Women employed in the UAE can now sponsor their husbands and adult children to work in the UAE, a senior official at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre) has clarified.

The ministry announced on Saturday that it has started issuing work permits to companies that want to hire eligible men who are under their families' sponsorship.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Dr Omar Al Naimi, assistant undersecretary for communication and international relations at Mohre, said the new rule "allows women working in the UAE to bring their family members and sponsor them, irrelevant of their professions".

"It only sets a minimum salary for that sponsorship. It also broadened the scope of the women able to bring the family members (husband and children,)" said the official. Under the new work permit, men who are sponsored by their wives; parents sponsored by their children; and young graduates supported by their parents can join the UAE workforce.

Previously, these permits were exclusively issued to women who were under the sponsorship of their family. Many women who are employed in the UAE are under visas provided by their husbands or fathers.

"It (new work permit) will be implemented at all service centres of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation," said Dr Al Naimi.

He said the new work permits is an initiative aimed at achieving more stability for expatriate families in the UAE.

The move is in implementation of a resolution issued recently by Nasser bin Thani Juma Al Hamli, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, regarding regulations on granting of work permits.

The new work permit is also expected to ease the burden on employers as they don't have to bear the cost of visas while recruiting from the local labour market.

The procedures are easy and implemented at reduced fees, Dr Al Naimi pointed out.

Dr Al Naimi added that for the sons, other work permits are also available for them.

For those aged between 15 and 18, 'work permits for juveniles' can be obtained, while those aged 12 to 18 can apply for 'work permits for trainee students'.

Those two categories of permits can be availed of at all branches and centres of Mohre.

By issuing such work permits, the ministry aims to help employers recruit their staff from the residents rather than outsourcing from abroad.

Earlier in July, Mohre introduced 50 to 94 per cent reductions in fees for 145 services and transactions.

The new fee for a two-year work permit for a skilled or limited skilled worker is Dh300 for all categories of firms under the ministry's group classification.

Before the recent resolution, the fee was in the range of Dh300 and Dh5,000, depending on the firm category and the skill level of workers.

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