UAE Emiratisation (Nafis) Employee Target & Contribution Calculator
Emiratisation targets and contributions for UAE private-sector employers.
Both readings of the target
How this was calculated
Rules and official sources
MoHRE (the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation) sets and checks each establishment’s target. Estimate for information — not legal advice.
For general information only, not legal advice. Templates are generic starting points — have a qualified lawyer review anything you rely on.
About the UAE Emiratisation (Nafis) Employee Target & Contribution Calculator
UAE private-sector establishments with 50 or more employees must raise the share of their skilled jobs held by Emiratis by 2 percentage points a year — 10 points in all under the published schedule — and those with 20 to 49 employees in 14 activities must hire one Emirati and then one more. An establishment that falls short pays a contribution for each job not filled as the target requires: for the larger establishments AED 6,000 a month, rising by AED 1,000 a year to AED 9,000.
Enter your headcount, skilled jobs and the Emiratis you employ, and the calculator shows how many Emiratis your target needs, how many you are short and what the shortfall costs a month and a year — using the rule that applies on today’s date, with the official u.ae page for each rule.
How to use it
- Enter the number of employees in all: with 50 or more the skilled-jobs target applies, with 20 to 49 the hiring target of your activity.
- With 50 or more employees, enter your skilled jobs (Emiratis included) and the Emiratis in skilled jobs; with 20 to 49, choose your main activity and enter the Emiratis employed.
- Check the target and the contribution under Target and contribution. They start from the published rules for the current year; raise the target if your establishment already had Emiratis in skilled jobs before the targets began.
- Read the Emiratis needed, the shortfall and the contribution, then copy or download the summary.
Examples
Target: 10% × 120 = 12 Emiratis Short: 3 jobs × AED 9,000 = AED 27,000 a month, AED 324,000 a year
10% × 75 = 7.5 → 7 needed (2 short, AED 216,000 a year) or 8 needed (3 short, AED 324,000 a year)
2 Emiratis needed, 1 short → AED 108,000 a year
Who has a target
- 50 or more employees: the Emiratisation rate of skilled jobs rises by 2 percentage points a year, 10 points in all under the schedule, on top of the rate the establishment had before. With no Emiratis in skilled jobs to start with, the target is 10% of skilled jobs.
- 20 to 49 employees in 14 activities — 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; construction; wholesale and retail trade; transportation and warehousing; and hospitality — hire one Emirati, then one more: two in all.
- u.ae publishes no target for smaller establishments, or for those with 20 to 49 employees in other activities.
Which jobs are skilled
MoHRE classifies jobs into nine professional levels. A job counts as skilled only when all four conditions are met: it is at levels 1 to 5 (legislators, managers and business executives; professionals in scientific, technical and human fields; technicians; writing professionals; service and sales occupations); the worker has a certificate above secondary level; the certificate is attested by the competent authorities; and the monthly salary, without commission, is at least AED 4,000 (u.ae: professional levels of jobs).
Contributions for a shortfall
For establishments with 50 or more employees the contribution is AED 6,000 a month for each job not filled by an Emirati as the target requires, rising by AED 1,000 a year until it reaches AED 9,000 a month — AED 108,000 a year for each job. For the 20–49 establishments, u.ae gives AED 96,000 for failing to hire one Emirati under the first year’s target and AED 108,000 for failing to hire two under the second, without saying whether that amount is for each Emirati. The calculator charges it for each Emirati short — as the rule for larger establishments does for each job — and, when two are missing, also shows what it would be as one amount for the establishment. Both amounts can be changed in the calculator, for a newer rule or your own planning.
MoHRE also sets the minimum salary for Emiratis in private-sector jobs at AED 6,000 a month.
When the target is not a whole number
10% of 75 skilled jobs is 7.5 Emiratis. u.ae does not say how a part of a job is counted, so the calculator shows both readings — 7 Emiratis if the part is dropped, 8 if it is counted as a whole job — with the shortfall and contribution of each. Check your establishment’s own target with MoHRE.
Fake Emiratisation
Fake Emiratisation and other ways of getting round the targets — reducing the workforce, reclassifying employees or other deceptive means — are violations with administrative penalties (Cabinet Resolution No. 95 of 2022, with the additions of Cabinet Resolution No. 44 of 2023). The violations also include an Emirati hire who never starts work while the establishment keeps receiving Nafis support, and absences it does not report to Nafis. Ministerial Resolution No. 663 of 2022 also bars paying Emiratis less than others in the same job.
Limitations
- MoHRE sets and checks each establishment’s target; an establishment that had Emiratis in skilled jobs before the targets began has a target above the schedule’s 10 points — enter it.
- The yearly targets and amounts on u.ae are built in. Targets or amounts announced later are not: enter them in the calculator when MoHRE publishes them.
- Counts only the targets and contributions. Recruitment through Nafis, its support programmes and the pension contributions for Emirati employees are not worked out.
- An estimate for information, not legal advice.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
How many Emiratis does my company need to hire?
With 50 or more employees: the target share of your skilled jobs — 2 percentage points a year, 10% for an establishment that started with none — so 120 skilled jobs need 12 Emiratis. With 20 to 49 employees in one of the 14 listed activities: two Emiratis, one under each year’s target.
How much is the Emiratisation contribution?
For establishments with 50 or more employees, AED 6,000 a month for each job not filled by an Emirati as the target requires, rising by AED 1,000 a year to AED 9,000 a month (AED 108,000 a year). For 20–49 establishments, u.ae gives AED 96,000 and then AED 108,000.
Which jobs count as skilled for Emiratisation?
Jobs at professional levels 1 to 5, held by a worker with an attested certificate above secondary level and a monthly salary of at least AED 4,000 without commission. All four conditions must be met.
Do companies with 20 to 49 employees have to hire Emiratis?
Those in 14 activities — among them construction, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, hospitality, real estate, and information and communications — must hire one Emirati and then one more. u.ae publishes no target for 20–49 establishments in other activities.
What is the minimum salary for Emiratis in the private sector?
MoHRE sets the minimum monthly salary for Emiratis working in private-sector jobs at AED 6,000.
What happens if a company fakes Emiratisation?
Fake Emiratisation and getting round the targets — for example by reducing the workforce or reclassifying employees — are violations with administrative penalties under Cabinet Resolution No. 95 of 2022 and Cabinet Resolution No. 44 of 2023.