Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the Nafis programme in the UAE?
Nafis is a federal initiative that supports the employment of UAE nationals in the private sector. It offers salary support, training pathways, and career development programmes to encourage long-term Emirati participation in private companies.
2. Is the Nafis programme mandatory for employers?
Joining Nafis itself is not mandatory. However, private-sector companies with 50 or more employees, and those with 20-49 employees in 14 key sectors, must meet Emiratisation targets, making Emirati hiring a compliance requirement at scale.
3. Which companies must meet Emiratisation targets?
Emiratisation applies to private-sector companies with 50 or more employees, and to companies with 20-49 employees operating in 14 specific economic sectors. Both must increase UAE national representation in skilled roles.
4. What happens if a company does not meet Emiratisation requirements?
Companies that miss their Emiratisation target pay AED 6,000 per month for each unfilled Emirati position. This penalty increases by AED 1,000 annually until 2026. Companies in the 20-49 tier face fixed annual penalties up to AED 108,000.
5. How long does salary support from the Nafis programme last?
Salary support can be provided for up to five years, depending on the employee's salary level and the Nafis programme category. The level of support is typically higher in the initial years and reduces over time.
6. Who qualifies for Nafis benefits?
To qualify, the employee must be a UAE national working in the private sector and registered on the Nafis platform. The role, salary level, and employer must also meet MOHRE compliance requirements.
7. Is Nafis support paid to the employer or the employee?
In most cases, the financial support is paid directly to the Emirati employee through the Nafis system. This reduces the employer's effective cost of employment while keeping the support linked to active, verified payroll.
Topic Summary
1. Strategic Federal Oversight and Emiratisation Goals
The Nafis programme, overseen by MOHRE, targets 75,000 Emiratis in private-sector skilled and professional roles and aligns workforce planning with the UAE’s long-term Emiratisation strategy.
2. Eligibility Requirements for Employers and Employees
Employers must be private-sector companies with active trade licenses, compliant labour status, and genuine skilled roles, while employees must be UAE nationals registered on the Nafis platform and not receiving overlapping government support.
3. Comprehensive Financial Support Structure
Financial support under Nafis includes salary subsidies, pension contributions, individual benefits, and training, often lasting up to five years, with eligibility depending on accurate payroll, active employment, and proper documentation.
4. Mandatory Compliance and Penalties
Compliance is mandatory for many companies, especially those with 50 or more employees, requiring structured hiring for skilled roles, payroll discipline, and auditable employment records, with penalties for unmet Emirati targets.
5. Workforce Planning and Long-Term Strategy
Effective use of Nafis requires early workforce planning, retention strategies, and monitoring, as support functions as a time-bound cost adjustment rather than a permanent subsidy, influencing hiring and growth decisions.
Nafis Program in the UAE: Objectives, Eligibility, and Employer Obligations
In most markets, hiring decisions are driven by salary and availability. In the UAE, there is a third variable: Emiratisation. According to Khaleej Times¹, over 157,000 Emiratis are now employed in the private sector across more than 30,000 companies, a more than 437 percent increase in just four years under the Nafis programme. The Nafis programme is now backed by a budget of AED 24 billion, signalling a structural shift in how the private workforce is expected to evolve.
In Dubai hiring conversations, the Nafis programme is often treated as a hiring incentive or a government subsidy. In practice, it sits within a broader compliance framework that affects payroll planning, headcount strategy, and reporting exposure. Emiratisation targets are monitored through MOHRE systems, turning workforce composition into a measurable regulatory metric rather than an internal HR objective.
Nafis sits at the centre of that framework. It changes the economics of employing Emirati talent through wage support, pension contribution support, and structured recruitment and training pathways. The misconception is that it only matters to large corporations. Any business approaching scale in the UAE needs to understand how the programme influences hiring cost, role design, and long-term compliance risk.
Below the headline 75,000 target sits a more telling number: how far the programme has already overshot it.
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Source: Khaleej Times, November 2025, citing figures announced at the Nafis Award for 2025 to 2026 by the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council.
Understanding the Nafis Programme
The Nafis programme is the UAE’s national initiative to increase Emirati participation in the private sector and reduce long-term reliance on government employment.
Launched in 2021 under the country’s Projects of the 50, Nafis is designed to place 75,000 Emiratis in private-sector roles by 2025. The programme is administered through the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) and operates within the UAE’s federal labour and employment framework. The programme aims for Emiratis to hold 10% of the UAE’s private sector jobs by 2025.
At its core, Nafis connects government support with private-sector hiring through a central digital platform. It focuses on integrating Emirati talent into professional, technical, and skilled roles rather than temporary or entry-level placements.
Key features of the Nafis programme include:
- Federal oversight through MOHRE and related employment systems
- A national employment target of 75,000 Emiratis in private-sector jobs
- A focus on skilled and professional roles aligned with labour market needs
- A digital platform for job matching, benefits administration, and employer coordination
- Government financial support linked directly to private-sector employment outcomes
For employers, the programme is not simply a recruitment channel. It is part of a broader structural framework that aligns workforce planning with the UAE’s long-term Emiratisation strategy.
Nafis Programme Eligibility: Who Qualifies?
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Cost Impact and Workforce Planning With the Nafis Programme
Nafis changes the cost structure of hiring, but it does not reduce employment to a simple subsidy calculation. The support comes in layers and should be viewed as a time-bound cost adjustment rather than a permanent saving.
In practice, the programme may include:
| Support Layer | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Monthly salary support | Paid in defined salary bands and duration, with higher levels typically in the early years. |
| Pension contribution support | Federal pension contributions through GPSSA (General Pension and Social Security Authority). |
| Individual social benefits | Paid directly to the Emirati employee through the Nafis system. |
| Government-funded training | Upskilling programmes to support long-term retention in the role. |
Most financial support, including salary support and individual social benefits, is paid directly to the Emirati employee through the Nafis system, not to the employer.
For many skilled roles, salary support can run for up to five years, with higher support levels in the early years.
From a founder’s perspective, the decision comes down to three scenarios:
- Total employment cost after Nafis support
- Full employment cost without support
- Monthly contribution exposure if Emiratisation targets are not met
Support is conditional. It depends on accurate WPS processing, active employment, and continued eligibility. Employers still carry full responsibility for contracts, payroll discipline, and documentation.
The financial impact becomes more significant as headcount grows. Workforce planning should therefore account for:
- When the threshold may be reached
- Which roles qualify as skilled
- How Emirati hires will be retained beyond the subsidy period
When Emirati hiring is planned early, Nafis works as a predictable cost offset. When growth is unplanned, it tends to show up later as a compliance expense rather than a hiring strategy.
Employer Obligations and Compliance Under the Nafis Programme
For many companies, Nafis operates alongside mandatory Emiratisation requirements rather than as a voluntary incentive.
Private-sector companies with 50 or more employees must meet Emiratisation targets for skilled roles, with a 2 percent annual increase reaching 10 percent by 2026. Companies with 20-49 employees in 14 specific economic sectors also have mandatory Emirati hiring requirements: at least 1 Emirati hire by the end of 2024 and 2 Emiratis by end of 2025.
The operational impact shows up in three areas:
- Hiring strategy: which roles are structured as skilled positions
- Payroll planning: cost timing and workforce composition
- Growth decisions: crossing the 50-employee threshold changes regulatory exposure
Companies that miss their targets in the 50+ tier pay AED 6,000 per month for each unfilled Emirati position, increasing by AED 1,000 annually until 2026. In the 20-49 tier, non-compliance attracts fixed annual penalties of AED 96,000 for one unfilled role and AED 108,000 for two.
Employers also remain responsible for:
- Issuing compliant employment contracts
- Processing salaries on time through WPS
- Maintaining accurate and auditable employment records
- Reporting changes such as termination, role adjustments, or salary revisions
Support from the Nafis programme is tied to active, verifiable employment. Delayed payroll, inactive roles, or inconsistent records can affect eligibility or continuation.
In Conclusion
The Nafis programme is often presented as a hiring incentive. In practice, it is a workforce policy that connects government support, Emiratisation targets, and regulatory monitoring.
For employers, the key question is not whether to participate, but how to plan. As businesses scale, workforce composition becomes a measurable compliance factor with direct cost implications. Salary support can reduce employment cost, but it is time-bound and dependent on disciplined payroll and accurate reporting.
In the UAE’s current labour environment, Emiratisation is no longer a policy backdrop. It is an operating variable that should be built into hiring, budgeting, and growth decisions from the outset.
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Citations
¹ Khaleej Times, "New Nafis award announced in UAE: Emiratisation to shift focus from numbers to quality of jobs," 20 November 2025.
