How to Write Visa Status on a UAE CV (Exact Wording)

Recruiters in Dubai ask for visa status because a MoHRE work permit has to match how you are already in the country, or how an employer would bring you in. The line on your CV is a label for that route. It is not the permit itself. Write the status you hold today, in plain words, and do not borrow a phrase from a forum if it is not your case.

Article 6 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, as summarised on the UAE government portal, makes it illegal to work without a valid MoHRE work permit. Employers may not recruit a worker unless that permit is issued.

Sources we used: UAE government portal: MoHRE work permits

Which words should you use for each status?

Immediately available is not a visa. Use it only when you have no contractual notice left. A person on a visit visa can be free of an old employer and still be unable to work tomorrow. Split those two facts.

Write the visa line in the header, beside city and nationality. Where that line sits on the page is part of the UAE CV format

What if you are on an employment visa?

Say the emirate, say that the current employer sponsors the residence, and say the notice in the contract. MoHRE lists a permit to transfer a non-UAE worker from one establishment to another. That transfer is a process the new employer runs. Writing transferable on the CV does not make it so, and the word is not one of the permit names on the government portal.

• Before: Visit visa, transferable, can join immediately.
• After: Employment residence sponsored by current employer in Dubai. Contractual notice is 60 days. A move needs a MoHRE transfer permit.
• Before: Own visa, no problem.
• After: Golden Visa residence. A new job still needs the Golden Visa holder work permit MoHRE issues to the employer.

The status line is not a statement of pay. When a bank, a landlord, or a visa file wants the wage written down, the employer signs a salary certificate

What does a Golden Visa change?

The UAE government portal describes the Golden Visa as a long-term residence visa for 5 or 10 years, without a local sponsor, with more time allowed outside the country than the usual six months, and with the ability to sponsor family. Eligible groups include investors, entrepreneurs, exceptional talent, outstanding students, and humanitarian and frontline cases. Each group has its own conditions.

Sources we used: UAE government portal: Golden Visa

Residence is not the same as permission to take a particular job. MoHRE lists a Golden Visa holder work permit for establishments that want to employ someone inside the UAE who already holds that residence. The permit on that list is valid for two years. On the CV, name the residence and do not write no sponsor needed for the job. The employer still has a permit step.

What if you are on a spouse or dependent visa?

A family residence lets you live in the UAE under someone else's sponsorship. It does not, by itself, put you on a company's payroll. MoHRE lists a work permit for a resident on family sponsorship so a company can hire from inside the UAE. That permit is listed as valid for two years. Write family residence, name the relationship only if you want to (spouse is enough), and say the employer would apply for that permit.

Do not promise that a no-objection letter is or is not required. The current permit catalogue on u.ae does not spell that out in the one-line description. Let the employer's public relations officer confirm the attachment list. Your job on the CV is to stop them guessing that you need a full relocation from abroad.

If that officer does ask for the note, and you can name the purpose in one line, draft a NOC letter

Can you work on a visit visa?

ICP describes an entry permit for a set period: tourism, a visit, treatment, or to complete the steps for a work residence or a family residence. That is an entry document. It is not the MoHRE work permit Article 6 requires before you work.

Sources we used: ICP: issuance of a visa (entry permit)

If you are in Dubai on a visit visa, say so, and say you cannot start until a work permit exists. Some employers will look at you because you are already in the city. Some will not, because the permit path is different from a transfer. Either way, do not write immediately available as if the visit stamp were permission to work.

What if you are applying from outside the UAE?

MoHRE lists a work permit to recruit a worker from outside the UAE, valid for two years, under the conditions the ministry sets. The employment-process page says the signed offer is attached to the initial approval, which is what allows the worker to enter, and the contract is then registered. On the CV, name your current city and country, and write that you need employer sponsorship. Do not write Dubai based if you are in Karachi.

The UAE government portal says the employer pays the costs of the entry visa, travel to the UAE, the medical test, and the residence permit. A CV should not offer to pay those costs in exchange for the job.

Sources we used: UAE government portal: employing expatriates

Where do Dubai and the other emirates file the visa?

The government portal says entry permits can be filed through ICP, including eChannels and the ICP app, and in Dubai through GDRFA. You do not need the agency name on the CV. You do need the reader to know which emirate you are already in.

Sources we used: UAE government portal: where to apply for a visa

What should you never write?

• Transferable visa, unless you are quoting a contract clause that actually says the employer will consent. Even then, describe the clause.
• Cancelled visa, if the cancellation is not finished. Say cancellation in progress and the date you were told.
• Any passport or Emirates ID number.
• A Golden Visa you have only applied for. Say applied, decision pending.
• Freelance if you do not hold the freelance permit. MoHRE lists that permit separately, including for some self-sponsored residents.

The number you put next to an employment visa should match the contract. See the notice-period guide

If you are still abroad, the location line and attestation notes are in applying from Pakistan or India