The United Arab Emirates has formally launched a Private Teacher Work Permit, a joint initiative by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), to regulate private tutoring outside schools. The permit is free of charge, valid for two years, and open to a wide range of applicants, including school students aged 15 to 18 and university students. Anyone caught offering private lessons without this permit will face fines and penalties under UAE federal law, according to the official announcement.
Who Can Apply for the Private Teacher Work Permit?
The scheme is notably inclusive. Teachers already registered with government or private schools are eligible, as are employees in both the public and private sectors. Unemployed individuals can also apply, along with university students and secondary school students between the ages of 15 and 18. This makes it one of the more inclusive work permit frameworks the UAE has introduced in recent years.
Eligible applicants can submit their requests through the MoHRE smart application, the official website, or the e-services platform. The permit carries no application fee and remains valid for two years. Those granted the permit are required to sign a code of conduct document approved by the Ministry before they can begin offering lessons and earning income through tutoring.
Penalties for Unlicensed Tutoring
The introduction of the permit comes with a firm warning. Anyone found providing private lessons without authorisation from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation will face fines and penalties as set out under the Federal Decree-Law Regarding the Regulation of Employment Relationships, its executive regulations, and all other applicable laws in the UAE.
This move signals a clear intention to professionalise private tutoring in the country and eliminate informal, unregulated arrangements that have previously operated without oversight. The permit allows eligible individuals to teach students either one-on-one or in group settings, bringing structure and accountability to what has long been an unregulated corner of the education sector.
