New Rules Imposed for Work Permit Renewals and Job Title Amendments
February 12, 2020
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At a Glance
- Effective immediately, applicants renewing their work permits in mainland United Arab Emirates will be required to amend their job title if it is not on the new list of occupations for foreign nationals used by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization.
- Furthermore, due to a discrepancy between occupation lists used by different government authorities, the job title printed on a foreign national’s work permit may not match the one printed on the visa sticker endorsed in their passport; in these cases, foreign nationals will be required to amend their job title in the immigration system.
- Additionally, applicants renewing their work permits or amending their salary information or job title in the mainland must submit an attested education certificate if required by the occupation list for their job title.
The situation
Effective immediately, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MOHRE) has implemented new rules concerning the amendment of job titles for work permit renewals; job title discrepancies and requirements for education certificates.
A closer look
Details of the changes include the following:
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Background
The occupational classification scheme currently used by the MOHRE is comprised of 1,250 titles in five levels of professional skills that determine whether an attested education certificate must be provided by a work permit applicant. The previous list was comprised of over 700 job titles with job descriptions in nine professional categories. The MOHRE updates this list frequently to expand the job titles reserved for UAE nationals and to eliminate the job titles that are no longer in use in the country. The scheme was implemented to promote the employment of skilled workers and to increase transparency in the labor market.
Looking ahead
As the United Arab Emirates continues to try to increase Emirati employment in the private sector (particularly in skilled professions), additional rules and restrictions on hiring practices for foreign nationals could be forthcoming. However, the country intends to balance these restrictions with relaxed rules meant to attract investment in the country, including the waiver of administrative fines and the introduction of a long-term residence program. Fragomen will provide updates as they become available.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
