Dubai Mainland Visa Quota: How Many Employees Can You Sponsor?

The Short Answer

• There is no fixed number per licence. A mainland company can sponsor as many employees as MOHRE’s work permit quota for that establishment allows.
• An initial quota comes with the establishment file. MOHRE describes quota as a proactive service linked to opening and updating the establishment file, awarded without a separate application.
• More quota needs evidence. An electronic quota request needs evidence of work volume, the trade licence, a list of vehicles where the activity involves them, and a Taq’eem report.
• The Instant Licence has a stated allowance. DET’s Instant Licence includes a MOHRE establishment card with the option to employ three people.

What MOHRE Publishes About Quota

MOHRE lists quota as a subsidiary procedure of the establishment card service. In practice that means quota problems usually trace back to the establishment file itself: an expired licence, a restriction on the establishment, or a missing Taq’eem report.

What Taq’eem Is and Why It Matters

Taq’eem is MOHRE’s evaluation service, run through private service providers under the ministry’s supervision. MOHRE lists its purposes as registering labour accommodation, providing information to estimate the workload, and providing information about the establishment and the validity of its commercial licence.

A Taq’eem application starts at a Tas-heel service centre, which passes it electronically to a Taq’eem provider. A team of two evaluators then visits the establishment. This is the practical reason premises matter for hiring: what the evaluators see is part of the evidence behind the workload the company claims.

The Taq’eem report costs AED 406 and has to be valid when you request electronic quota, so a hiring plan that depends on more quota depends on that report being current.

The Square-Metre Rule of Thumb

Many setup providers quote a ratio of roughly one visa for every 9 to 10 square metres of office. We have not found that ratio in any MOHRE or DET publication. MOHRE publishes the evidence it looks at, which is work volume, the licence and the Taq’eem report, not a floor-area formula.

So treat any square-metre figure as a planning estimate, not an entitlement. The sound principle behind it still holds: a company asking for quota for twenty people should be able to show premises and a volume of work that make twenty people credible. Lease against the headcount you expect in the next year or two, not the one you start with.

Where the Quota Starts: Your Licence Route

If you expect to hire more than three people in the first year, the Instant Licence’s allowance is the constraint to plan around. The flexi desk and virtual office guide covers the premises side of the same decision.

What Blocks a Quota Request

• An expired trade licence. A valid licence is the first MOHRE condition.
• A restriction on the establishment. MOHRE requires private status without restrictions, so unresolved violations or fines come first.
• A missing or expired Taq’eem report. Electronic quota needs a valid one.
• A profession that does not fit the licence. Each job title must be compatible with the licensed activities. Adding an activity by licence amendment can be the real fix.
• An expired establishment card. The immigration file has to be current before permits and visas move; see establishment card renewal.

How to Increase Your Quota

What Each Hire Costs Once You Have Quota

Quota is a ceiling, not a cost. Each employee then carries their own government fees. The UAE Government portal lists a work permit fee of AED 250 to AED 3,450, depending on whether MOHRE classifies the company as category A, B or C. The residence visa, medical fitness test, Emirates ID and health insurance come on top.

The immigration side needs the company’s establishment card first. GDRFA Dubai lists AED 200 plus VAT for issuing it, plus AED 10 Knowledge Dirham, AED 10 Innovation Dirham and an AED 50 service fee, with a completion time of 48 hours.

PROXPAT handles a complete employment visa process for AED 350 plus VAT, with government fees paid at cost. Companies that hire regularly usually move to our monthly PRO retainer from AED 700 a month plus VAT. See employment visa services for the full sequence.

Plan Headcount Before You Sign the Lease

• List the roles you expect to fill in the next 12 to 24 months, with job titles.
• Check each title against the licence activities before the licence is issued, when adding an activity is cheapest.
• Choose premises that make that headcount credible to a Taq’eem evaluator.
• Note the Emiratisation thresholds: companies with 50 or more employees must grow Emirati employment in skilled roles by 2% a year, and companies with 20 to 49 employees in specified sectors must hire and retain at least one UAE national.
• Put the establishment card and licence renewal dates in a compliance calendar, because a lapse on either stops hiring.

Setting up now? The full sequence is on our Dubai mainland company formation page.

How PROXPAT Helps

Sources

MOHRE: Work Permit Quotas for Establishments and Taqyeem. Invest in Dubai (DET): Request to issue a trade licence. GDRFA Dubai: Establishment card for the private sector. UAE Government portal: Work permits.