The first month in the United Arab Emirates is a sequence, not a to-do list. Each step unlocks the next: the entry permit lets you take the medical test, the medical result lets you apply for the Emirates ID, the Emirates ID lets you open a bank account, and the bank account is what your employer needs to pay you. Do them in order and the month is calm. Do them out of order and you spend it in queues. Here is the order, week by week, with the fees that apply in 2026.
Week one: entry, medical, biometrics
You arrive on an entry permit arranged by your employer. Within the first days, your company’s PRO books a medical fitness test at an approved centre (a blood test and, for some job categories, a chest X-ray), and a biometrics appointment for the Emirates ID at an ICP centre or an approved typing centre. The biometrics visit is the only in-person step the Emirates ID ever needs; renewals reuse the fingerprints on file.
The card costs AED 100 per year of validity plus a AED 100 application fee, and late renewal is fined at AED 20 a day up to AED 1,000; UAE Explained’s Emirates ID guide covers tracking, renewal and replacement in one place. Two things to know from the start: the Emirates ID is now the residence visa (there is no separate sticker in your passport), and its 15-digit number is the identifier every other system in the country will ask for.
Week two: the contract, the bank, the SIM
While the card is being printed, three things happen in parallel.
- Check your labour contract on MOHRE. Your employer registers your contract with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. Open the MOHRE app, look up My Contract, and confirm the basic salary, allowances and job title match your offer letter. The registered version is the one that counts if there is ever a dispute, so raise any mismatch with HR now, not at your first pay day.
- Open a bank account. Most banks accept a passport, the entry permit and a salary certificate from your employer while the Emirates ID is in progress, and activate the account fully once the card arrives. Ask which day of the month your employer runs payroll; salaries are paid through the government’s Wage Protection System, so the money lands on a fixed schedule.
- Get a SIM. The two operators are e& (formerly Etisalat) and du. A prepaid SIM needs your passport and entry permit; postpaid plans usually wait for the Emirates ID. Register the number with UAE Pass, the national digital identity app, as soon as you have the card, because almost every government service signs in through it.
Week three: where to live
Rent is the decision that shapes everything else. Dubai is the most expensive emirate; Sharjah, next door, is markedly cheaper for the same size of flat; Ajman, beyond it, is cheaper still. The trade is commute time. Thousands of people make it every day, and the intercity buses are the reason it works. Two rules of thumb: annual rent is usually paid in a small number of post-dated cheques, so ask about the cheque count before you fall in love with a flat, and the Ejari (Dubai) or tenancy-contract registration in the other emirates is what you will need for utilities and, later, for sponsoring family.
Week four: getting around, and the driving licence question
Public transport is cashless. In Dubai you need a Nol card for the metro, tram and buses; in Abu Dhabi a Hafilat card; in Sharjah a Sayer card. A Silver Nol card costs AED 25 and comes with AED 19 of credit loaded, and you buy it at any metro station. Intercity buses are the cheapest way between emirates (AED 10 to 35 a trip), and DubaiRead keeps verified timetables for the E303, E400, 308 and the Abu Dhabi routes. Learn your route in week four, before the job starts in earnest, and time it at rush hour once so the first Monday is not a surprise.
If you hold a driving licence from one of the countries the UAE recognises for direct conversion (much of Europe, North America, Australia and several Asian countries), you can swap it for a UAE licence without a test once the Emirates ID is issued. Everyone else takes classes and a test, which is a separate project for month two.
| Day | Task | Authority | What you need | Fee |
| 1 to 3 | Medical fitness test | Approved medical centre | Passport, entry permit, photo | About AED 300 to 700 depending on speed |
| 3 to 7 | Emirates ID biometrics | ICP centre or typing centre | Passport, entry permit, medical result | AED 100 per year + AED 100 |
| 7 to 14 | Contract check | MOHRE app | Emirates ID number or passport | Free |
| 7 to 14 | Bank account | Any bank | Passport, entry permit, salary certificate | Free (minimum balance may apply) |
| 7 to 14 | SIM card | e& or du | Passport and entry permit | From about AED 50 |
| 14 to 21 | Tenancy contract and Ejari | Landlord; Dubai Land Department | Emirates ID, passport, cheques | Ejari about AED 220 |
| 21 to 30 | Nol, Hafilat or Sayer card | RTA, ITC, SRTA | Cash or card at the station | AED 25 (Silver Nol, includes AED 19 credit) |
| 21 to 30 | Driving licence conversion | RTA or emirate traffic department | Home licence, Emirates ID, eye test | Varies by emirate |
Three mistakes that cost new arrivals money
- Letting the Emirates ID lapse later on. After expiry there is a one-month grace period, then the AED 20-a-day fine starts. Put the renewal date in your calendar in week one.
- Missing the ILOE deadline. Unemployment insurance is mandatory for private-sector employees and must be taken out within four months of the work permit. The premium is small; the fine for not subscribing is AED 400.
- Paying a third party to check your status. MOHRE, ICP and the traffic departments all offer free status checks in their own apps. Any site charging for the same lookup is reselling a free service.
Fees checked September 2026. Amounts vary slightly by emirate and service speed.