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A company labour file in Dubai is the company's registration with MOHRE, followed by a MOHRE establishment card. The service is free on the MOHRE website and app apart from government fees, with a Ta'qeem fee of AED 406, and MOHRE states 2 working days. Until it exists, a mainland company cannot apply for a single work permit.
What the labour file holds
MOHRE's service page lists what it registers: the owners, the authorised signatories, their signature samples, the business activity and the location. Every later labour transaction (work permits, contracts, renewals, transfers, cancellations, wage records) hangs off that file. Its accuracy matters more than its cost.
It sits alongside a second file at GDRFA. The GDRFA establishment card is the immigration file that lets you sponsor visas. The MOHRE file is the labour side. A mainland company with employees needs both, and MOHRE asks for a copy of the GDRFA card, so GDRFA comes first.
Documents MOHRE asks for
- Emirates ID of the applicant, or a residence visa with a unified number.
- A valid trade licence.
- A partners addendum, if the licensees are not named on the licence itself.
- A copy of the establishment card showing owners and authorised signatories.
- A valid approved rental contract, except for instant licences.
If the office is not yet on a registered commercial lease in the company's name, the labour file waits. Commercial Ejari covers how that registration works.
Fees
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Registration on MOHRE website or app | Free (government fees only) |
| Ta'qeem fee | AED 406 |
| Business service center commission | Up to AED 72 |
| Tax and collection charges | Not included in the above |
Source: MOHRE "Issuance of Establishment Card" service page, checked .
Some Dubai price lists quote "MOHRE registration" at AED 800 to 2,000. That is much higher than the AED 406 MOHRE lists, so it likely includes service charges. Ask any provider to show the government part as its own line.
Signatories: the step people skip
MOHRE adds two conditions that are easy to miss:
- Owners and authorised signatories need a MOHRE personal identification number.
- The authorised signatory must also be authorised by ICP.
An owner who lives abroad and has never dealt with MOHRE may have neither. Sort out the signatory before you plan your first hire date, because the work permit applications are submitted by that signatory.
Electronic quota
MOHRE still uses a quota. Its work permit service lists "an electronic quota" as a condition for every new permit. No current MOHRE page explains how the quota is approved or whether it has a fee. If the file shows no quota when you try to apply, ask at a Tasheel center, which can see your file.
Company categories 1, 2 and 3
Since , MOHRE classifies private companies under Cabinet Resolution No. 18 of and Ministerial Resolution No. 209 of . The category drives what you pay for every work permit.
| Category | Who lands there | Two-year work permit fee |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Complies with labour law and meets at least one extra criterion | AED 250 |
| 2 | Complies with labour law and the diversity policy, meets no category 1 criterion | AED 1,200 |
| 3 | Violates labour law or the diversity policy | AED 3,450, no discounts |
Source: MOHRE news release on the new classification, , checked .
Category 1 criteria in MOHRE's list include Emiratisation at three times the target, training 500 or more citizens a year through Nafis, a venture owned by a young citizen, and training and employment centers. MOHRE also says fees can be cut by up to 80% for companies that hit major hiring and training goals.
Category 3 examples in the same release: hiring without a permit, fake Emiratisation, failures on wages, housing or safety, and human trafficking verdicts. A company that complies but meets no category 1 criterion goes into category 2 automatically. UAE and GCC nationals are exempt from work permit and transfer fees in every category.
After the file is open
From here the company files work permits, then GDRFA handles visas:
- New hires: labour card and work permit, then the visa. Our employee visa cost page lists every item per head.
- Existing staff: work permit renewal up to 60 days before expiry.
- Salaries: every MOHRE-registered establishment pays through WPS. See WPS registration.
When the licence is amended, for example a new partner or signatory, update the labour file too. A file that still shows a departed signatory blocks every submission.
Where to do it
The MOHRE website and app are free apart from the government fees. If you'd rather sit with someone, Dubai has 90 business services and guidance centers (Tasheel and Tawjeeh) on MOHRE's list, and each one may charge no more than AED 72 per service. MOHRE regulates these centers under Ministerial Resolution No. 0702 of , which covers staff screening and customer data.
Opening the labour file through the partner team
Send the trade licence, the GDRFA establishment card, the registered tenancy and the signatories' Emirates IDs or passports. The partner team checks that the signatory has a MOHRE number and ICP authorisation, because that is where most new files stop. They file the establishment registration with MOHRE, follow it to the MOHRE card, then confirm your category and quota before you promise anyone a start date. You do not sit at a Tasheel counter or learn the MOHRE portal. One total price comes first, with MOHRE's fees and the service charge shown on separate lines.
