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Labeeb Reference · Moving to the Gulf · rules checked 25 September 2026

Moving to work in the Gulf: UAE and Saudi Arabia entry, work permits and first 90 days

For anyone holding or expecting an offer in the UAE or Saudi Arabia, with short pointers for Qatar, Oman and Bahrain and for moves between Gulf states. Every rule below was read from the official sources listed at the end; where a rule is decided case by case, the page points you to the authority instead of guessing.

Quick answer

Short answer: in both countries your employer runs the immigration process and pays for it; your job is to have clean, attested documents ready, to sign only what matches your offer, and to complete the medical, biometric and ID steps promptly after you land.

Stage UAE Saudi Arabia (KSA)
Before you accept Ask for the MoHRE job offer in Arabic, English and a language you understand; check it carries the Labour Law annex; confirm the company in the National Economic Register. Never pay a recruitment or visa fee. Ask for a written fixed-term contract on the Ministry’s unified form, documented through Qiwa; confirm the profession on the visa matches the job; confirm the employer pays visa, iqama and work-permit fees (Labor Law Art. 40). Never pay a recruitment fee.
Before you fly Degree attested: home-country foreign ministry, then UAE embassy or consulate through MOFA’s digital channels. Passport valid at least six months. Employer obtains the work permit and entry permit; you enter within 30 days of entry-permit approval. Degree certified by the Saudi cultural attaché or nearest Saudi embassy in the issuing country; work visa stamped by the Saudi mission in your country on the requirements that mission publishes; Wafid medical booked online at home if your nationality is on the Wafid list.
First 90 days Sign the employment contract after arrival; employer files it with MoHRE within 14 days. Medical fitness test (18+), biometrics for Emirates ID, residence stamping. Health insurance from the employer. Salary through WPS. Employer must issue your work permit within the first 90 days after entry; the iqama (residence ID) follows through the Passports office; in-Kingdom medical within two months of arrival; employer registers you with GOSI; you accept the contract on Qiwa; register on Absher once your iqama is issued. Salary by bank transfer under the Wage Protection Program.

How the UAE process runs, step by step

Short answer: offer letter, then contract, then work permit, then entry permit, then medical, Emirates ID and residence stamping. Your employer applies for every step; you supply documents and turn up for the medical and biometrics.

1. Offer letter

The job offer must be provided “in Arabic and English, as well as in a third language that the worker understands”, accompanied by “an annex (available on the MoHRE’s website), containing a detailed outline of the provisions of the UAE Labour Law”. The signed offer is attached to the employer’s initial work-permit application, and “after the signing of the contract, the employer is not allowed to alter or replace any provisions of the offer letter unless the employee consents to it”. If salary, allowances or title differ later, the offer letter is your evidence.

2. Work permit

MoHRE issues 13 work permit types; a hire from abroad uses the “Work permit to recruit a worker from outside the UAE”, valid for two years. The worker must be at least 18 and the occupation must align with the company’s licensed activity. The fee, paid by the employer, “ranges from AED 250 to AED 3,450” depending on the company’s classification.

3. Entry permit and arrival

After approval you “must enter the country within 30 days starting from the approval date”. The employer then converts the entry permit into residence: medical test, Emirates ID biometrics and residence stamping. The current federal page states only that “the employer must apply for the standard work visa”, valid for two years and renewable; the period allowed for conversion is set by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP), so ask the employer for the date on your entry permit and treat it as the deadline.

4. Employment contract

“Upon arrival, both the employer and worker must sign the job offer, which is then officially registered with MoHRE as a legally binding employment contract.” The contract “must be submitted to MoHRE within 14 days of the employee’s arrival in the UAE”, and under Decree-Law 33/2021 it is for “a fixed term not exceeding three years”, renewable.

5. Medical fitness test

Everyone aged 18 and above “must undergo a medical test to prove that they are medically fit” and “pass a security check”. The portal’s health-conditions page says foreign nationals “need to be free of all forms of communicable diseases such as HIV and TB”, with additional syphilis and hepatitis B tests for listed occupations.

6. Emirates ID and residence

Anyone aged 15 or over gives fingerprints and signature at an ICP centre for the Emirates ID, which is cancelled automatically with the residence visa. If you stay outside the UAE for more than 180 days continuously, your residence visa “will be nullified automatically”; after cancellation or expiry there are “flexible grace periods that reach up to 6 months (according to resident category)”.

How the Saudi process runs, step by step

Short answer: the employer issues the visa, you have it stamped at the Saudi mission in your country, take the Wafid medical at home, fly, then the employer issues your work permit and iqama and registers you with GOSI while you accept the contract on Qiwa.

1. Contract first

“The employment contract for non-Saudis shall be written and of a fixed term. If the contract does not specify the duration, the duration of the work permit shall be deemed the duration of the contract” (Art. 37). The Ministry’s 2025 guide adds that it “must be written and documented through the platform approved by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (Qiwa), and it must be based on the unified employment contract form”. You accept it inside your own Qiwa account after arrival; do not accept a version whose wage, allowances or profession differ from what you agreed.

2. Work visa and stamping

Your employer obtains the visa authorisation through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform; you then have it stamped by the Saudi embassy or consulate in your country. Each mission publishes its own document list on the unified embassies portal, so read that list rather than an agent’s. The visa carries a profession code; check it matches the job, because an employer may not use you “in a profession other than the one specified in his work permit” (Art. 38).

3. Wafid medical before you fly

Wafid is “a program under the umbrella of the Gulf Health Council that enables individuals bound to work or reside in the GCC to book their medical check-up appointments”. It applies to a defined list of nationalities published on wafid.com (India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt and Nepal among them). You book online, pay USD 10 per appointment, and are assigned an accredited centre. The GCC regulation also requires an in-country check “within no more than (2) two months as of date of his/her arrival”.

4. Work permit and iqama after arrival

“A non-Saudi may not engage in or be allowed to engage in any work except after obtaining a work permit from the Ministry” (Art. 33). The employer issues and pays for it, and the Ministry’s service page is explicit on timing: “The facility must issue a work permit to the expatriate employee within the first 90 days after his entry into the Kingdom.” After paying the fee the employer must “check with the Passport Office for a Residence Permits”, and licences “cannot be issued or renewed if the facility is in the red zone”, so ask the employer’s Nitaqat band before you resign elsewhere.

5. GOSI and Absher

Registering you with GOSI is an employer duty. GOSI’s employer FAQ states that the Occupational Hazards Branch “is applied on a mandatory basis to all workers without distinction of sex, nationality or age” and that the employer’s share is “2% for Occupational Hazard Branch”; the 9% Annuities share applies to Saudi workers. Absher is the Ministry of Interior’s e-services platform for individuals; register there as soon as your iqama number is live, since residence services run through it.

Document attestation: the chain that actually clears

Short answer: attest in the issuing country first, then at the destination country’s embassy or consulate there, then (UAE only) with MOFA on arrival if the employer or a licensing body asks.

UAE

“The original document should be attested by Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the issuing country”, after which “the document can be attested by a UAE Embassy or Consulate in that country by applying through digital channels” (MOFA website or UAEMOFA app). Some professions “also require the attestation of university degrees by the Ministry of Education”, which matters for teaching, engineering and healthcare roles. A walkthrough is at getting your degree attested for a UAE employment visa.

Saudi Arabia

The Ministry of Education’s equivalency rule is the one fixed point: “the documents must be certified by the Saudi cultural attaché in the country from which the certificate was issued or by the nearest Saudi embassy”. Equivalency is a separate step from visa stamping, and each mission’s own visa checklist governs what it wants to see, so certify through the cultural attaché first and both routes are covered.

Start attestation before you resign; it is the slowest item on either list. The Gulf pre-arrival checker lists document formats by country.

Who pays for what

Short answer: the employer, in both countries, and both laws say so in plain words.

Cost UAE rule KSA rule
Recruitment and agency fees “The employer is prohibited from charging the worker for the fees and costs of recruitment and employment or collecting them from him, whether directly or indirectly” (Decree-Law 33/2021, Art. 6). “An employer shall bear the fees pertaining to the recruitment of non-Saudi workers” (Labor Law Art. 40).
Visa, permit, residence Work-permit fees are paid by the employer; the portal’s own advice is that if a company or agency asks you for money to process the visa or medical test, “it is not a genuine company”. Employer bears “the fees for issuing and renewing residence permit (Iqama) and work permit, and the fines resulting from their delay, as well as the fees pertaining to change of profession, exit and re-entry visas” (Art. 40).
Return ticket at end Employer’s obligations include “bearing the repatriation expenses of the worker to his place of recruitment or any other place that both parties had agreed upon, unless he has already joined the service of another employer or the reason for terminating the contract was attributed to the worker” (Art. 13). Employer bears “return tickets to the worker’s home country at the end of the relation between the two parties”; you pay only if you are “unfit for work” or leave “without a legitimate reason” (Art. 40).
Health insurance “From 1 January 2025, employers are required to purchase health insurance policy as a prerequisite for applying for the issuance or renewal of residency permits of private sector employees and domestic workers.” Mandatory in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and extending to the other five emirates; workers on permits issued before 1 January 2024 are covered at their next renewal. “Health coverage for the worker and his family according to Insurance Law” is listed by HRSD as a fundamental contractual right.
Passport “The confiscation of workers’ passports is prohibited.” Employer must “Return to the worker all certificates or documents he had deposited with the employer” at contract end (Art. 64).

A later salary deduction for any of these is itself a breach.

Probation: what to know before day one

Short answer: UAE probation is up to six months with 14 days’ written notice from the employer; KSA probation, since the 2025 amendment, is whatever the contract states up to a single ceiling of 180 days. Detail, including how to leave during probation, lives on the exit page.

UAE Decree-Law 33/2021, Art. 9: the employer “may appoint the worker under a probationary period not exceeding (6) six months from the date of commencement of work” and may terminate during it “after notifying the latter of the same in writing fourteen (14) days at least”. If you resign during probation to leave the country, you give 14 days’ written notice; if you move to another UAE employer, one month, and the new employer compensates the old one for recruitment costs unless agreed otherwise.

KSA Labor Law Art. 53, as amended by Royal Decree M/44 (in force 19 February 2025): if you are subject to probation “this must be explicitly stated in the employment contract, with the duration specified, provided that the total duration does not exceed one hundred and eighty days in all cases”, and “both parties have the right to terminate the contract during this period”. The old two-tier rule (90 days, extendable by written agreement to 180) no longer applies; a contract may set any period up to 180 days from the start, and the implementing regulations define which leave does not count toward it. Under Art. 54, if the contract ends during probation “neither party shall be entitled to compensation nor shall the worker be entitled to an end-of-service award”.

Notice periods, resignation mechanics and end-of-service are covered on leaving a job in the UAE or Saudi Arabia.

Getting paid: bank account and wage protection

Short answer: in both countries your salary must land in a bank account through a government-monitored transfer system, so open the account the week your ID is issued.

UAE

Decree-Law 33/2021, Art. 22: the employer “shall pay the salaries or wages to its workers on their due dates” and “salaries shall be paid in UAE Dirham and may be paid in another currency if it is agreed upon between both parties in the employment contract”. The Implementing Regulation requires that “All establishments registered with the Ministry shall pay the wages of their workers on their due date through the Wages Protection System”. To open a resident account, banks listed on the portal ask for Emirates ID, a valid residence visa, passport and a salary certificate or employment letter. Until the Emirates ID arrives, ask the employer how the first salary will be paid.

Saudi Arabia

Labor Law Art. 90: wages “shall be paid in the local currency”; monthly workers are “paid once a month”; and “Firms shall be required to deposit workers’ wages into their bank accounts through approved banks in the Kingdom”. HRSD’s Wage Protection Program “observes the processes of the wages payment for all the labors … in the private sector establishments (for both the Saudis & foreigners)”. An explainer is at understanding the Wage Protection System in Saudi Arabia.

Late or partial pay is a reportable violation in both countries; do not accept cash beyond the first month.

Bringing family

Short answer: in the UAE the sponsor’s salary threshold is published; in KSA dependants’ visas are requested by the sponsor through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform, which publishes no income figure on its public pages.

UAE: “Expatriate residents may bring in his/her spouse, unmarried daughters, sons under 25 years old, and children with special needs.” Employees can sponsor “regardless of their job titles if they earn a minimum salary of AED 4,000 or AED 3,000 plus accommodation”. Family members who have completed the age of 18 “need to undergo and pass medical fitness tests at approved health centres”. The application window after dependants enter is set by ICP, not stated on the federal portal; apply as soon as they land.

KSA: dependants’ visit and residence visas are requested by the sponsor through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform (visa.mofa.gov.sa) and managed on Absher; HRSD lists family health coverage as part of the employment contract. Any income condition is applied inside the platform at application time, so ask the employer’s government-relations officer before promising a date to your family.

Housing, deposits and the first month’s cash

Short answer: neither government publishes a deposit norm; budget for rent paid in advance and a refundable deposit, and confirm whether the employer provides temporary accommodation.

Ask the employer in writing whether the first weeks are in company housing or a hotel, and whether the housing allowance is paid monthly or as an advance; that decides how much cash you land with. Get the lease terms, deposit and payment schedule from the employer’s HR or a licensed agent in writing before you sign anything. Package structure is compared on pay packages and offers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Moving within the Gulf

Short answer: a residence permit in one GCC state does not let you work in another; you still need a new employer-sponsored permit, though entry for interviews is easier.

UAE: GDRFA Dubai issues an entry visa “to foreign nationals residing in a GCC Member State, as well as to their family members and accompanying domestic workers residing with them”. You need a passport valid for six months, “a valid residence permit issued by one of the GCC Member States”, and your “profession must fall within the list of professions approved for the issuance of the visa, subject to assessment by the competent authority”. Listed fees are AED 52.5 service, AED 100 application and AED 100 issuance, with 48-hour completion. The federal portal also links “Apply for eVisa from GCC countries” as a GDRFA Dubai service.

KSA: visit visas for residents of other GCC states are issued through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform; eligibility by profession is decided there at application time, so check the platform rather than relying on a summary.

Moving between Saudi employers is a separate procedure; see how to transfer iqama sponsorship in Saudi Arabia.

Qatar, Oman, Bahrain

Short answer: same pattern (employer-sponsored entry, medical, biometrics, resident ID), different regulator.

  • Qatar: visa approval, entry and exit permits and residency permits are tracked on the Ministry of Interior portal (Visa Services, Exit and Entry Permits, Residency Permits inquiry).
  • Oman: the Royal Oman Police eVisa portal lists “Resident Sponsored visas” as the class an employer applies under.
  • Bahrain: the Labour Market Regulatory Authority issues work permits through its Expat Management System; published fees are BHD 195 for one year and BHD 390 for two years (BHD 97.5 for six months applies only to workers already inside Bahrain on a cancelled permit), plus a BHD 5 admin fee and BHD 90 per dependant.

Regional timing is on the GCC career calendar.

Red flags before you pay anything

Short answer: a genuine Gulf employer never asks you for money.

  • UAE: “Charging recruitment fees to prospective employees is illegal in the UAE.” The portal’s advice on agencies: “Do not pay. If the hiring company or the agency asks you for money to process the visa or medical test, it is not a genuine company.”
  • UAE: you “must get an offer letter issued by the UAE’s Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), signed by the authorised manager”. Confirm the company exists by searching its English and Arabic name in the National Economic Register.
  • UAE: working on a visit or tourist visa “is strictly prohibited”.
  • KSA: Art. 40 puts recruitment, iqama and work-permit fees on the employer; an offer asking you to “advance” any of these is not lawful.
  • Both: no profession, basic salary figure or registered legal name means no offer.

A fuller checklist will live at job offer legitimacy checklist.

Frequently asked questions

Can I start work in the UAE while my residence is being processed?

Only once the work permit exists and you have entered on the employment entry permit issued for it; working on a visit or tourist visa is prohibited, so do not accept a “come on a visit visa and we will convert it” offer without seeing the work permit.

Do I need my degree attested if my job does not require a degree?

UAE work-permit applications are checked against the occupation’s qualification level, so professional roles generally need the attested degree, and some professions also need Ministry of Education attestation. In KSA, the Ministry of Education requires certification by the Saudi cultural attaché or nearest embassy for any equivalency, and each mission’s visa checklist may ask for the same. Attest it either way; any later move will need it.

What happens if my employer does not issue my iqama in time?

The Ministry’s rule is that the work permit must be issued “within the first 90 days after his entry into the Kingdom”, and iqama and work-permit fees “and the fines resulting from their delay” are the employer’s responsibility (Art. 40). Keep your entry date and copies of everything signed; delay is the employer’s violation, provided you have not missed a medical or fingerprint appointment.

Does this site handle visas?

No. Labeeb prepares career documents; immigration filings are done by your employer through the government platforms named on this page.

Sources

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