Tadbeer centres explained: what they do, what they cost, and the alternatives

Tadbeer is the brand many MOHRE-approved domestic worker service centres use. They recruit maids and nannies and place them with families through three packages. MOHRE says their prices are determined by the Ministry, but we found no official page that publishes them. The main alternatives are to sponsor a helper yourself from abroad, or one already in the UAE.

MOHRE is the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. It issues domestic workers' work permits and publishes a list of approved domestic worker service centres (opens in a new tab), many of them branded Tadbeer. The website tadbeer.ae describes itself as a public-private partnership with MOHRE; it is run by one centre operator, Housekeeping Domestics Workers Services LLC, and isn't a MOHRE page.

Domestic workers in all seven emirates are covered by Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, and it regulates recruitment offices too. 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. So before you pay a centre anything, find it on MOHRE's list.

What does a Tadbeer centre do?

It recruits a helper for you, or places one of its own workers with you, under one of MOHRE's three packages. Centres are also one of the channels MOHRE lists for applying for a domestic worker's work permit; its website and app are others.

MOHRE recognises three packages from licensed recruitment offices: Traditional, where the worker is on the family's own file and lives with the family; Temporary, where a worker registered with the office works for the family; and Flexible, where a worker registered with the office works for the family by the hour, day, week, month, six months or year. They differ in who holds her visa, who pays her and what happens if it doesn't work out:

In a Traditional package she is on your own file, so you are her sponsor. As of September 2026, MOHRE issues a domestic worker's permit for one year when the sponsor is an expatriate resident without a Golden Visa. Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, the agency sponsors the worker in the Temporary package and holds the worker's visa in the Flexible package, and in both it pays the worker's salary, legal entitlements and medical costs. Health insurance rules differ by emirate: our health insurance guide covers each one.

Some centres advertise a two-year visa: as of September 2026, tadbeer.ae lists a two-year maid or nanny visa with full sponsorship. Before you sign up to an offer like that, ask who will sponsor her on it and what that period covers: the length depends on the sponsor, and MOHRE issues a new domestic worker permit for up to two years when the sponsor is a UAE citizen.

If you only need help for some hours or days, our guide to own-visa, visit-visa and part-time help explains what is legal.

How much does a Tadbeer centre cost?

We can't give you a figure: MOHRE says the Ministry determines the prices, but we found no official page that publishes them. Ask each centre for an itemised quote in writing. As of September 2026, this is what MOHRE and the law say about the price:

• MOHRE's employer guide says its approved recruitment offices offer recruitment prices determined by the Ministry.
• MOHRE's employer guide says its approved recruitment offices offer a two-year warranty on domestic workers. We found no official page that defines the warranty beyond the refund rules below; MOHRE ties a two-year guarantee to the Traditional package.
• Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, an agency must use MOHRE-approved package prices, display them, and not charge anything extra.
• 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.
• Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a recruitment agency may not take any commission or expenses from a domestic worker. The package price is yours to pay, never hers.

What comes on top depends on the package. In a Traditional package you are her sponsor, so her visa, insurance and salary are your costs too: ask which of them the package price covers. In the Temporary and Flexible packages the office pays her salary and medical costs, as the table above shows. Our maid visa cost guide breaks down the government fees.

Can you get a refund from a Tadbeer centre?

A replacement or a refund, in the cases MOHRE lists, and MOHRE sets how much is refunded. Probation is the trial period at the start of her employment. A domestic worker's probation may not last more than six months from the start of employment. These are MOHRE's rules for a Traditional package:

• During probation, a recruitment agency must replace the worker or refund the family if the worker is professionally or behaviourally unsuitable, is medically unfit, or ends the contract or refuses to work without a legitimate reason, or if the agency did not meet the recruitment conditions agreed with the family.
• When a refund is due, a recruitment agency repays the full recruitment fee in the first month, the full fee plus government fees if the worker is medically unfit during probation, and otherwise a pro-rata share for the months left on the contract.

For a worker recruited from abroad, there is also a delivery deadline. 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.

Ask the centre how these rules apply to your package, and get its answer in writing. If an office won't refund you when the rules say it should, you can complain to MOHRE. 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. Our guide to probation, replacement and refunds goes into more detail.

What are the alternatives to a Tadbeer centre?

Sponsoring a helper yourself: either recruiting her from abroad, or taking on a helper who is already in the UAE. On both routes you are her sponsor, and no office owes you a replacement or a refund. Our guide to hiring a maid in the UAE compares all three routes.

Sponsoring a helper from abroad yourself

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 on its website or app yourself. You are her sponsor, so MOHRE's conditions for sponsors apply to you. To sponsor a domestic worker, an expatriate resident needs a recent salary certificate showing a family income of at least AED 25,000. Our guide to who can sponsor a maid covers the other conditions.

Her home country may still send her through a centre. Take the Philippines: its Migrant Workers Office in Dubai (MWO Dubai) serves Dubai and the northern emirates, and its Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) sets the exemptions. 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. If you live in Abu Dhabi, check the rules with the Philippine Embassy. Other countries have rules of their own: see which nationalities can work as maids.

Hiring a helper who is already in the UAE

MOHRE's permit service also covers a worker 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. If another family employs her now, check the consent rule first, as summarised by the International Labour Organization (ILO). 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 takes you through each step, from consent to her change of status.

How do you check a Tadbeer centre before you pay?

Start with its licence, then get the package, the price and the refund terms in writing. In order:

1. Check the licence. Find the centre on MOHRE's list of approved domestic worker service centres (opens in a new tab), whatever name it uses.
2. Choose the package. Ask whether the offer is a Traditional, Temporary or Flexible package, and who will sponsor her.
3. Interview the helper. Ask to speak to her before you commit, on a video call if she is abroad. Our interview questions can help.
4. Get an itemised quote in writing. Ask what the package price includes and what comes on top, and ask to see the approved prices the centre displays.
5. Read the MOHRE contract before you sign. Check that the costs and the recruitment timeline match what you were told.
6. Keep the paperwork. Keep the contract, the quote and every receipt, and get the centre's refund terms in writing.

Where does MaidMatch fit among these options?

It's a place to find a helper and contact her yourself. Most helpers listed on MaidMatch are already in the UAE and ready to work. 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.

Once you've chosen someone, the visa comes next. 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.

To weigh a centre against a platform or a direct hire, see our guide to choosing between an agency, Tadbeer, a platform or a direct hire, or read how MaidMatch works.