In a significant move, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government on Wednesday, March 6, launched a ‘Work Bundle’ platform to facilitate work permits and residency procedures in private sector companies.
The first phase of the initiative will be implemented in Dubai through the “Invest in Dubai” platform and will be gradually expanded to include other emirates via work in uae platform
The platform will significantly reduce processing time for obtaining work permits and residency visas from nearly one month to five days.
It will also reduce procedures from eight services to a single platform, required steps from 15 to five, 16 documents to five, and visits to service centres from seven to two.
Services include
- Work permit and residency issuance
- Work permit and residency renewal
- Work permit and residency cancellation
- Medical fitness test
- Fingerprinting for ID issuance
The initiative aligns with the UAE’s “Zero Bureaucracy” program, aiming to streamline government procedures, eliminate unnecessary requirements, and improve efficiency, quality, and flexibility.
It integrates procedures across several government entities, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre), Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP), Dubai Health, the Department of Economy and Tourism, and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA).
Taking to X, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, wrote, “Work Bundle platform will “facilitate, simplify and shorten the procedures for residency and work (permits) in the country.”
He said that the introduction of an online platform would save approximately 65 million working hours in visiting and following up on transactions at government offices.
It will also reduce government procedures and visits by 25 million and 12 million respectively, while reducing costs for both public and private sectors.
