Emiratisation Targets 2026: What UAE Employers Must Hit and When

The target is the core of Emiratisation for larger employers. It is a growth requirement measured on your own skilled workforce, assessed twice a year.

The 2026 schedule

MoHRE reported that 95% of covered companies met the first-half 2026 target, and that more than 190,000 Emiratis now work in the private sector.

Is the target a growth rate or a flat 10%?

MoHRE describes it as growth: "a 1 percent growth in the Emiratisation rate of their skilled jobs" each half-year, two points a year. The 10% figure is where that growth arrives at the end of 2026 for a company that has met every target since the programme began in 2022 (two points a year for five years).

For most compliant companies the two readings give the same answer. They can differ for a company that missed earlier targets. For companies with 20 to 49 employees the answer is clear: the requirement is fixed (two Emiratis in total), and each missed year carried its own annual contribution; see who must comply. For companies with 50 or more, MoHRE has not published whether its requirement is then measured from its actual rate or from the cumulative path. Under verification If that is your position, check the requirement shown for your establishment by MoHRE. Our calculator shows both figures.

What is the Emiratisation quota?

"Quota" is the everyday word; MoHRE's material says "target". They mean the same thing. Searching MoHRE for "Emiratisation targets" returns far more than searching for "quota".

Does it apply to all staff or skilled roles?

Skilled roles. The 50-employee threshold that brings you into scope uses total registered headcount, but the target is calculated against the skilled subset: roles at professional levels 1 to 5, held with an attested certificate higher than secondary, paying at least AED 4,000 a month excluding commission. A company with 400 employees, 60 of them skilled, is in scope because of the 400 and calculates on the 60. See what counts as a skilled role.

Which Emirati employees count?

From 1 July 2026, only Emiratis paid at least AED 6,000 a month count toward the target. This is not charged as a penalty. It changes your count, so a company can fall short with no change in headcount: five Emiratis, two of them on AED 5,500, count as three. See minimum salary for Emiratis.

What about smaller companies?

Establishments with 20 to 49 employees in 14 designated sectors have a fixed requirement instead: one Emirati by the end of 2024 and a second by the end of 2025, then retention. See who has to comply.

What missing and exceeding the target mean

See the Emiratisation contribution.

Getting it right

Treating 30 June as the finish line. It is the first of two dates. Plan hiring for both, so December is as comfortable as June.

Reading 10% as a share of all staff. It is 10% of skilled roles.

Hiring in the last week. A hire counts once the work permit, contract, WPS salary and pension registration are in place, and those steps take time.

Assuming targets end in 2026. No general target beyond 2026 was found in official sources as of 13 October 2026, but Nafis now runs to 2040.