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How much Nafis salary support can an Emirati hire get?
Checked against Nafis / ETCC rules · reviewed 1 Oct 2026 · next review 1 Mar 2027
We take the published maximum monthly top-up for the education level (AED 6,000, 5,000 or 4,000 for new beneficiaries from September 2026), multiply by 12 for the yearly figure and by your number of hires for the total. These are ceilings: Nafis sets each person's amount from their salary and eligibility. The money goes to the employee, not to your company.
| Education | Max per month | Max per year |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | AED 6,000 | AED 72,000 |
| Diploma | AED 5,000 | AED 60,000 |
| High school | AED 4,000 | AED 48,000 |
| Below high school | Not verified yet | — |
Published maximums for new beneficiaries. Actual amounts depend on salary and eligibility.
Work out how many Emiratis you need with the Emiratisation calculator and how fast with the Emiratisation hiring plan, then post the roles free marked "UAE nationals preferred".
After the September 2026 update, the published maximum monthly salary top-ups for new Nafis beneficiaries are AED 6,000 with a bachelor's degree or higher, AED 5,000 with a diploma and AED 4,000 with a high-school certificate. The actual top-up depends on the employee's salary and eligibility. We haven't verified the amount for below-high-school education yet.
No. Nafis salary support is paid to the Emirati employee, on top of the salary you pay. It makes private-sector jobs more attractive to Emiratis and helps you retain them, but it doesn't reduce the salary you owe — which must be at least AED 6,000 a month for the Emirati to count toward your Emiratisation target.
The programme has been extended to 2040. Existing beneficiaries move to the new structure gradually, and the child allowance no longer caps the number of children.
The published figures are ceilings. The top-up an individual receives depends on their salary band and eligibility, which Nafis assesses. Treat the total as the most your Emirati hires could receive, and confirm each case with Nafis.
Post your roles free in about 2 minutes and say in the description which nationality you prefer. We review every post; once approved it goes live to job seekers across the GCC.
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Checked against Nafis / ETCC rules · reviewed 1 Oct 2026 · next review 1 Mar 2027Sources: ETCC — Nafis programme updates after extension to 2040 (KPMG summary) (secondary)