Private sector employers will be required to pay Emirati nationals a minimum monthly salary of AED 6,000 under updated labour rules issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, according to notifications released through its digital platforms.
The revised wage threshold applies exclusively to Emirati citizens working in private companies and takes effect from January 1, 2026, replacing the previous minimum of AED 5,000. Employers must ensure compliance when processing the issuance, renewal, or amendment of citizen work permits.
In a separate post on X, the ministry said the salary requirement is directly linked to work permit procedures, meaning applications tied to wages below the new minimum will not be approved once the rule takes effect.
Companies have been granted a compliance period running until June 30, 2026. The MoHRE smart app will issue alerts reminding establishments to complete salary adjustments within this timeframe.
UAE labour law does not prescribe a minimum wage for non-Emirati workers, although it requires that pay levels be sufficient to cover employees’ basic living needs.
Starting July 1, 2026, enforcement measures may be applied against non-compliant establishments. These include excluding affected employees from Emiratisation calculations and restricting the issuance of new work permits until salaries are brought into line with the requirement.
Private sector companies will receive the following system notification from the ministry:
“The value of the minimum wage for citizens in the private sector is AED 6,000 starting from 01/01/2026.
“Effective from 01 January 2026, printing or delivery of any citizen work permit application (issuance/renewal/modification) will not be permitted if the salary is less than AED 6,000, in addition to adding a note on the necessity to adjust the salary.
“In the event that the citizen’s salary is not adjusted before 30 June 2026, the following procedures will be applied on 01 July 2026: The citizen will not be counted in the localisation ratios until the salary is adjusted, and a restriction will be added to the establishment ‘Stop new permits for citizens’ salaries less than AED 6,000.’”
MoHRE said the updated minimum wage requirement will apply only to citizen work permits and will remain in effect for a period of two years.
