Live out Nanny on Company Sponsorship?

Question

I found a great nanny who i recently interviewed. She is on a visa from a landscaping and maintenance company and lives in her own accommodation.

I want to enquire - before I hire her - if she is legally allowed to work for me? I will have to pay her directly. Is there any risk of a fine - seeing that she is already on a maintenance company visa.?The company is also ready to provide a NOC for her services to me - but without any contract or salary commitment,.

Can someone with a labour or legal view advise - if this is SAFE? Or is it a offense in which i can be fined?

dahlia · Answer

You're in a gray area that a lot of families here test. A NOC from a landscaping company doesn't change the fact that her visa is tied to manual labor work, not domestic caregiving. The Dubai Immigration and PRO system is strict about "visa misuse" and if she's caught working for you without a proper sponsorship change, the fine can be up to AED 50,000 and you could be banned from sponsoring anyone for a few years.

The safest route is to have her request a transfer to your sponsorship as a domestic worker. That costs about AED 7,500 to 10,000 all in (typing center, medical, Emirates ID, visa stamping). The company might resist losing her, but their NOC without salary is meaningless to Immigration. I've seen families get away with this arrangement for years, but I've also seen PRO officers flag it during random inspections or when the nanny herself has a dispute.

janinekress · Answer

fwiw the transfer is prob ur cleanest option but there's one thing nobody flagged: her current company can just say no to the release even with that NOC. the NOC is them saying they're ok with her leaving, but it's not a guarantee they'll process the visa cancellation fast. i've seen companies sit on it for weeks just because they're short staffed, and she's stuck in limbo with no income.

if u do go the NOC route anyway, at least get a written agreement with her about payment terms and notice period. no contract means if she quits after a week u've got nothing, and if u fire her she can still file a complaint against her official sponsor, not u. messy either way.

also check if she's on a freezone or mainland visa. if it's a freezone landscaping company the rules are slightly different, and the transfer might actually be cheaper or faster than the AED 8k people quote. u can check the visa type on her Emirates ID or ask her for the labour card number, then run it by any PRO in Al Manara for a quick quote.

henriettekuehner · Answer

The NOC is basically a piece of paper that says her current sponsor won't object, but it doesn't legalize the arrangement. Her visa category is for landscaping and maintenance, which is tied to a specific employer and job role under the MOHRE system. If she's doing childcare in your home, that's a completely different labor category, and the moment anyone checks, it's a mismatch.

There's also the practical side to consider, even if you never get caught. If she gets injured in your home or has a dispute over unpaid wages, she can file a labor complaint, and you'd have no legal standing because there's no proper contract. Her medical insurance and end-of-service benefits won't cover this role either, so you'd be exposed to claims that a proper domestic worker sponsor wouldn't face.

The cost to transfer her to your sponsorship as a domestic worker is roughly what the other reply mentioned, around AED 8,000 to 10,000. That's a one-time hit, but it also means you're responsible for her visa renewals, medical tests, and a work permit every two years. Some families do the NOC route and it works for years, but it only takes one random visa check at the airport or a neighbor reporting something for it to unravel. If you really like her, the transfer is the only clean way to do it.

oda · Answer

honestly if the fines and visa categories are stressing u out, maybe just ask the landscaping company what they actually do with her NOC. half the time those letters are just HR being nice, not legal. but yeah, i'd probably just pay the transfer fee and sleep better at night.

dinavolkmer · Answer

I've been through this exact situation with a driver who was on a construction company visa, and the advice I got from my PRO was blunt: the NOC is worthless for this. The moment she steps into your home as a paid caregiver, she's operating outside her approved labor category, and that's visa misuse under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021. The fine for the employer starts at AED 50,000, but the real kicker is you could be flagged in the system and lose the ability to sponsor anyone, including a proper domestic worker, for years.

There's also an insurance angle people don't think about. If she gets hurt on the job in your house, her current employer's occupational health coverage won't pay out, and your home insurance definitely won't cover a worker you're paying under the table. You'd be personally on the hook for any medical bills or compensation claims, which can blow past the visa transfer cost fast.

One thing nobody mentioned yet is the timing. Visa transfers for domestic workers in Dubai usually take three to four weeks, and she can't legally start working for you until the new visa is stamped. If you're in a rush, you can pay for express processing at the Amer center in Al Manara, which shaves off about a week for an extra fee. Just know that even with the NOC, her current company can delay the release for up to 30 days if they want to be difficult, so

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