From job offer to residence: the order of MOHRE and immigration steps

For a mainland company, hiring a foreign worker usually goes in this order. 1) The employer and the worker sign MOHRE's official job offer. 2) The employer's authorised signatory applies for the work permit (in a business centre such as Tasheel or online with UAE PASS); MOHRE checks the quota (for recruitment from abroad), the licence, the occupation and the documents and gives its approval, which is often called the 'initial approval'. 3) The employer pays the permit fees: AED 50 application plus the two-year issuance fee of AED 250, 1,200 or 3,450 depending on the company's category (other permit types have a flat AED 50). 4) Immigration issues the entry permit (or change of status for someone already inside). 5) After entry: medical fitness test, Emirates ID biometrics, and the employment contract, which MOHRE says must be submitted within 60 days of entry or change of status; then the residence visa is stamped. A worker who changes jobs inside the UAE gets a transfer permit, applied for within 90 days of the old permit's cancellation. In Dubai many of these steps are combined in the Work Bundle (workinuae.ae), which u.ae says cuts the process to 5 steps and 5 documents. MOHRE's own processing time for each permit is 2 working days once the file is complete. Exact steps differ in free zones, which have their own permits. If the employment contract is not submitted within 60 days of entry or change of status, MOHRE fines the employer AED 100 per month (a started month counts in full), up to AED 2,000 (Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2020).