Private healthcare facilities in the UAE must now allocate half of their annual Emiratisation target to specialised healthcare roles, under a new amendment announced by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
Under the new requirement, healthcare facilities must ensure that jobs allocated to UAE citizens are split equally between specialised healthcare professions and other skilled roles within the facility.
MoHRE will begin assessing compliance with the new requirement from the beginning of 2027. Private healthcare establishments that fail to comply will be required to pay financial contributions.
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More than 8,800 Emiratis were employed in the private healthcare sector by the end of 2025, with women accounting for 82 per cent of them, according to the ministry.
The decision, issued in coordination with the Ministry of Health and Prevention, follows a comprehensive evaluation of private-sector healthcare jobs.
Private healthcare facilities with 50 or more employees are already required to achieve a 2 per cent annual growth in Emiratisation across skilled jobs, in line with rules applied to other private sector establishments. Half of this target must be met in the first half of the year, with the remaining half achieved in the second half.
Farida Al Ali, Assistant Undersecretary of National Talents at MoHRE, called on private healthcare facilities subject to Emiratisation requirements to assess their current status and prepare clear compliance plans.
She said this was particularly important for facilities that had already achieved the 1 per cent growth in skilled jobs required for the first half of 2026, urging them to work towards achieving 1 per cent growth in healthcare jobs during the second half of the year.
She also encouraged healthcare facilities to post vacancies on the Nafis platform to access qualified Emirati talent registered for healthcare positions, while ensuring that appointments are made in line with approved health professions.
Abdullah Ahli, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for the Support Services Sector at the Ministry of Health and Prevention, said the decision reflected coordinated government efforts to increase Emirati participation in the private healthcare sector.
He said allocating 50 per cent of annual Emiratisation targets to healthcare-related roles formed part of a broader strategy to expand the presence of UAE nationals across the healthcare workforce and create long-term career opportunities in a vital sector.
The ministry said the extension of the Nafis programme until 2040 underlined Emiratisation as a national priority aimed at empowering UAE citizens, improving their competitiveness and creating an attractive and stable work environment across economic sectors.
Source: Khaleej Times