Материковая зона versus Свободная зона for a recruitment agency

Determine whether the company will earn placement fees, retainers, staffing margins, software subscriptions, consultancy fees or referral commissions.

Separate HR-консалтинг, recruitment mediation, executive search, temporary employment, outsourcing, labour supply, job portals and domestic-worker recruitment.

Determine whether clients are материковая зона companies, Свободная зона entities, overseas employers, government bodies or individual consumers.

Establish the target professions, nationalities, skill levels and countries of recruitment.

Obtain вид деятельности confirmation from DET, the selected Свободная зона and MOHRE where applicable. Identify any additional sector authority.

Confirm the requirements for акционеры, beneficial owners, managers and responsible employees.

Determine the applicable guarantee, insurance, capital and working-capital requirements.

Confirm office requirements before entering a long-term tenancy.

Document services, pricing, clients, candidate sourcing, overseas partners, staffing and соблюдение требований controls.

Complete name approval, constitutional documents, ownership declarations and commercial registration.

Complete the required MOHRE and other authority procedures before performing regulated recruitment.

Register the agency for the employee, work-permit and immigration processes applicable to its structure.

Provide the bank with a consistent description of the recruitment model, customer profile and expected transactions.

Prepare employer terms, candidate privacy notices, overseas-agent agreements, anti-fee policies and complaint processes.

Set up placement tracking, recruiter commissions, worker payroll, WPS, НДС and корпоративный налог records.

Do not advertise, place candidates or supply workers until all required permissions are active.

Advising on HR systems is not the same as introducing candidates for employment.

The agency must verify geographic объем работ and any MOHRE requirement.

The authority considers the actual employment and supervision arrangement, not only the contract title.

Рекрутинг and employment costs should not be transferred to workers through direct or indirect fees.

Regulated recruitment can require security separate from share capital and operating cash.

The ОАЭ agency can face legal and reputational exposure for misconduct in the recruitment chain.

CV submission and personal-data sharing require appropriate controls.

A Дубай материковая зона recruitment agency is formed through the Дубай Department of Economy and Туризм and requires approval from MOHRE where the proposed вид деятельности falls within regulated recruitment or employment-agency services.

The материковая зона company may be able to serve employers throughout the MOHRE-regulated ОАЭ private sector, subject to:

A commercial лицензия issued by DET is only one component of the structure. The agency must also hold any required MOHRE permission before it begins regulated recruitment operations.

A Свободная зона company is incorporated and лицензияd by a specific Свободная зона authority.

The legal объем работ of those activities must be confirmed carefully.

The presence of the word "recruitment" in an вид деятельности description does not automatically authorise every form of employment intermediation в ОАЭ.

The Ministry of Human Ресурсы and Emiratisation regulates recruitment and employment-agency activities within its юрисдикция under the ОАЭ labour-law framework.

Relevant legislation includes Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 Regulating Labour Relations and its Executive Regulations.

A Свободная зона company should not assume it can provide unrestricted candidate-placement services to материковая зона employers.

A Свободная зона company may be able to provide certain services to материковая зона clients, but regulated recruitment вид деятельности must remain within the permission granted by the responsible органы.

A client's willingness to pay an invoice does not prove that the agency is properly лицензияd.

Дубай introduced a broader framework in 2025 allowing eligible Свободная зона establishments to conduct specified activities outside their Свободная зонаs after obtaining the appropriate DET лицензия or permit.

Under Дубай Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, possible routes can include:

This framework does not remove federal regulatory requirements.

Even if a general consultancy вид деятельности is eligible for a материковая зона operating permit, regulated recruitment, employment intermediation or temporary staffing may still require MOHRE approval.

A permit should therefore not be treated as a shortcut around recruitment-agency licensing.