Which nationalities can work as maids in the UAE? Bans and hiring routes by country

We found no official UAE list of which nationalities may work as maids; home countries set the restrictions we found. As of September 2026, Indonesia does not allow its nationals to be placed as domestic workers with private households in the UAE, the Philippines' position is unsettled, and we found no ban by Sri Lanka, India, Ethiopia, Kenya or Uganda.

Ghana and Nepal need a closer look. Ghana banned the recruitment of domestic staff for the Gulf States in 2017, and in October 2023 its employment minister said the ban would stay until the right structures, including bilateral agreements, were in place, the Ghanaian Times reported. We found nothing showing that the ban has been lifted. For Nepal, we found no official page that says whether new domestic workers can go to UAE homes now.

Home-country rules change, so this guide dates each position and says who to ask. Before you commit, confirm the current position with her country's embassy or labour office.

Does the UAE limit which nationalities can work as maids?

We found no official UAE page that lists which nationalities may work as domestic workers. MOHRE, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, issues their work permits, and as of September 2026 its service card for a new permit lists these conditions for the worker, among others:

• 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.
• 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 permit service (opens in a new tab) is for employers recruiting a domestic worker "from inside or outside the country": it lets you apply yourself, or you can use a licensed recruitment office such as a Tadbeer centre. Either way, she needs the permit before she starts work. Employing a domestic worker without a work permit for that job is punishable by a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 200,000.

But her home country may restrict direct hiring from abroad, and every recruitment restriction we found was set by a home country. The rest of this guide takes them country by country, and our guide to hiring a maid in the UAE covers the UAE's own steps.

Where does each country stand in September 2026?

Two countries restrict recruitment or placement for household work in the UAE or the Gulf, two are unsettled or unconfirmed, and we found no ban by the other five. The table sums up where each stood when we checked in September 2026; the sections below give the detail and the sources.

Which countries ban recruiting maids for the UAE or the Gulf?

Indonesia and Ghana, among the countries we checked.

Indonesia

Indonesia does not allow its nationals to be placed as domestic workers with private households in the UAE. Its Ministry of Manpower said on 29 October 2021 that a 2015 ministerial decree stopping and banning placements with individual employers in Middle East countries covers the UAE.

The Director General of Protection at Indonesia's Ministry of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers said on 30 March 2026 that placements to the Middle East remain prohibited under the moratorium set by Ministerial Decree 260 of 2015, the Antara news agency reported. We found no decree revoking it.

Ghana

Ghana banned the recruitment of domestic staff for the Gulf States in 2017, and in October 2023 its employment minister said the ban would stay until the right structures, including bilateral agreements, were in place, the Ghanaian Times reported. We found no later statement, and nothing showing that the ban has been lifted.

Positions like these can change, so check the latest with the country's embassy before you make any plans.

Can you hire a Filipina or Nepali helper in 2026?

Check first. The Philippines' position has been unsettled in 2026, and we couldn't confirm Nepal's from an official page.

The Philippines

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'. But 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. Confirm the current position with DMW or MWO Dubai before you start.

MWO Dubai, which serves Dubai and the northern emirates, sets out the recruitment route. 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.

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. If you live in Abu Dhabi, check the requirements with the Philippine Embassy. Our guide to hiring a Filipino helper covers the Philippine rules in detail.

Nepal

As of September 2026, we found no official Nepali page that says whether new domestic workers can currently go to work in UAE homes, so we can't tell you either way. Ask the Nepal Embassy in Abu Dhabi before you start.

Nepali migrant workers need a labour permit from Nepal's Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE). For a domestic worker, the Nepal Embassy in Abu Dhabi's checklist for attesting documents asks for a labour permit and says the sponsor must be the same, along with the Annex 8 form of the prevailing Domestic Workers Directives. It also asks for the sponsor's Emirates ID, passport and contact details.

What are the hiring routes from Sri Lanka, India, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda?

Each country sets its own steps, and we found no ban by any of them as of September 2026. Here is what we found, and where to check. For pay, our guide to minimum salaries by nationality covers each country's floor, where one is published.

Sri Lanka

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. Its page was updated on 6 October 2025.

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's page, which shows no date, and the Sri Lankan Embassy's 2020 page give different deposit amounts, so confirm the figure with the Embassy before you pay. Our guide to hiring a Sri Lankan helper covers SLBFE's other conditions and the documents.

India

ECR is a status shown in some Indian passports, which India's consulate in Dubai spells out as Emigration Clearance Required. Passports without it are called ECNR passports. 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 the Consulate General before she travels.

The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi's page, updated on 12 June 2025, sets out how employers recruit Indian women with ECR passports through India's eMigrate system. 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 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. Our guide to hiring an Indian domestic worker covers eMigrate in detail, and the age rule the Consulate General's FAQ gives for female workers under individual employer or company sponsorship.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia and the UAE signed a memorandum of understanding on the employment of Ethiopian workers in the UAE on 17 December 2018, and Ethiopia's Ministry of Justice lists the proclamation ratifying it, No. 1122/2019, as in force. We found no Ethiopian suspension for the UAE for 2024 to 2026.

Ethiopia's overseas employment law, Proclamation No. 1389/2025, says a worker's employment contract must follow the model contract prepared by Ethiopia's Ministry of Labor and Skills and be approved by the Ministry, or through Ethiopia's labour market information system, before the worker departs. The same law governs when an employer may recruit a worker directly, so ask the Ethiopian embassy or that ministry which route applies to you before you commit. Our guide to hiring an Ethiopian helper has more.

Kenya

We found no Kenyan suspension for the UAE for 2024 to 2026. Kenya's labour department requires a Kenyan labour officer to attest the employment contract of a Kenyan going to work abroad before they travel; the documents include the foreign contract of service form (LD21) and a bond from the employer.

Kenya's State Department for Diaspora Affairs has an online tool that checks whether a private recruitment agency is currently licensed by Kenya's National Employment Authority (NEA): check an agency there (opens in a new tab). We found no official Kenyan page that says whether a family can hire directly, without an agency.

Uganda

We found no Ugandan ban. Khaleej Times reported on 7 October 2021 that the UAE and Uganda governments 'have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the recruitment of domestic workers'.

Uganda's Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development runs EEMIS, which lists the recruitment companies the ministry has approved and vetted, each with a validity period, and approved jobs for Ugandans who wish to work abroad, so you can check a Ugandan agency there (opens in a new tab). Our guide to hiring a Kenyan or Ugandan helper covers both countries.

How do you check her country's rules before you hire?

Start with her country's embassy or labour office, then follow her country's route and the UAE's. In order:

1. Ask where she is now and what visa she holds. The steps differ for a helper coming from abroad and one already in the UAE; our guide to hiring a helper who is already in the UAE covers the second.
2. Check her country's current position with its embassy or labour office, and note the date. For a Filipina, ask MWO Dubai, or the Philippine Embassy if you live in Abu Dhabi.
3. Follow her country's route if she is coming from abroad: for example, a licensed agency, a registration before she leaves or an attested contract, as the sections above describe.
4. Check that any recruiter is licensed. In the UAE, MOHRE publishes its list of approved domestic worker service centres (opens in a new tab), or you can call MOHRE on 600 590000. In Kenya, use the online NEA licence check; in Uganda, EEMIS.
5. Get her MOHRE work permit before she starts work. Employing a domestic worker without a work permit for that job is punishable by a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 200,000.

Where does MaidMatch fit in?

At the search stage. MaidMatch is where you find a helper, and her country's rules are yours to check with its embassy or labour office. 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. Whatever her nationality, her country's rules may still apply to her, so ask her what visa she holds now and check with her embassy or labour office. If you're comparing nationalities, our guide to choosing a helper explains why her skills and experience tell you more.

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.