Getting a Maid Visa and Medical in Dubai

Here we tackle a look at the criteria for sponsoring a maid, the procedure involved, how to get the medical fitness certificate and how to renew or cancel a maid's visa including all the paperwork and costs.

A maid's visa can be obtained by the head of the family (called sponsor, and usually the male), whose salary is not less than AED 6,000 a month or AED 5,000 + accommodation.

Male Bachelors are not eligible to sponsor a maid.

You can only sponsor a maid from the following countries: India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.

Steps To Follow: Apply in the following order:

• Residence Visa (employment permit to enter country)
• Medical Fitness Report (after maid enters)
• Residence Stamp on Maid's Passport & Issue of Domestic Worker Card

Documents Required for Residence Visa:

• Salary certificate of the sponsor in Arabic (for government employee) OR, labour contract of sponsor (for private employee) and accommodation contract showing minimum 2 bedroom apartment.
• Typed application form from authorised typing office
• Sponsor’s passport
• Copy of maid’s passport
• Passport photos of maid (minimum 3 required)
• Affidavit from embassy/consulate certifying non-relationship, if maid from the same country

Procedures:

• Go to authorized typist & get form filled up. Pay AED 110 + separate typing fee (which varies from typist to typist). If urgent, pay additional AED 100. 
• Go to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs - Dubai & submit all documents after attaching courier sticker for non-urgent visa. For urgent, wait for a few minutes and receive the employment entry permit. You will have to pay a refundable deposit of AED 2,000 along with the application. (The deposit was reduced from AED 5000 to AED 2,000. See news update)
• Send either original visa or copy to your maid. If only copy was sent, then deposit original at DNATA Visa Desk at Dubai airport or at DNRD counter.

Applying for a residence visa for your maid

• Apply for a residence permit and medical fitness report within 30 days of the arrival of your maid's entry into the country. Visit an authorized typist & pay for either urgent or non-urgent form & submit to DNRD counter.
• After stamping, take your maid for a medical fitness test (see pdf location map for 13 centres for medical fitness in Dubai. Includes phone numbers and timings). All new maids will be screened for HIV, pregnancy, Hepatitis B, Syphilis, TB & Leprosy. The Hepatitis B vaccination which costs an additional AED 50 is given in 3 doses - immediately, booster after 1 month and booster after 6 months. If you keep the yellow certificate as proof of all three doses, then when renewing your maid's visa, you do not need to re-do this, as the vaccination and certificate is valid for 10 years.

Costs of Medical Fitness

• Normal fitness test costs AED 325 (AED 260 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination + AED 15 for courier and takes 5-7 working days to get the results.
• 48 hour service costs AED 420 (AED 370 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination). You can collect results in 2 working days.
• Urgent service costs AED 520 (AED 470 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination). You can collect results after 24 hours.
• There is also a 4 hour VIP service costing AED 740 (AED 690 + AED 50) but this is only for Al Safa & Knowledge Village employees and dependents. 

Steps to get the medical fitness results

a. Register through authorized typist office or through DHA online service

b. If not paid online, go to registration counter/section at medical fitness centre to pay fees, depending on package chosen.

c. Go for blood test, x-ray and/or Hepatitis B vaccination

d. Medical fitness results will be sent to DNRD electronically. SMS notification will be sent to sponsor.

e. Go to authorized typist to pay AED 5,200 (or AED 5,100 for non-urgent) to apply for residence visa.

• Submit residence visa application, along with medical fitness report to any DNRD branch. (If you get an SMS from DNRD saying 'Your medical fitness result is sent to DNRD', then you can proceed directly to any DNRD branch without collecting the medical report, as it will show up in the DNRD system).
• Go to residency section of DNRD and take a token for automated queue system. When your number comes, submit residency visa typed application. Also attach stamped employment entry permit, maid's original passport, sponsor's passport copy, deposit sticker and a salary certificate/labour contract.
• It is preferable to take your maid with you to save time. You must declare to the officer what salary you propose to pay your maid, as this will be entered into the contract. You will receive 3 printouts of the unified contract which has to be signed by both sponsor and maid. If your maid is with you, request her to sign. Go to the bank counter inside the visit visa section and purchase an AED 10 sticker for attestation, and re-submit copies of the contract to the officer, who will counter-sign and return 2 copies to you. (One is for the sponsor, the other for the maid to keep.) A residence stamp valid for one year will then be placed in your maid's passport.
• The officer will then give you the 'Domestic Worker Identity Card'.
• Your deposit of AED 2,000 will only be refunded when you housemaid permanently leaves the country. Preserve the sticker, as you can either use this to get a refund or you can show it to the residency officer as proof of deposit, each time you do your renewal.

Additional Notes:

Employment of domestic workers requires work contract

A new unified contract (called employment agreement for domestic workers and sponsors) to regulate the rights and duties of domestic workers was put in place from 1st April, 2007. The contract is valid for one year with options to renew and governs vacation, air tickets, medical care and procedures, in case of breach of contract.

Country specific requirements for minimum wages

Do keep in mind that each country has its own regulations regarding minimum salary, age etc and you will have to check with the respective consulate embassy for these details. A maid from India or Philippines must be older than 30, but not over 60. Even recommended minimum salaries differ, with Indian maids to be paid from AED 1,100 onwards (see update), as advised by the Indian Embassy, while new regulations from the Philippines say the minimum salary should be AED 1,400. See update . As per the Sri Lankan embassy, the minimum salary for Sri Lankan maids is AED 825. See update. The minimum salary for Indonesian maids is AED 800 and from Bangladesh, it is AED 750. See update Please note that these are minimum recommendations from governments, but there's nothing stopping you from paying more than the minimum wage.

DNRD Approval

Maids from the sponsor’s country are subject to approval by DNRD. In addition, an affidavit from your country's embassy/consulate certifying that the maid is not related to you may be required. If you need more than one maid for a large family, DNRD has the right to decide, but much will depend on sponsor’s salary and size of the family. Always carry copies and original documents, including labour contracts, salary certificates and passports. You may be asked to show your accommodation contract and are advised to carry this.

The illegal hiring of maids, without DNRD approval, may result in fines of up to AED 70,000 as well as imprisonment for one month followed by deportation of the employer. 

Renewal of Maid's Visa in Dubai

This needs to be done annually. Go to an authorised typist & get online medical request form issued (free, though some typists charge AED 20) and application for renewal (ordinary AED 5080 + typing charges or urgent AED 5180+typing charges).

Take your maid for a medical fitness test. (See pdf location map for 13 centres for medical fitness in Dubai. The PDF includes phone numbers and timings). If you show proof of Hepatitis B vaccination done (yellow certificate showing all three injections done), then you do not have to pay again as the vaccination is valid for 10 years.

SEE ALSO: Maid Rules and Regulations in Dubai

Costs of Medical Fitness

• Normal fitness test costs AED 325 (AED 260 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination + AED 15 for courier and takes 5-7 working days to get the results.
• 48-hour service costs AED 420 (AED 370 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination). You can collect results in 2 working days.
• Urgent service costs AED 520 (AED 470 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination). You can collect results after 24 hours.
• There is also a 4 hour VIP service costing AED 740 (AED 690 + AED 50) but this is only for Al Safa & Knowledge Village employees and dependents. 

Submit renewal application, along with medical fitness to any DNRD branch. (If you get an SMS from DNRD saying 'Your medical fitness result is sent to DNRD' before you can collect the medical fitness report, then you can proceed directly to any DNRD branch without collecting the medical report, as it will show up in the DNRD system).

If you go to DNRD main office, go to residency section and take a token for automated queue system.

If you are doing a renewal after the third year, you will have to show proof that you made a deposit in the first year. Prior to November 2009, deposit amounts were AED 5,000, which was reduced to AED 2,000.

DNRD will issue you with 3 printouts of the unified contract that you and your maid have to sign (advisable to take your maid, to get an immediate signature). If your renewal application was ordinary, your maid's visa & Domestic Worker Card will be sent to you by courier, while urgent applications are done immediately.

For further enquiries or clarifications, you can call DNRD on 04-3980000 or the toll-free Amer helpline

Cancelling your maid’s visa

• Go to DNRD / immigration department typist and ask for visa cancellation form to be filled out. You will need a copy of maid's passport or the original, and a one-way ticket for the maid back to her home country. Bring your own passport and copy, and maid's labour card also.
• Take maid, her passport and labour card, your passport, and visa cancellation form to airport on departure day (arrive at least 3 hours before departure time, or more if check in counter opens more than 3 hours before departure - for Emirates flights you can check in 8 hours before flight departure)
• Check in the maid and obtain a boarding pass.
• Go to the airport immigration counter with a maid boarding pass, labour card, and passport to cancel the visa.They will keep labour card and may want to see your passport.

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Information taken from the information on the Dubai Government website www.dubai.ae the rules and regulations do get updated frequently and we will update this page when changes occur.

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