Work and live in the UAE, sponsored by a licensed agency.
A UAE work permit and a two-year residence visa, through a recruitment agency licensed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). The agency employs and sponsors you; Trivup, its partner, prepares your file and follows it through to your Emirates ID.
Often sold as a “freelance visa”. The word matters less than one fact: the agency holds your work permit and sponsors your visa — so you should know exactly who holds what before you start.
What this is, and what it is not.
Here is the arrangement in plain terms, so you can tell whether it is the one you want.
✓What you get
- A UAE work permit, issued through MOHRE, with the agency as your employer
- A residence visa and Emirates ID, sponsored by the agency
- An offer letter and a labour contract setting out your job title and terms
- The right to work legally in the UAE, as your permit and contract allow
- Two years before renewal — there is no yearly renewal
✕What it is not
- Not a freelance licence or a trade licence in your own name
- No trade name and no list of business activities
- The permit is held through the agency, not your own establishment
- Your job title and skill level are set by MOHRE, based on your qualifications
- Trivup does not set your salary or employment terms
Need a licence in your own name instead? If you want to invoice clients yourself or build your own brand, the freelance license & permit is the route for you.
Freelance license & permitWhere are you starting from?
Pick the one closest to you and see how your application runs.
Five stages. You attend two.
You can follow every stage online with your reference. Each approval is the authority's decision; we prepare, submit and chase.
Passport, photo and your current UAE status. The proposed job title is agreed with you.
The MOHRE offer letter is prepared for you to sign, and the work permit is applied for through the agency.
An entry permit if you are abroad; a change of status if you are already here.
The medical fitness test and the Emirates ID biometrics.
You attendYou sign the labour contract; the residence visa and Emirates ID are issued.
You signAny timeline we give you is an estimate. Files can wait on a medical appointment, a security check, the cancellation of an earlier residence, or a public holiday.
A passport and a photograph, to start.
Everything else is collected on the way through.
Passport
A clear colour scan of the photo page. Check it has plenty of validity left — it must stay valid through the process.
One photograph
On a plain white background. Phone photos are fine; an off-white wall is the usual reason one is refused.
Your UAE status today
Visit visa, residence under another sponsor, or outside the country. An existing residence may need cancelling first.
Some job titles need an attested education certificate — which ones depends on how MOHRE classifies the title, and we tell you at the start. A CV and your Emirates ID or UID number help if you have them.
Renewed every two years. Never yearly.
The work permit and residence visa are issued for two years. Before renewal you receive a renewal quotation to approve — renewal is not automatic, and its costs are separate from your first package.
Three questions worth asking. Ours are answered here.
Who holds my work permit and sponsors my visa?
A MOHRE-licensed recruitment agency — your employer and sponsor. Trivup is its partner and prepares your application. Any provider that won't answer this plainly is the one to walk away from.
Is that agency licensed for it?
It holds a recruitment licence from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. Trivup separately holds a Dubai documents-clearing licence. Neither is a government appointment, whatever advertising elsewhere suggests.
What exactly am I paying for?
Your written quotation lists what is included and what is not — before anything is filed. Government charges are set by the authorities, and you can apply directly without paying any service fee.
Is this a freelance visa?
It is what the market often calls one. In law it is a work permit and a residence visa with a MOHRE-licensed recruitment agency as your employer and sponsor. If you want a licence in your own name, see the freelance license & permit.
Who do I work for?
The agency is your employer on paper. Your job title, salary and contract terms are the ones in the MOHRE offer letter and labour contract — read both before you sign, and raise any error before signing.
Can I do this without leaving the UAE?
If you are already here, it usually runs as a change of status. If you hold a residence under another sponsor, that residence may need cancelling first — talk to us before you resign, because the order matters.
What happens after two years?
The work permit and residence visa are renewed every two years. You get a renewal quotation to approve first; renewal is not automatic and failing to renew on time can bring fines.
Is approval guaranteed?
No. MOHRE and the immigration authorities decide every stage, including your job title. If the initial work permit approval is rejected, Trivup deducts AED 1,000 as an application, administrative and documentation fee and refunds the rest under your terms.
Tell us where you are today.
A consultant replies on WhatsApp with whether this route fits you, what it involves and a written quotation — or tells you the freelance license suits you better.