UAE Solves Visa Hassles with Online System

Visa Processing Simplified: Household Staff Permits Now Online in UAE

The United Arab Emirates has taken another step towards revolutionizing digital processing, this time impacting the visa administration for household employees. From now on, residents of the country can issue, renew, and cancel residence permits for domestic workers through a single, centralized digital platform. The online system, called Work in UAE (workinuae.ae), is part of a comprehensive initiative launched by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) in collaboration with several federal authorities.

One Platform for Everything

One of the greatest advantages of the platform is that it eliminates the previously common paper-based processing that had to be completed separately with multiple official bodies. With the help of Work in UAE, employers—be they local citizens or residents—can fully utilize the following services online:

- Issuing new visas for domestic workers,

- Extending existing visas,

- Canceling visas if the worker no longer works in the household,

- Booking medical examination appointments and managing results,

- Applying for and renewing Emirates ID,

- Signing digital contracts.

The system was created as part of the Zero Government Bureaucracy program, aimed at reducing unnecessary administrative burdens, minimizing paper-based processing, and completely transforming the customer experience.

A Result of Agency Collaboration

The initiative is not just a technological innovation but also the result of an unprecedentedly broad inter-agency collaboration. The development and operation of the platform involves:

- The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE),

- The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security,

- Emirates Health Services,

- The Abu Dhabi Health Authority,

- As well as the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority.

This close cooperation ensures that data reaches all relevant bodies simultaneously, and the same documents do not need to be submitted multiple times.

Digitization and Data Exchange in Practice

The Work in UAE platform employs the latest digital solutions to make the processing fast, simple, and secure. A key element is the integration with the UAE PASS system, which allows electronic identification and signing, eliminating the need for personal presence in most processing activities.

Another important pillar of the system is the Government Services Bus (GSB), which ensures data exchange between various governmental institutions. Thanks to this, users only need to provide their data once, and the system automatically forwards it to the appropriate authorities.

Payment is also simplified since all costs—including medical examination fees, Emirates ID, and visa costs—can be completed through a consolidated invoice with one payment. This is a particularly important step forward for residents, as previously each authority collected separate fees through different platforms.

Complete Processing Even from Home

The new system's greatest advantage, beyond convenience, is time-saving. Processing related to household workers' visas used to take days, requiring several official visits, acquiring papers, and long waiting lines. Now all this can be avoided. Interested parties can even start the process from a smartphone or computer, and track every step—from data submission to Emirates ID reception—online.

Such a level of digitization is particularly important in the UAE's social and economic environment, where household employees play a key role in families' daily lives and where a significant portion of the population lives as foreign nationals.

The State's Vision for Digital Governance

The UAE government has prioritized digital transformation for years. The introduction of the Work Bundle platform fits well into the strategy aimed at smart governance, fast and transparent processing, and the spread of artificial intelligence applications.

One of the most important elements of digital governance is trust. For citizens and residents to readily use new systems, it is essential that they operate reliably, without errors, and securely. The Work in UAE platform aims to meet exactly this expectation.

Summary

The complete digitization of visa processing related to household employees is a significant milestone in the development of UAE governmental services. The Work in UAE platform facilitates all necessary steps— from contracting to medical exams to issuing Emirates IDs—through a single digital channel with one login and one payment, without unnecessary bureaucracy.

This solution not only serves the convenience of residents but also increases the efficiency of the state's institutional system. The initiative can also serve as an exemplary model for other countries on how to make public services simpler, faster, and more transparent using digitalization tools.

(The article's source: Announcement from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE).) img_alt: A programmer's hands on a laptop with coding.