Filipina maids and nannies in the UAE

Start with the Philippines' current position: its official signals were mixed in 2026. 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. Confirm the position with DMW or MWO Dubai, or in Abu Dhabi with the Philippine Embassy, before you recruit from the Philippines.

POEA is the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. MWO Dubai's hiring page says processing of individual employment contracts may begin only once the Tadbeer centre's accreditation is registered in the POEA system, and that employers must now also submit a Contingency and Evacuation Plan. A 2006 resolution of the POEA's Governing Board prohibits collecting a placement fee from household workers, whether before their deployment or on-site through salary deductions.

A Filipina who already lives in the UAE can move to your employment through MOHRE. If another family employs her now, our guide to hiring a maid already in the UAE explains whose consent the move needs.

Then plan her next trip home with care. MWO Dubai's page says DMW's Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) exemption for returning Filipino workers is only for a worker going back to the same employer, with the same company name or sponsor, jobsite and position, and that a worker whose details differ is redirected to set an appointment. Once she works for you, her employer has changed, so ask MWO Dubai (in Abu Dhabi, the Philippine Embassy) what she needs before she travels.

Our guide to hiring a Filipino helper covers the Philippine rules in full, and our guide to which nationalities can work as maids compares the other home countries.

For a contract MWO Dubai verifies, yes. 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. The UAE sets no statutory minimum wage for domestic workers, the International Labour Organization's May 2024 summary of UAE rules says, so the Philippine floor applies only to contracts verified through the Philippine system.

If you live in Abu Dhabi, check the requirement with the Philippine Embassy. Each helper lists her own salary range on her profile, and when 10 or more of the helpers counted above have an asking salary, their median and middle range appear above too.

Philippine papers for working abroad, alongside the UAE's own for her work permit. OFW means overseas Filipino worker, OWWA the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and TESDA the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

MWO Dubai's verification page doesn't say which contracts must be verified, so ask MWO Dubai, or the Philippine Embassy if you live in Abu Dhabi, whether yours needs it. As MWO Dubai's and DMW's pages showed them in September 2026:

• For a domestic worker's contract verification, MWO Dubai asks for two copies each of the employment contract signed by the employer and the worker, an addendum to the contract, the worker's valid passport, and the worker's valid visa or Emirates ID issued in Dubai or the northern emirates.
• MWO Dubai charges AED 40 in cash for each domestic worker contract it verifies, and lists one-day processing for on-site, in-person processing.
• MWO Dubai's page on the DMW Mobile App says an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) is valid for 60 days and can be used only once, and that the OFW Pass is free in the app and valid until the worker's contract expires.
• MWO Dubai's OWWA membership page puts the membership fee at AED 92 and says membership is valid for two years, regardless of contract duration or change of employer.
• A 2006 resolution of the POEA's Governing Board makes a TESDA National Certificate for household service workers (NCII) and a country-specific language and culture orientation from OWWA pre-qualifications for domestic helpers bound overseas.

That depends on the woman, not her passport, so ask her which languages she speaks and how well, and hold a WhatsApp video call before you decide.

Two rules on this page mention language: the POEA resolution listed above includes a language and culture orientation for helpers going overseas from the Philippines, and the UAE sets a rule for her contract. 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.