The UAE work permit and labour contract: what to keep a copy of, and what to check before signing

The old labour card is now a work permit and a contract registered with the Ministry. What should be in your hands, and what to check in the contract before you sign, under Decree-Law 33 of 2021.

Anyone who worked in the UAE years ago remembers a plastic labour card in the wallet. That card is no longer the document. What stands in its place is a work permit issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, a contract on the Ministry’s forms registered with it, then residency and the Emirates ID. Signing a paper in an office and assuming “the card” will follow later is how people spend months on a document that does not match what the Ministry holds.

What a work permit is

Article 1 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 defines the work permit as the document the Ministry issues, under which a natural person is allowed to work for the licensed establishment. A worker, in the same definitions, is a person authorised by the Ministry to work for a licensed establishment in the State.

Article 6 clause 1 draws the practical line: no one may work in the State, and no employer may recruit or employ you, except after obtaining a work permit from the Ministry. Clause 2 leaves the types of permit, the conditions, and the procedures for granting, renewing and cancelling them to the Implementing Regulation. Clause 3: recruitment or mediation to bring workers in may only be practised with a Ministry licence.

Clause 4 — covered in the recruitment-fees guide — forbids the employer from charging you the costs of recruitment and employment, or recovering them from you, directly or indirectly. If the offer is conditional on you paying “permit fees” or “card fees”, it collides with this clause before you ever arrive.

The contract is two copies — one is handed to you

Article 8 clause 1 requires the employer to conclude an employment contract with you according to the agreed work pattern, in two copies, one kept by the employer and the other delivered to the worker, and in accordance with the forms the Implementing Regulation specifies.

This is not a courtesy. The copy in your hands is what you can prove the agreement with if it is later disputed. Clause 2 adds that you or someone representing you may prove the contract, the amount of the wage, and any right due by all means of proof. Even if they withhold your copy, the law does not close the door — it lengthens the road. Take the copy on the day you sign.

Clause 3 — after it was amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2022 — makes the contract for a fixed term, renewable as the two parties agree. The three-year cap that still appears in older commentaries is no longer in this clause. If the contract is extended or renewed, the new term is treated as a continuation of the original and is added when continuous service is counted. If both sides keep performing after the original term ends without an express agreement, the original contract is treated as tacitly extended on the same terms.

Clause 6: subject to that, the Implementing Regulation sets the contract forms by approved skill levels, the rules for changing the contract from one work pattern to another, and registration with the Ministry. What counts in a dispute is what was registered, not a WhatsApp paper and not the supervisor’s oral translation.

What should be in your hands

There is no longer a single document called a labour card that replaces the rest. Keep a clear copy — on paper or on your phone — of:

The work permit, or proof of its number and status from the Ministry’s channels, not from a broker’s message.
The employment contract delivered to you under Article 8, matching what was registered with the Ministry.
The offer letter if you have one, so you can see whether anything changed between offer and contract.
The Emirates ID — issued by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, not by the Ministry.
The residence page in your passport, and your file number if it appears on Ministry papers.
Any receipt if your passport was taken “for processing”: Article 13 clause 2 forbids the employer from withholding your official documents or forcing you to leave the State when the employment relationship ends.

The ID and the passport are not “company papers”. If the passport is needed to finish residency, hand it over against a dated receipt of what was taken and for what purpose, and ask for it back when the process ends. The prohibition in Article 13(2) is on withholding documents, not on passing them through an issuing office for a day.

Before you sign: match the names and the figures

The contract you sign will be registered. What is not written on the form is not counted later in gratuity or in a wage complaint. Check before you sign:

The establishment name as licensed, not a loose trading name on a site banner.
The job title or type of work — this is what is usually tied to the permit. Daily work that differs from the permit is a later dispute, and may engage Article 12 if you are assigned work that differs substantially without your written consent.
Basic wage separated from housing, transport and food allowances. End-of-service gratuity in the UAE is calculated on basic wage alone (Article 51). An “all-in” figure in the offer hurts you here.
The contract term and how it renews, under Article 8.
The notice period if the relationship ends after probation: between thirty and ninety days (Article 43). Seven days after probation is below the minimum.
The probation period if there is one: a maximum of six months from the date you start work, and it cannot be repeated with the same employer (Article 9).
The work pattern under Article 7: full-time, part-time, temporary, flexible, or another pattern the regulation specifies. A temporary pattern later affects unemployment insurance.
Who pays recruitment and residency: Article 6 clause 4 answers if they try to pass the cost to you.

Ask to see — or to be sent — what will be registered with the Ministry before you sign the paper in the agent’s hand. If the paper is in a language you cannot read, do not sign because “everyone signs”. Article 8 requires that a copy be delivered to you; it does not require you to understand what has not been explained. Ask for a translation, or read it with someone you trust.

The work pattern is not a small detail

Article 7 makes the work pattern part of the bargain: full-time with one employer for the full daily hours; part-time for specified hours or days; temporary work that ends with a period or with completion of the work; flexible work whose hours or days vary with the establishment’s needs; and other patterns the regulation specifies. The regulation sets each side’s obligations for each pattern.

This matters twice. First: your hours and pay are not necessarily full-time hours if the contract describes something else. Second: unemployment insurance — in its guide on this site — excludes a worker on a temporary contract. Signing a temporary pattern while assuming you are full-time can take you out of a scheme you thought was mandatory.

After you arrive: residency is not the permit

The work permit is from the Ministry. Residency and the Emirates ID follow a different path. You need both to remain valid, and neither replaces the other. If one is delayed, ask the employer in writing and check the official channels with your ID or file number — not a WhatsApp group that offers to “fast-track the card” for a fee.

When the relationship ends, Article 13 clause 11 requires the employer to give you, on request, an experience certificate free of charge. Ask for it before the permit is cancelled and the doors close. Clause 12: the cost of your return is on the employer unless you have joined another employer or the reason for ending is attributable to you.

Who this explanation does not cover

This Decree-Law governs private-sector employment relations that the Ministry supervises. Domestic workers have their own decree, and certain financial free zones such as the DIFC and ADGM have separate employment regimes. If your contract is there, do not build on the articles in this guide.

Rules, fees and app screens change. Check the status of your permit and contract on the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s official channels, and read Articles 6, 8 and 13 of Decree-Law 33 of 2021 from the Arabic source before you sign or hand over a passport. This page explains the text. It is not a substitute for it.

Rules and fees change and differ by country and employer. Always check with the official authorities before paying or signing anything.