-
Services
BUSINESS SERVICES
VISA & RESIDENCY
DOCUMENT SERVICES
LEGAL SERVICES
EMIRATES ID
ACCOUNTING SERVICES
- Who We Are
- Resources
- Request Services
The reason every quote you have seen disagrees is that “cost” means two different things, and sales pages blur them on purpose.
This is the visa itself: the MOHRE work permit, the GDRFA/ICP entry permit and stamping, the medical fitness test, the Emirates ID, mandatory insurance, and either a Tadbeer package fee or your own direct-hire recruitment costs. Realistic 2026 setup totals: AED 12,000–18,000 by direct hire and AED 14,000–22,000 by full Tadbeer.
The monthly wage (AED 1,500–3,000 depending on nationality and experience), end-of-service gratuity accruing as you go, and the annual insurance renewals. The wage is by far the biggest number over time, and it is the one the “AED 7,850” headlines quietly leave out.
That advertised AED 7,850 is real — but it is a placement teaser. It does not include the government fees Tadbeer passes through to you, the upgraded health insurance most families end up taking, or a single dirham of salary. Add the mandatory components back and the honest maid visa cost for Golden Visa holders lands in the ranges above.
Two legal routes, two cost profiles. Tadbeer is the MOHRE-licensed agency network that bundles the whole setup into one package. Direct hire (direct-from-source-country, DFSC) means you recruit the worker yourself and pay each government fee individually. Here is the same maid, priced both ways — typical 2026 ranges:
| Cost component | Direct hire (DFSC) | Full Tadbeer |
|---|---|---|
| Recruitment + flight + source-country attestation | AED 4,000 – 8,000 | included in package |
| Tadbeer all-inclusive package fee | — | AED 7,850 – 15,000 |
| MOHRE domestic-worker work permit | AED 500 – 700 | included |
| GDRFA/ICP entry permit + status change + stamping | AED 1,100 – 1,500 | included |
| Medical fitness test | AED 250 – 350 | included |
| Emirates ID (2-year card) | AED 270 – 310 | included |
| Federal Basic Health Insurance (from 1 Jan 2025) | AED 320 – 1,800 / yr | basic tier usually included |
| Worker-protection insurance (Taa-meen) | AED 60 / yr | included |
| Typical setup total | AED 12,000 – 18,000 | AED 14,000 – 22,000 |
Direct hire wins on price because you cut out the agency margin — but you also absorb the admin and the rejection risk: one wrong attestation at the embassy stage can cost six to eight weeks. Tadbeer costs more because the package folds in mandatory worker orientation, lifecycle services, and (on Premium tiers) a replacement guarantee. There is no separate “training fee” line to budget for — that orientation is inside the package price, which is part of why Tadbeer sits above direct hire.
For a Golden Visa family sponsoring one maid, Tadbeer's bundle is usually worth the premium. If you are sponsoring two, three, or more household staff, direct hire's per-worker saving compounds fast — see our companion guide on how many domestic workers a Golden Visa holder can sponsor before you commit to a route.
Don’t want to figure this out alone? Sarmat is a KHDA-certified training provider and registered typing centre in Deira, Dubai. Message us on WhatsApp — we answer questions like this every day.
Setup is only half the bill. Here is the honest first-year cost of employing a maid, not just stamping her visa. Example: a Filipina housemaid, AED 2,500/month wage, hired via full Tadbeer.
The same maid by direct hire: setup ≈ AED 9,000 + AED 30,000 wage + AED 1,750 EOSB ≈ AED 40,750 — roughly AED 3,000 less in year one, and the gap widens with each additional worker. (Our pillar guide quotes AED 14,000–22,000 as the full-Tadbeer setup figure — the breakdown above shows exactly what sits inside that number and where the wage you also have to budget pushes the true total higher.)
On gratuity: under Article 22 of Federal Decree-Law 9 of 2022, a domestic worker earns end-of-service gratuity at roughly 21 days' wage per year of service — not the 14 days some competitor sites still quote. Provision for it monthly so a three-year resignation doesn't catch you short.
Here is the one cost advantage that is genuinely yours as a Golden Visa holder. A standard expatriate sponsor typically renews a domestic worker's visa every year. A Golden Visa holder can sponsor a maid on a 2-year residence visa — the same two-year cycle granted to Emiratis and GCC nationals. That means you run the medical, the Emirates ID renewal, and the stamping fees half as often. Over a maid's multi-year tenure, halving the renewal frequency quietly saves several thousand dirhams that no Tadbeer sales page builds into its comparison.
Short answer for a housemaid: no — it is optional. This trips up a lot of guides that flatly state “cash not accepted.”
Under Ministerial Resolution No. 675 of 2022, salary-through-WPS is mandatory for only 5 of the 19 domestic-worker categories (private agricultural engineer, personal assistant, housekeeper, private tutor, and personal trainer). A housemaid, nanny, cook, gardener, or family driver sits in the other 14 categories, where WPS has been optional since 27 January 2022. You can pay a housemaid by other documented means. We still recommend enrolling voluntarily — a verifiable wage paper-trail protects you in any future labour dispute — but it is your choice, not a legal trap.
One more line you should never pay: the old AED 3,000 refundable cash deposit per worker was abolished on 15 October 2018 and replaced by the Taa-meen worker-protection insurance at roughly AED 60 a year. If a quote still includes a four-figure “deposit,” it is out of date — flag it.
You can run all of this yourself across MOHRE, Tadbeer, GDRFA, and ICP counters — or hand the file to a typing centre that processes 500+ visas a year and closes the same package in a fraction of the time. Our Deira typing centre has handled UAE government services for 12+ years for 5,000+ clients, works directly with Tadbeer agencies, and runs direct-hire files end-to-end. Message us on WhatsApp at +971 50 639 5245 to price your specific case, or see our typing-centre Dubai FAQ.
If domestic-worker visas are a recurring task for you — a family office, an HR role, an executive household — the Certified PRO Officer Program is a 3-day KHDA-certified course that teaches the whole workflow, with 3 months of mentorship. You can also browse the UAE Golden Visa 2026 overview for related pathways.
The visa setup runs about AED 12,000–18,000 by direct hire and AED 14,000–22,000 by full Tadbeer, per 2-year cycle. On top of that you budget the monthly wage (AED 1,500–3,000) and end-of-service gratuity. The advertised “from AED 7,850” packages are placement teasers that exclude government fees, upgraded insurance, and salary.
Direct hire (DFSC) is usually AED 2,000–4,000 cheaper per worker because you cut the agency margin, but you absorb the admin and the embassy-attestation risk. Tadbeer costs more and is the safer choice for a first-time sponsor; direct hire's saving compounds when you sponsor several workers.
Golden Visa holders can sponsor a domestic worker on a 2-year residence visa — the same cycle as Emiratis and GCC nationals — versus the 1-year cycle a standard expatriate sponsor typically gets. Fewer renewals means lower lifetime cost.
No. A housemaid is one of the 14 WPS-optional categories under Ministerial Resolution 675/2022 (WPS is mandatory only for 5 categories). Voluntary enrolment is recommended for a clean wage record, but it is not required.
Roughly 21 days' wage per year of service under Article 22 of Federal Decree-Law 9/2022 — for a maid on AED 2,500/month, about AED 1,750 a year. The 14-days-per-year figure some sites quote is wrong for domestic workers.
No. It was abolished on 15 October 2018 and replaced by the Taa-meen worker-protection insurance at about AED 60 a year. Any quote that still bills a 3,000-dirham deposit is out of date.
Yes — the federal MOHRE Basic Health Insurance (from 1 January 2025, AED 320 base) is mandatory and is the sponsor's responsibility. Upgraded private plans cost more.
For a Filipina housemaid on AED 2,500/month via Tadbeer: roughly AED 12,000 setup + AED 30,000 wage + AED 1,750 gratuity ≈ AED 43,750 in year one. Direct hire trims that by about AED 3,000.
Helping individuals and businesses navigate UAE government procedures with precision and ease.Based in Dubai. Local experts. Government-compliant.
Proudly based in Dubai