In its largest labour-compliance sweep of the year, the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MoHRE) has penalised more than 1,300 companies that fabricated jobs to claim incentives under the government’s Emiratisation programme. Investigators found that between January and June 2025 the firms—many of them shell entities with no real operations—registered about 1,800 non-existent positions for Emirati nationals.
Administrative fines exceeding AED 34 million (US$ 9.3 million) were issued, and owners are now blocked from opening new business licences. MoHRE also recovered AED 2.3 million in wage subsidies that had been improperly paid to 107 citizens listed on ghost payrolls. Cases have been referred to public prosecutors, and criminal charges of fraud are expected.
![1,300 UAE firms fined AED 34 million for ‘fake Emiratisation’ job schemes]()
Why it matters to mobility teams: the crackdown shows that the UAE is enforcing localisation quotas with data analytics and on-site inspections. Companies that abuse work-permit systems risk permit freezes, business-licence suspension and personal liability for managers. Legitimate employers should audit payrolls, ensure work-permit data matches actual headcount, and correct any dormant trade-licence activities.
MoHRE has urged both expatriate and Emirati workers to verify their visa status via the ministry’s app and to report suspicious listings. The agency says its smart-monitoring platform cross-checks corporate tax files, wage-protection records and ICP residency data in near real time, a signal that enforcement will remain aggressive into 2026.
Administrative fines exceeding AED 34 million (US$ 9.3 million) were issued, and owners are now blocked from opening new business licences. MoHRE also recovered AED 2.3 million in wage subsidies that had been improperly paid to 107 citizens listed on ghost payrolls. Cases have been referred to public prosecutors, and criminal charges of fraud are expected.
Why it matters to mobility teams: the crackdown shows that the UAE is enforcing localisation quotas with data analytics and on-site inspections. Companies that abuse work-permit systems risk permit freezes, business-licence suspension and personal liability for managers. Legitimate employers should audit payrolls, ensure work-permit data matches actual headcount, and correct any dormant trade-licence activities.
MoHRE has urged both expatriate and Emirati workers to verify their visa status via the ministry’s app and to report suspicious listings. The agency says its smart-monitoring platform cross-checks corporate tax files, wage-protection records and ICP residency data in near real time, a signal that enforcement will remain aggressive into 2026.
