Emiratisation: targets, deadlines and Nafis, explained

What Emiratisation is

Emiratisation is the UAE government's policy of bringing more Emirati citizens into work, especially in the private sector. The official UAE portal describes it as training Emiratis, reserving jobs for them and making legal provisions to recruit and keep them.

For private employers, it shows up as targets set by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE): a required share of Emiratis in skilled jobs, checked twice a year, with a financial contribution for each position not filled.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check MOHRE's own pages before you rely on any figure here.

Companies with 50 or more employees

Private-sector companies with 50 or more employees must increase the share of Emiratis in their skilled jobs by 2% a year. Since 2023 the target has been split into two steps: 1% by the end of June and a further 1% by the end of December. MOHRE's stated aim when the policy was set was for Emiratis to make up 10% of skilled jobs by the end of 2026.

In June 2026 MOHRE confirmed 30 June 2026 as the deadline for the first-half target, with the remaining 1% due in the second half of the year.

Companies with 20 to 49 employees

Since 2024, smaller companies with 20 to 49 employees in 14 specified sectors have also had targets: to hire at least one Emirati in 2024 and another in 2025, and to keep the Emiratis they already employ. MOHRE said more than 12,000 companies were covered when this began. If one of those Emirati employees leaves, the company has two months to replace them.

The 14 sectors, as listed by the UAE government, are:

• Information and communications
• Financial and insurance activities
• Real estate
• Professional, scientific and technical activities
• Administrative and support services
• Education
• Healthcare and social work
• Arts and entertainment
• Mining and quarrying
• Manufacturing (transformative industries)
• Construction
• Wholesale and retail trade
• Transportation and warehousing
• Accommodation and hospitality

What it costs to miss a target

Companies that miss their target pay a financial contribution for each Emirati they should have hired. The amount has risen each year, and since 2023 it has been collected twice a year.

• For shortfalls in 2024, the contribution was AED 96,000 per Emirati not hired, for both company groups, collected from 1 January 2025
• For companies with 20 to 49 employees, the 2025 shortfall was set at AED 108,000 per Emirati, collected from January 2026
• From 1 July 2026, MOHRE said it would charge AED 10,000 a month (AED 120,000 a year) for each position not filled with an Emirati
• Paying the contribution does not remove the target: the jobs still need to be filled

Fake Emiratisation and getting round the targets

MOHRE checks compliance through digital monitoring and field inspections, and treats fake Emiratisation as a serious violation. This includes hiring Emiratis on paper only, or in jobs that do not really exist, to meet a target.

• Fines for fake Emiratisation range from AED 20,000 to AED 100,000 for each Emirati involved, and Nafis support paid for them is stopped and recovered
• Companies that try to get round the targets, for example by reclassifying jobs or splitting the company, face fines of AED 100,000, AED 300,000 and AED 500,000 for a first, second and third offence
• Emirati employees must be registered with the pension and social security system, and paid through the Wage Protection System (WPS)
• From 1 January 2026 the minimum wage for Emiratis in the private sector is AED 6,000 a month. From 1 July 2026, Emiratis paid less than this do not count towards the targets

Nafis: the support behind the targets

Nafis is the federal programme that supports Emiratis into private-sector jobs. It was launched on 12 September 2021 as part of the Projects of the 50 and is run by the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council. The UAE government has since extended it to 2040.

Support listed on the official portal includes salary support, pension contributions, child allowance, allowances for specialised professions, unemployment benefit, on-the-job training and apprenticeships, and career counselling. Employers find Emirati candidates and post jobs through the Nafis platform.

Incentives for companies that do well

Companies with strong Emiratisation results can join MOHRE's Emiratisation Partners Club (Tawteen Partners Club), which offers discounts of up to 80% on MOHRE service fees and priority in government procurement. Companies that miss their targets are moved down in MOHRE's classification of establishments.

Sector rules: private healthcare

In June 2026 MOHRE announced that private healthcare companies with 50 or more employees must split their 2% annual target equally between specialised healthcare jobs and other skilled jobs, with checks starting at the beginning of 2027.

What employers can do in practice

• Work out your target each half-year from your skilled headcount, and the date you must reach it
• Plan Emirati hiring before the deadline, not after it. Recruiting, offers and onboarding all take time
• Post roles on Nafis and use its support programmes where you are eligible
• Check that every Emirati hire has a real job, is registered for pensions, is paid through WPS and earns at least the minimum wage
• Keep a record of Emirati applicants, interviews and decisions, so you can show what you did to meet the target
• Keep interviews structured and fair, so Emirati candidates are assessed on the same questions and rubric as everyone else

Where Octrahire fits

Octrahire is a hiring platform built for the UAE, the GCC and India. Its employer pipeline includes Emiratisation tracking alongside a fairness report and a decision log, and every candidate for a role gets the same structured AI interview, in English or Arabic. A person makes every hiring decision. It does not file anything with MOHRE or Nafis for you.