UAE set to launch new flexible freelance work permit to attract talent

DUBAI - The United Arab Emirates is about to introduce a flexible work permit to permit people of all skills to do freelance jobs in the emirate.

The new permit is expected to be introduced by the third quarter of 2023 and would enable freelancers to work within the country or from any part of the world.

Revealing the details, Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said besides high-skilled people, low-skilled people can have flexible work permits that allow them to work for themselves and work with others — as long they are within the umbrella of the law and have done the proper registration with the ministry.

Al Awar said on the sidelines of the ‘Remote’ forum held on Wednesday that new policies are being developed to support all kinds of flexible and remote work.

The announcement comes months after UAE announced a series of new visas and residency permits to help the emirates' economy and attract new talent and skilled workers from across the globe. 

"In the new policy, you work for yourself. It’s an adhoc job where you decide (what kind of work you wish to take up)," the minister explained.

"Some employers feel that this is more economical for them because they don’t have to take risks and decide if they want to continue with an employee or not. On the other hand, the employee is not tied to one type of organisation. This will enhance productivity in the labour market increasing people’s value in the workforce,” he elaborated as reported by Khaleej Times.

The minister was of the opinion that with such flexible work opportunities, as many as 24,000 jobs can be created by 2024.

“Two hundred people are working remotely in the ministry. These include men and women. We are looking at increasing the workforce by having 24,000 job opportunities soon. We want to support this trend. We want to attract a workforce and capital by having a supportive legal framework.

The United Arab Emirates is taking steps almost every day to help attract people from across the world either its in the form of Golden Visa or this new work permit. The emirates is also digitalizing the visa processing.

Recently, the UAE's passport was declared number 1 in the world according t the rankings released by Nomad Capitalist, jumping from an earlier position of 35.