Hiring a nanny or maid in Dubai legally

In Australia a live-in nanny is a luxury. In Dubai it's common, affordable and tightly regulated, and the person you hire becomes your legal responsibility the day her visa is issued.

The short version

Domestic work in the UAE is covered by Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022. It gives workers a weekly paid day off, at least 12 hours' rest a day, 30 days' annual leave and a paid flight home every two years [1].
You hire through a licensed Tadbeer centre or another MOHRE-approved recruitment office, either on their visa or on your own. Sponsoring her yourself requires a salary of at least AED 25,000 a month, combined across a working couple [3][4].
A two-year domestic worker visa through Tadbeer typically cost AED 8,500 to AED 17,000 in Gulf News's 2024 guide, before salary [3].
You must provide accommodation, food, medical care or health insurance, and a domestic worker insurance policy is required for the work permit [1][2].
Hiring someone without a permit, or through an unlicensed middleman, can cost AED 50,000 to AED 200,000 in fines [1].

How this differs from hiring help at home

Back home you'd hire a nanny through an agency or an au pair arrangement, pay her through payroll with super, and she'd go home at night. In Dubai the system is built around visa sponsorship. The worker's right to live in the UAE is tied to her employer, and that puts real power in your hands. The law is designed to stop that power being abused.

Thing	Australia	Dubai
Who can work for you	Anyone with work rights	Only someone with a domestic worker permit, via a licensed office [1]
Pay	National minimum wage plus super	Agreed in the MOHRE standard contract, paid through the Wage Protection System [2]
Day off	Award rules	At least one paid rest day a week [1]
Annual leave	4 weeks	At least 30 days, plus a return flight home every two years [1]
Health cover	Medicare	Employer pays medical care or buys health insurance [1]
Housing	Not your problem	Employer provides suitable accommodation [1]

Tadbeer or your own sponsorship?

Tadbeer centres are MOHRE-authorised service centres that handle domestic worker recruitment under ministry rules [3]. Whichever route you pick, the paperwork runs through a licensed office. The choice is really about whose visa she's on and how long you're committed.

The three main models

MOHRE describes three types of package [2]:

Traditional. She's on your file, lives with you and works under a two-year contract. This is the classic live-in nanny or maid.
Flexible. The office supplies a worker by the hour, day, week, month, six months or year. She stays on their visa. Good for newcomers who don't yet meet the salary threshold, or who want a trial run.
Temporary. A shorter-term package offered through licensed offices.

Sponsoring her yourself

On your own sponsorship, you need a monthly salary of at least AED 25,000. A working couple can combine incomes [3][4]. Below that, Tadbeer sponsorship packages are the legal route [4]. Expect to supply your passport, visa and Emirates ID, your Ejari tenancy contract, a salary certificate and six months of bank statements [3].

Expats with a standard residence visa usually get a one-year domestic worker visa for their employee. Golden Visa holders can get two years [3].

What it costs in 2026

Prices are set or overseen by MOHRE and vary between centres [2][3]. Use this as a budgeting frame, not a quote.

Cost	What to expect
Recruitment or visa package	About AED 8,500 to AED 17,000 for a two-year visa via Tadbeer (Gulf News, 2024) [3]
Monthly salary	Agreed in the contract. Rates vary a lot by nationality, experience and role, and some sending countries set their own minimums
Health insurance	A basic plan, bought by you. MOHRE says basic plans are offered through several insurers [2]
Domestic worker insurance	Required before the permit is issued. Covers unpaid dues up to AED 20,000 and repatriation if she dies [2]
Accommodation and food	Her own room in your home, meals or a food allowance [1]
Flights	A return ticket home every two years, plus repatriation at the end [1]
End of service	Compensation set under the law and Cabinet rules [1]

Don't ask any Aussie mate what they pay and copy it. Salaries in Dubai often depend on nationality, which many Australians find uncomfortable. Pay for the job and the experience, not the passport.

The trial period and refunds

Probation can run up to six months [1]. If you hired through an office and it doesn't work out, MOHRE's rules give you a full refund of the recruitment fee in the first month, a full refund plus government fees if she's medically unfit during probation, and a pro-rata refund after that [2]. In MOHRE's own example, an AED 12,000 fee over a 24-month contract with 10 months left returns AED 5,000 [2].

Hiring step by step

Decide what you need. Live-in or live-out, nanny or housekeeper, how many hours, and whether you can provide a proper private room. Check your tenancy or building rules allow a live-in worker.
Pick a licensed office. Use a Tadbeer centre or another office on MOHRE's approved list. Never hire someone on a visit visa or from a social media ad offering "freelance" maids [2].
Choose your model. Flexible to start, or a traditional two-year contract on your file.
Interview properly. Ask about childcare experience, first aid, swimming (half of Dubai has a pool) and what she expects from the job. Get references.
Sign the MOHRE standard contract. Salary, duties, hours, rest day and leave go in writing. The unified contract is mandatory [6].
Visa, medical and Emirates ID. The centre applies for the visa, handles the medical fitness test and submits the Emirates ID application. Gulf News puts the whole process at about two to four weeks [3].
Insurance and payroll. Buy health and domestic worker insurance, and set up salary payments through the Wage Protection System, which is mandatory for nannies, housemaids and cooks [2]. Wages are due between the 1st and the 10th of each month [2].

Keeping it legal and fair

The law spells out what she's entitled to, and much of it goes further than common practice in Dubai a decade ago [1]:

Rest. At least 12 hours off in every 24, including 8 in a row, and one paid rest day a week. If she works it, she gets another day off or pay in lieu.
Leave. At least 30 days a year, paid upfront, plus a ticket home every second year.
Sick leave. Up to 15 days on full pay, then 30 at half pay, each year.
Documents. She keeps her own passport and Emirates ID. Holding a worker's passport is illegal, even though Smartraveller notes it's still common in the UAE [5].
Age. Nobody under 18 can be hired [1].

If something goes wrong with the office, MOHRE takes complaints on 80084, through its app or online [2]. If something goes wrong between you and her, try to sort it out calmly and fairly first. Disputes can end up before MOHRE and the courts, and your reputation in a small expat community travels fast.

Your Australian angle

None of this touches Australian payroll, super or the ATO, because she's employed in the UAE under UAE law. What matters back home is what happens when you leave. Smartraveller warns that you should cancel your own work visa before leaving the UAE for good [5], and the same logic applies to her. Cancel her visa properly, pay her final dues and her ticket home, or help her transfer to a new sponsor. An uncancelled domestic worker visa on your file is the kind of loose end that causes trouble at the airport.

For honest, recent recommendations on centres and what other families pay, ask in Cooee UAE, our Facebook group for Australians in the UAE.

Hiring a nanny in Dubai: sponsorship, Tadbeer and the law that protects her