How much does work permit cost in the GCC? 2026 fees
The labour-ministry approval that lets you work legally for a named GCC sponsor, separate from but tied to your residence permit.
Indicative fees, renewal cycles and the issuing authority for all six Gulf states, plus an honest view of whether this is worth filing yourself.
Work Permit fees across the six GCC states
| Country | Known locally as | Issuing authority | Indicative fee | Renewal cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 United Arab Emirates | Labour Card (Work Permit) | MOHRE via Tas'heel | AED 250 (Category A) to AED 3,750 (Category C) per worker | 2 years; transfer without NOC after probation |
 Saudi Arabia | Rukhsat Amal (Work Permit) | Qiwa under HRSD | SAR 650 issuance + SAR 9,600 annual expat levy per worker | Annual, tied to Iqama and Nitaqat tier |
 Qatar | Work Permit (Labour Card) | Ministry of Labour (MADLSA) | QAR 500 per worker | 2 years (2024 reform); NOC-free transfer with notice |
 Bahrain | LMRA Work Permit | Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) | BHD 172 for 2 years + BHD 5 monthly fee per worker | 2 years; flexi-permit closed to new applicants |
 Oman | Labour Clearance | Ministry of Labour | OMR 201 per worker + OMR 100 manpower fee | 2 years; transfer requires release |
 Kuwait | Article 18 Work Permit | Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) | KD 10 per year + KD 50 transfer fee | 1 to 3 years; quota-controlled by title |
Compare the fee and the renewal cycle together
A headline fee on its own is misleading. A lower fee renewed every year can cost more across three years than a higher fee renewed every three. Both columns matter.
What you are paying for
A GCC work permit is the labour-side licence that authorises an expat to work for a specifically named sponsor in a specific job title at a specific salary. It sits next to, but is legally distinct from, the residence permit. The two are usually issued together and cancelled together, but they are governed by different ministries, paid in different fees, and refused for different reasons. A residence visa can be valid while the work permit is suspended for a quota breach; a work permit can be approved while the residence stalls on a medical fitness fail. The work permit is what determines whether your salary, contract, gratuity, and end-of-service rights actually exist in the labour register, and it is the document most often in dispute when a job change, a fine, or a redundancy goes wrong.
Each country names and issues the permit differently. The UAE Labour Card is issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) through the Tas'heel network and now mostly digital, replacing the physical card for most categories. Saudi Arabia issues the Rukhsat Amal through Qiwa, the HRSD platform that also runs contract authentication, Saudisation status (Nitaqat), and the wage protection system Mudad. Qatar issues a Work Permit through the Ministry of Labour, tied to the MOI residence and now on a two-year cycle for most categories following the 2024 reform. Bahrain bundles the work permit with the residence under the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) on lmra.gov.bh, with a flexi-permit category for self-sponsored workers reformed in 2022-2023. Oman issues a Labour Clearance through the Ministry of Labour, paired with the Royal Oman Police residence stamp. Kuwait issues the PAM permit under Article 18 of the Foreigners Residence Law through the Public Authority for Manpower, with renewal and transfer handled in the Sahel app.
Eligibility is a four-way check: company quota, profession code, salary band, and worker profile. Saudi Arabia runs Nitaqat tiers, Platinum, Green Mid, Green Low, and Red, that set how many expats a company can hire against its Saudi workforce, and a Red company cannot renew any work permit until it improves. Bahrain LMRA issues quotas to each commercial registration and refuses permits beyond the cap. Kuwait PAM publishes job-title quotas by economic activity and rejects new hires in saturated titles regardless of salary. The UAE runs Emiratisation targets for private firms with 50 or more skilled workers (2% per year reaching 10% by 2026) and fines AED 96,000 per unfilled slot. Qatar checks the establishment's labour-quota approval and salary against the published profession scale. Salary on the authenticated contract must match the payslip and the wage protection transfer; mismatches trigger inspections and refusal.
Should you file it yourself, use a typing centre, or use a desk?
We run a paperwork desk, so treat this as coming from an interested party. It still contains the case for not paying us, because for a clean, simple filing that is the right answer.
Do it yourself
- Cost
- Government fee only
- Time
- Your own hours, plus any counter visit
- Best for
- Straightforward cases where every document is valid and the transaction is available in an app or portal.
- Watch out for
- A rejected submission costs you the resubmission and the wait, and the reason is often not explained.
Typing centre
- Cost
- Government fee plus a service fee per transaction
- Time
- One visit, usually same day if documents are complete
- Best for
- Transactions that still need a correctly formatted submission or original document sighting.
- Watch out for
- Service fees vary widely between centres and are rarely quoted separately from the government fee.
A desk like ours
- Cost
- Fixed fee quoted before we start, plus government fees at cost
- Time
- You send documents once and we handle the sequence
- Best for
- Cases already rejected once, sequences spanning several authorities, or deadlines where the fine exceeds the fee.
- Watch out for
- Not worth paying for a clean, simple filing you could complete in an app in ten minutes.
Decided you want it handled?
We file work permit in all six GCC states
Fixed fee quoted before we start, government fees shown separately at cost. Tell us the country and where you are stuck.
Work out your own number
Indicative fees only take you so far. These calculators run your actual dates, salary and case against the published rates.
What the process looks like
- 1Quota and Saudisation checkConfirm the employer's Nitaqat tier, LMRA quota, Emiratisation slot, or PAM activity quota before the offer letter is signed.
- 2Contract authenticationFile the contract on Qiwa (Saudi Arabia, mandatory), MOHRE (UAE), MADLSA (Qatar), LMRA (Bahrain), MOL Oman, or PAM (Kuwait) so the salary and job title become the legal record.
- 3Entry permitEmployer files the entry permit on the country portal and pays the entry-visa fee.
- 4Medical fitnessWorker enters and completes the government medical at an approved centre, including blood tests, chest X-ray, and infectious-disease screening.
- 5BiometricsFingerprints and photo capture at the identity authority (ICP, Jawazat, MOI Qatar, NPRA, ROP, PACI).
- 6Work-permit issuanceLabour ministry issues the digital permit or labour card linked to the residence record.
Before you pay anything
Work Permit document checklist, by country
Most extra cost comes from a rejected submission. Tick off what you need first.
Traps that differ between countries
- Transferring sponsorship between GCC states is treated as a brand-new application: the old work permit is cancelled, a new entry permit is issued, and the worker re-runs medical, biometrics, and contract authentication.
- Saudi Arabia's Nitaqat Saudisation tier of the employer can block any work-permit renewal: a Red company cannot renew permits at all, a Low Green company faces caps on each visa category, and recategorisation can change the rules mid-cycle.
- Bahrain LMRA monthly fees compound at BHD 5 per worker per month and unpaid balances block both renewal and new permits across the establishment until cleared.
- Qatar's NOC-free transfer requires the worker to give one month's notice in the first two years of employment and two months thereafter, and the new role's salary must be within the published profession scale to be approved by MADLSA.
- Kuwait Article 18 caps how many expats a private company can hire against its Kuwaiti workforce and against the activity quota; a renewal can be refused even with full compliance if the company is over quota.
- Saudi Arabia's Qiwa contract authentication is now mandatory: an unauthenticated contract blocks Iqama and work-permit renewal regardless of how long the worker has been employed.
Who has to pay this
- Every salaried expat working for a private-sector GCC employer under a named sponsorship
- Public-sector expats on government or semi-government payroll, where the permit is issued by the relevant ministry rather than MOHRE or PAM
- Domestic workers under Tadbeer (UAE), Musaned (Saudi Arabia), MADLSA domestic-worker portal (Qatar), LMRA EMS (Bahrain), or PAM domestic-labour (Kuwait)
- Freelancers and self-sponsored workers under the UAE freelance permit, the Qatar freelancer route, or pre-reform Bahrain flexi-permit holders renewing existing files
- Foreign professionals on secondment from an overseas headquarters under a project work permit
- Part-time workers under the UAE part-time work permit and Saudi multi-employer arrangements
What pushes the cost above the headline fee
- Sponsor delays paying the Saudi expat levy (SAR 9,600 per worker per year) or the Bahrain LMRA monthly fee, blocking renewal across the establishment
- Employer in Saudi Red Nitaqat or under an Emiratisation penalty cannot issue or renew permits regardless of the worker's profile
- Contract on Qiwa, MOHRE, or MADLSA shows a different salary or title from the offer letter, with the authenticated record taking precedence at gratuity calculation
- Working for anyone other than the sponsor without a part-time or freelance permit, a deportable offence in all six countries
- Wage Protection System (WPS, Mudad, Tahweel) shows missed or late transfers, triggering inspection holds on renewal
- Medical fitness fail on hepatitis B or C, TB, or HIV, deporting the worker before the permit issues and forfeiting the entry-permit fee
Work Permit by country
United Arab EmiratesLabour Card (Work Permit)Saudi ArabiaRukhsat Amal (Work Permit)QatarWork Permit (Labour Card)BahrainLMRA Work PermitOmanLabour ClearanceKuwaitArticle 18 Work PermitCosts you will hit at the same time
Guides that go deeper
Frequently asked questions
It varies substantially by country because each state sets its own schedule. United Arab Emirates: AED 250 (Category A) to AED 3,750 (Category C) per worker. Saudi Arabia: SAR 650 issuance + SAR 9,600 annual expat levy per worker. Qatar: QAR 500 per worker. The table on this page lists all six. Treat every figure as indicative and confirm with the issuing authority before paying, since fees change.
Not always, and we would rather say so. If your documents are valid and the transaction is available in an app, file it yourself. Paying a service fee makes sense when a submission has already been rejected without explanation, when several authorities are involved in sequence, or when a deadline fine would exceed the fee.
Comparing headline fees alone is misleading, because renewal cycles differ between states. A lower fee renewed annually can cost more over three years than a higher fee renewed every three. Compare the fee and the renewal cycle together, both of which are in the table on this page.
Because the government fee is only one line. Typing or service centre fees, urgent processing surcharges, delivery, medical tests, insurance and translation are charged separately, and providers bundle them differently. Ask for the government fee and the service fee split out before agreeing to anything.
They are indicative planning figures drawn from the issuing authorities and consistent public sources, and they are dated. Government fees change without much notice and free zone schedules are set independently. Always confirm the current amount with the issuing authority before you pay.
Yes in the UAE after probation ends and on giving 30 days' notice, and yes in Qatar since the 2020 reform on giving one month's notice in the first two years and two months thereafter. Saudi Arabia allows transfer through Qiwa if the worker has been with the current employer for at least one full year, or earlier if Qiwa contract authentication or wage protection breaches are documented. Bahrain still requires employer release for non-flexi permits and the flexi route is closed to new applicants. Oman requires a release or two-year wait. Kuwait requires a release after three years unless transferring within the same family of employers.
The sponsor pays. UAE Federal Decree-Law on Labour Relations, Saudi Labour Law, Qatar Law No. 21 of 2015, Bahrain LMRA Act, Oman Labour Law, and Kuwait Private Sector Labour Law all place the work-permit fee and the annual levy or monthly fee squarely on the employer. Saudi Arabia's SAR 9,600 expat levy and Bahrain's BHD 5 monthly LMRA fee in particular cannot be recovered from the worker through deductions, and a deduction shown on the payslip is grounds for a complaint at MOHRE, Qiwa, MADLSA, LMRA, MOL Oman, or PAM with restitution and a fine on the employer.
The work permit is the labour ministry's authorisation to work for a named sponsor in a named role; the residence visa is the interior ministry's authorisation to live in the country. The two are linked and usually move together, but they are issued by different authorities, refused for different reasons, and renewed under different rules. A work permit can be valid while the residence is in renewal limbo for an insurance gap, and a residence can be valid while the work permit is suspended for a Nitaqat or LMRA quota breach. End-of-service rights, gratuity, and absconding all attach to the work permit, not the residence.
Yes in the UAE under the part-time work permit and the freelance permit introduced under the Federal Decree-Law on Labour Relations, and yes in Saudi Arabia with employer consent under the multi-employer arrangement on Qiwa. Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait require single-sponsor work, although Qatar allows a secondary permit for specific seasonal categories and Bahrain previously allowed multi-employer flexi work before the 2023 closure. Working outside your registered sponsor without a second permit is a deportable offence in every country, even if the second job is unpaid or short-term.
Want work permit handled without the counter?
We quote a fixed fee before we start, with government fees shown separately at cost. If your case is simple enough to do yourself, we will tell you that instead.