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Government Liaison

PRO Services in Dubai

A public relations officer on retainer, without the salary, the visa quota or the training. We file, track and close your government transactions across DET, MoHRE, GDRFA, ICP and MOFAIC.

Get a PRO Quote Call +971 52 933 0454
Amer & Tasheel Direct portal submissions
Monthly Retainer Or per-transaction pricing
15+ Years Dubai government processes

What are PRO services in Dubai?

PRO stands for public relations officer. In the UAE it means the person who deals with government departments on a company's behalf: visa applications, labour contracts, licence renewals, attestation and Emirates ID filings. Outsourced PRO services put that work with an external firm instead of a salaried in-house employee.

PRO Services in Dubai at a glance
Who needs itAny mainland or free zone company with a trade licence, staff or dependants to sponsor
Main authoritiesDET, MoHRE, GDRFA, ICP, MOFAIC, Dubai Municipality, DHA
Engagement modelsMonthly retainer, annual package, or pay-per-transaction
Typical turnaroundSame or next working day for typing and submission; authority processing time on top
What MSM handlesPreparation, typing, submission, follow-up, collection and record-keeping
What stays with youSigning authority, payment of government fees, and any step needing your biometrics

Last updated 2 August 2026 · Reviewed by Mohammed Shareef A, Senior PRO Consultant, 12+ years in Dubai government liaison. Fees and timelines are set by the issuing authority and change without notice — confirm current figures before you budget.

What does an outsourced PRO actually do each month?

The honest answer is that most months are quiet and a few are not. A company with eight staff will go months with nothing but a renewal reminder, then lose a week to two resignations, one new hire and a licence renewal landing in the same fortnight.

That is the case for a retainer. You pay for capacity you use unevenly, and someone else absorbs the bad fortnight.

  • New employment visas end to end: quota, offer letter, entry permit, status change, medical, Emirates ID, stamping
  • Visa cancellations and sponsorship transfers when staff leave
  • Trade licence, establishment card and immigration card renewals
  • Labour contract amendments, salary changes and job-title corrections on the MoHRE file
PRO consultant reviewing a Dubai company file with a client across an office desk

Is an in-house PRO or an outsourced PRO cheaper?

It depends almost entirely on transaction volume, and the break-even point is higher than most founders expect. An in-house PRO is not just a salary. It is a visa quota slot you could have given to a fee-earner, a residence visa, medical and Emirates ID every two years, end-of-service accrual, and usually a car allowance because the job involves driving between centres.

Below roughly fifty government transactions a year, outsourcing is normally cheaper. Above that, and especially where a company runs continuous hiring, an in-house officer starts to make sense — often supported by an external firm for the specialised files.

  • No visa quota slot consumed by a support role
  • No end-of-service liability accruing against a non-revenue position
  • Cover during leave, sickness and resignation is the provider's problem, not yours
  • Errors are re-filed at the provider's cost, not re-typed at yours
Two colleagues comparing staffing costs on a laptop in a Dubai office

Which government portals does MSM submit through?

Dubai splits its government transactions across separate systems, and each one has its own rules about who may submit, in what format, and with which supporting file. Sending a labour transaction to an immigration channel is the single most common reason a first-time applicant loses a day.

We hold accounts on the channels below and submit directly.

  • DET (Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism): trade licence issue, amendment and renewal
  • MoHRE via Tasheel: work permits, labour contracts, quota, WPS
  • GDRFA via Amer: entry permits, residence visas, cancellations, status change
  • ICP and MOFAIC: Emirates ID, unified number, and the final attestation stamp
Government service centre counter in Dubai with an agent submitting an application

How do you keep track of what is due and when?

Every UAE company carries a small set of dates that quietly expire: the trade licence, the establishment card, the immigration card, Ejari, and one residence visa per employee. Miss one and the others start to block. An expired establishment card, for instance, stops you filing anything at MoHRE at all.

We keep a renewal register per client and start work thirty days before each date rather than on it.

  • A single renewal calendar covering licence, cards, Ejari and every sponsored visa
  • Thirty-day advance notice, not a reminder on the expiry date
  • A named contact who knows your file rather than a ticket queue
  • Copies of every submission and receipt held for your records
Wall planner marking UAE trade licence and visa renewal dates

How an MSM PRO engagement starts

  1. AuditWe list your trade licence, establishment card, immigration card, Ejari and every sponsored visa with its expiry date. Most audits turn up at least one date the client had not tracked.
  2. Scope and quoteYou get a fixed monthly retainer for the recurring work plus a rate card for one-off transactions, so there is no open-ended hourly billing.
  3. AuthorisationA signed authorisation letter and copies of the licence and signatory documents let us act on the portals. Nothing needing your signature or biometrics is delegated.
  4. HandoverWe take copies of every active file, build the renewal calendar, and flag anything already overdue on day one.
  5. RunTransactions are typed, submitted and tracked to completion. You get the receipt and the outcome, not a running commentary.

In-house PRO or outsourced: which fits your company?

Indicative comparison. Actual cost depends on transaction volume and salary band.
FactorIn-house PROOutsourced PRO (MSM)
Fixed monthly costSalary, allowances, end-of-service accrualRetainer only, scalable up or down
Visa quotaConsumes one slotConsumes none
Cover during leaveYou arrange itIncluded
Portal accessLimited to what you register forEstablished accounts across DET, MoHRE, GDRFA, ICP
Best suited toContinuous hiring, 50+ transactions a yearSMEs, holding companies, seasonal hiring
Ramp-up timeRecruitment plus trainingDays
The mistake we see most: Companies let the establishment card lapse because it is not the trade licence and nobody has it in a calendar. Once it expires, MoHRE transactions stop dead — you cannot issue a work permit, cancel a visa or amend a contract until it is renewed. It is the cheapest card on the file and the most expensive to forget.
MSM tip: Ask any PRO provider for a written rate card before you sign the retainer. A low monthly fee with per-transaction charges left open is how a cheap quote becomes an expensive year.

What documents do you need?

What we need to start

Trade licence copy (mainland or free zone)
Memorandum of association or free zone incorporation certificate
Establishment card and immigration card copies
Passport and Emirates ID of the authorised signatory
Ejari tenancy contract
List of current employees with visa expiry dates
Signed authorisation letter on company letterhead

Missing a document does not block the start. We work from what you have, list what is outstanding, and retrieve most items from the issuing authority ourselves.

Labour & Immigration Card

Establishment card, immigration card and labour file setup for new companies.

Trade Licence Amendments

Activity changes, shareholder changes, address changes and licence renewals.

Corporate Bank Account

Bank selection, application pack preparation and compliance follow-up.

Read next: Business setup cost in Dubai: the fee breakdown

Sources

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Frequently Asked Questions

What does PRO stand for in the UAE?
Public Relations Officer. In UAE business usage it has nothing to do with communications or media — it is the person who handles a company's dealings with government departments: immigration, labour, licensing and attestation.
Do I legally need a PRO for my Dubai company?
No. There is no legal requirement to appoint a PRO. What is required is that your filings are correct and on time. Most companies outsource because the portals, forms and sequencing are specialised, not because the law says they must.
Can a free zone company use an outsourced PRO?
Yes. Free zone authorities run their own portals for visas and licence matters, and several transactions still route through federal channels such as ICP and MOFAIC. We work across both.
How is PRO service priced?
Two common models. A monthly retainer covers recurring work such as renewals and reminders; one-off transactions like a new employment visa are charged per file at a published rate. Government fees are always separate and paid at cost.
Will I still need to attend appointments in person?
For a few steps, yes. Biometrics, the medical fitness test and certain notary appointments require the applicant to attend. We book those slots and prepare everything around them, so the visit is short.
Can you take over a file that is already overdue?
Yes, and it is a common way engagements start. We audit the current position first, quantify any fines already accrued, and file in the order that unblocks the rest of the chain fastest.

Want your government filings off your desk?

Send us your trade licence and we will come back with a renewal calendar and a fixed retainer quote.

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Request a PRO Services Quote

Tell us your company size and how often you hire. We will propose a retainer or a per-transaction rate, whichever costs you less.

Hotline: +971 52 933 0454

Email: info@msmdoc.com

Office: Deira, Dubai — serving all seven emirates.