Your company can sponsor the people you hire. Once it is registered as an employer and has a file with the immigration directorate, it becomes the sponsor on every employee visa it applies for, and each hire is tied to the company rather than to you personally. Dubai Tradeshore sets up that capability and runs the applications that follow.
On the mainland the employer applies to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation to register the establishment, which opens a file and issues an establishment card and number linked to the business licence. The company then applies for its electronic signature card, and the ministry schedules a visit to inspect the premises.
After the ministry has given its initial approval, the employer applies to open a company file with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs. Once that file exists, the company can apply for work entry permits for new employees.
The quota is the number of employees your company is allowed to hire. It is approved separately, and it is the part most buyers do not know about before they start.
The work permit and the residence visa are applied for with the zone’s own authority, and the quota follows the package you signed up for. Each zone sets its own scope for increasing it.
Your company does not decide how many employees it can sponsor. The authority does, through an approved quota.
On the mainland the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation sets the quota according to the company’s legal status, the size of the work facilities, the projects the establishment has undertaken, and its business requirements. Office space is one of four factors, and it is the one you control when you set up.
In a free zone the number of visas a business can get depends on factors such as the package it has signed up for, and each zone sets its own scope for increasing a quota.
Either way the hiring plan belongs at the start. A company that signs the smallest package and then needs to hire a team finds the quota is the constraint, not the budget. On the mainland there is also a bank guarantee of AED 3,000 for each registered employee, paid into the ministry’s account through an approved UAE bank. It can be refunded once the employee’s service ends and the labour card is cancelled.
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We set up the capability to sponsor, apply for the quota, and run each hire through the process inside the deadlines.
We ask how many people you expect to employ and in what order, and we let that shape the office and the jurisdiction rather than fixing it afterwards.
We register your company with the ministry, obtain the establishment card and open the company file with the immigration directorate, so the capability to sponsor exists before you need it.
We prepare and submit your quota application to the authority that governs your company, and we tell you what a given office or package realistically supports before you sign it.
We prepare the contracts the authorities require and obtain the approvals that precede the entry permit.
Two clocks run at once. The work permit is valid for 60 days, and the approval fees and the bank guarantee have to be paid inside that window, or the permit is cancelled automatically and the application has to be filed again. The work entry permit is valid for two months, and the medical fitness test and the Emirates ID application belong in that period. We track both and tell your new hire what to bring to each step.
Staff change. We handle renewals and cancellations, and we apply to raise your quota when the company grows into it.
The same consultant handles your company and your employees, so nobody has to explain the setup twice.
We raise the question before the licence is issued, while the answer is still cheap to act on.
You get a written list of what each hire needs, before the process starts.
Trade directly in the UAE market, operate across industries, and bid on government contracts.
100% foreign ownership and a base built for international trade in one of Dubai’s free zones.
A separate UAE-registered entity for international trade and for holding international assets.
FAQ
Yes, once it is registered as an employer and holds a company file with the immigration directorate. The company is the sponsor, not you personally, and the visa stays attached to the company.
That is set by your approved quota. On the mainland the ministry decides it from your company’s legal status, the size of your work facilities, the projects you have undertaken and your business requirements. In a free zone it follows the package you signed up for, and each zone sets its own scope for increasing it.
On the mainland the ministry requires a bank guarantee of AED 3,000 per registered employee, paid into the ministry’s account through an approved UAE bank. It can be refunded when the employee’s service ends and the labour card is cancelled.
On the mainland, yes. The size of your work facilities is one of four things the ministry weighs, alongside your company’s legal status, the projects you have undertaken and your business requirements. In a free zone the package you choose governs it. Either way it is decided at setup, which is why we raise it before the licence is issued.
The employer applies. The company is the sponsor, and the visa stays attached to the company rather than to the person.
Attend the medical fitness test and the Emirates ID appointment in person, and supply passport documents. We prepare everything else and tell them what to bring.
No. The ministry sets the quota, and it weighs your company’s legal status, the size of your work facilities, the projects you have undertaken and your business requirements. What we do is prepare and submit the application, and tell you before you sign a lease or a package what it realistically supports.
No. Your own residence visa as an owner is separate from the visas your company sponsors for staff.
Tell us how many people you expect to employ in the first year. We come back with the office size and the jurisdiction that carry that number, and a written list of what each hire will need. Your consultant is the same person from the company setup through to the last Emirates ID.
Fill out the following information, so one of our Scandinavian consultants can get back to you, as quickly as possible.