Revised Nafis salary rules for Emiratis employed in the private sector take effect from September 2026, the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (ETCC) has confirmed. The changes introduce a Dh6,000 minimum monthly salary as the standard eligibility threshold, revised support caps, an uncapped child allowance, and adjusted employer pension-contribution arrangements.
New beneficiaries join the Private Sector Emirati Salary Support Scheme under the updated terms from this month, the ETCC said. Those already enrolled will be transitioned to the revised framework gradually over a period of up to three years.
What the revised Nafis salary rules change
A standard Dh6,000 monthly salary is now required for a new entrant to qualify for support. Below that threshold, new applicants are not eligible under the revised scheme.
Child allowances are now uncapped. The previous framework placed a ceiling on the benefit regardless of family size; the revision broadens income support for Emirati employees with more children.
Salary-support caps across the programme have also been revised, and employers’ pension-contribution responsibilities have been updated. The ETCC has not published specific revised contribution figures alongside the announcement.
How Nafis salary support works
The Nafis programme was launched in September 2021 as part of the ‘Projects of the 50’, a set of federal initiatives marking the UAE’s fiftieth anniversary. The programme subsidises private-sector and banking salaries to make hiring and retaining UAE nationals more cost-competitive for employers.
The ETCC was established under the chairmanship of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court.
By the end of Q2 of the programme’s fourth year, more than 114,000 Emiratis were employed in the private and banking sectors, according to ETCC figures on four years of Nafis. More than 81,000 of those had secured employment after the programme’s launch and remained in post.
Three-year transition for existing recipients
Emiratis already receiving salary support will not move to the new terms immediately. The ETCC said the transition will be phased over up to three years, giving employers and current beneficiaries time to adjust to the revised Nafis salary rules and pension arrangements.
New entrants from September 2026 face the Dh6,000 minimum salary requirement from day one. Existing recipients remain on their current terms until their individual transition is completed within that window.
The ETCC has set a maximum transition period of three years but has not published a specific end date for the full migration to the revised Nafis salary rules.
