources can make a family liable for employing and illegally sheltering a worker who is in breach of the rules. How to check a licence is explained below.

You're asked to pay before there's a contract

Don't pay a deposit or an advance until you've signed a contract with a licensed office. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a family that recruits through an agency signs a MOHRE standard contract with the agency covering the worker requirements, the worker's rights, the costs the family pays and the recruitment timeline.

Ask for the package price in writing, and ask the office to itemise anything else it wants you to pay. Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, an agency must use MOHRE-approved package prices, display them, and not charge anything extra. MOHRE said in September 2023 that it fines offices for collecting extra amounts and for not returning recruitment fees.

The helper is asked to pay for her job

Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a recruitment agency may not take any commission or expenses from a domestic worker. The International Labour Organization (ILO) says the same in its May 2024 brief on UAE rules, adding that recruitment costs fall on the employer. So if a recruiter tells you the helper is paying part of the cost, treat it as a warning sign.

She's offered to start now, on a visit visa

Say no, however soon her papers are promised. The Domestic Workers Decree-Law allows a domestic worker to be employed only with a MOHRE work permit, so she may not start work on a visit or tourist visa. The same law sets the penalty. Employing a domestic worker without a work permit for that job is punishable by a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 200,000.

There is a legal route for a helper who is already here: MOHRE's permit service covers workers inside the UAE. 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. Our guide to own-visa, visit-visa and part-time help explains what is legal.

She still works for another family

Then she isn't free to work for you yet. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker may not work for anyone other than their employer, except as its Executive Regulations or MOHRE decisions allow. We found no official page that lists those exceptions.

An absconding report is an employer's report to MOHRE that a worker has abandoned her job. Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, an agency may not offer or place workers who have absconding reports or who are sponsored by someone else. So an office that offers you a helper who is sponsored by someone else is breaking MOHRE's rules.

If she wants to move to you, the law sets conditions. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker may move to a new employer if the contract's conditions are met and the original employer's rights are respected, following MOHRE's procedures.

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. Our guide to hiring a helper who is already in the UAE goes through each step.

How do you check if a maid agency is licensed?

Look for it on MOHRE's list of approved domestic worker service centres, or call MOHRE on 600 590000 and ask. MOHRE publishes the list of approved centres (opens in a new tab), many of them branded Tadbeer. Before you pay an office you met on WhatsApp or social media:

1. Get its full trading name, not just a phone number or a page name.
2. Find that name on MOHRE's list, or check it with MOHRE on 600 590000. If you can't match it, don't pay.
3. Ask for the package price in writing, with anything else you'll pay itemised.
4. Sign MOHRE's standard contract with the office before any money changes hands.
5. Keep every receipt and message. They help if you ever need to complain.

Our guide to Tadbeer centres explains what licensed centres offer, and our comparison of agencies and direct hire helps you choose a route.

Can you hire a maid you found on Facebook or WhatsApp?

Yes, if the hire goes through MOHRE's work permit service and you both meet its conditions. Our guide to who can sponsor a maid covers the conditions for you as the sponsor.

MOHRE's permit service lets you recruit without an office: it is for employers recruiting a domestic worker 'from inside or outside the country', and you can apply yourself on its website or app. If she is abroad, her home country may restrict direct hiring, so check its rules before you commit. Our guide to hiring a maid in the UAE compares the routes.

Before you agree anything, check three things with her:

• Her visa. Ask what visa she holds and who sponsors her. If she says she has her own visa, find out exactly what visa it is.
• Her documents. 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.
• Her references. Speak to a previous employer if you can.

Our guides to checking references and documents and to interview questions, including video calls on WhatsApp show what to ask.

What if a maid agency takes your money and doesn't deliver?

If it's a licensed office, the law and MOHRE's rules give you ways to cancel, or to get a replacement or a refund. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, if a recruitment agency breaches its contract with a family, the family may refuse the worker and get a replacement or a refund of recruitment fees, and can claim compensation for any damage.

If the helper never arrives, a deadline applies. Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, if an agency does not deliver a worker recruited from abroad within the agreed time, or within 30 days of getting the entry permit, the family may cancel and reclaim the recruitment and government costs.

If she arrives but doesn't work out, probation matters, and the Decree-Law limits its length. A domestic worker's probation may not last more than six months from the start of employment. During that time, MOHRE's rules set refund and replacement duties for the office, and our guide to probation, replacement and refunds explains them.

These are duties of licensed recruitment offices. If you paid someone who isn't licensed, we found no official page that sets out a way to get your money back, so call MOHRE on 600 590000 and ask what to do.

Where can you report a maid agency scam in the UAE?

To MOHRE, if the problem is with a recruitment office. As of September 2026, MOHRE's employer guide lists these channels for a complaint against a domestic worker recruitment office: MOHRE's website, the MOHRE UAE app, the Labour Claims and Advisory Call Centre on 80084 and the MOHRE call centre on 600 590000.

If the person you dealt with isn't on MOHRE's list, or you aren't sure who they are, call MOHRE on 600 590000 and ask where to report it.

What does MaidMatch check?

It checks whether each helper is still available. MaidMatch regularly checks in with every helper on the platform to confirm she is still available and actively looking for work, and if a helper does not respond, her profile is automatically hidden from search results.

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.

However you find her, the hire follows MOHRE's rules: check her visa and documents with her, and don't let her start until she holds a work permit for the job with you. Browse helpers when you're ready.