How the Entry Visa and Refund Work: Inside TPH’s Maid Visa Services in Dubai

The most common point of confusion when a family commits to bring a candidate from overseas is the two-part fee structure that sits under a maid visa in Dubai. There is the AED 8,199 employment visa that everyone reads about. There is also a separate AED 2,615 entry visa with AED 2,000 of that figure refundable after the candidate arrives. The two fees are not duplicates and they cannot be combined into a single payment. The maid visa sponsorship service covers the employment visa structure. This article breaks down how the entry visa piece works alongside it in real terms.

The reason the two-fee model exists is regulatory rather than commercial. The UAE government requires an entry permit to cover the period between arrival and the issuance of the full residency visa. That permit is separately priced from the 2-year employment visa that eventually takes its place. Families who try to short-circuit this structure, for instance by asking the agency to roll both into one invoice, run into the same wall. The real cost of a maid visa in Dubai article lays out how the two visa fees sit against the monthly and ancillary costs over the full sponsorship period. Reading both pieces together gives a complete picture of the maid visa in Dubai cost structure.

Why a Maid Visa in Dubai From Overseas Requires Two Visas Not One

The AED 8,199 employment visa inside a maid visa in Dubai underwrites a 2-year UAE residency for the maid, sponsored under the TPH MOHRE-certified entity. That visa covers Emirates ID, medical fitness testing, 2 years of health insurance and WPS payroll management under a maid visa in the Dubai structure. What it does not cover is the legal mechanism by which the candidate enters the country in the first place. If she is already inside the UAE on a cancelled or visit visa, the entry piece is handled inside the country through a status change that runs under the same employment visa structure used by the live-in maid hiring service. If she is arriving from the Philippines, Ethiopia or a GCC state, a separate entry permit is required so that UAE immigration has a basis to admit her at the airport.

That entry permit is the AED 2,615 line. It is issued by GDRFA in the sponsor's name before the candidate boards her flight. It is the document she presents on landing at a UAE airport. Without it she cannot legally enter, regardless of whether the 2-year employment visa is lined up in the background. The maid visa in Dubai sponsorship structure therefore needs both: the entry permit to cover the arrival window alongside the employment visa that covers the 2-year work and residency period that starts once the entry permit is cancelled.

What the Entry Visa Fee Actually Buys Inside a Maid Visa in Dubai

The AED 2,615 breaks down into two parts inside the documented Travel Assist memo. AED 2,000 of it is the refundable portion, which is essentially a deposit the family pays to the government through TPH at the point the entry permit is issued. AED 615 is the non-refundable processing and stamping charge that covers the government fees, the application handling and the issuance itself. The refundable portion is not a premium on top of the service. It is the mechanism the UAE uses to ensure the entry permit is properly closed once the candidate converts to the full maid visa in Dubai employment visa after arrival.

Families familiar with UAE visa administration will recognise this structure from other visa categories, where a government deposit is held against a temporary permit and refunded on conversion or cancellation. For context on how other maid visa fees compare against the upfront structure, the maid visa document checklist walks through the full paperwork side of the sponsorship. The entry visa numbers are the same whether the candidate comes through the Filipino, Ethiopian or GCC Travel Assist route, since the fee is applied at the point of UAE entry rather than at the point of overseas processing.

The Refundable Portion and When It Actually Returns to the Family

The refund is triggered at a specific moment: when the entry visa is cancelled at the airport or through the GDRFA interface and the 2-year TPH employment visa takes its place. It does not trigger on the day the candidate lands. It triggers a few working days after the conversion has been formally completed and the UAE immigration system shows the entry permit as closed. From that point the AED 2,000 is processed back to the family through the TPH finance workflow, typically arriving within two to four weeks of the conversion.

Families budgeting for a maid visa in Dubai that includes an overseas arrival should therefore plan for the full AED 2,615 to leave the account upfront. The AED 2,000 refund is treated as a receivable that returns in the first month of the maid's employment. This is the cash flow point most families miss when they assume the total upfront cost is the net number after refund. The out-of-pocket exposure on day one is AED 10,814 when the entry visa and the employment visa run together. That figure settles at AED 8,814 after the refund clears.

How the Entry Visa Converts to the 2-Year Employment Visa

Conversion happens inside the UAE and is handled end-to-end by TPH. After the candidate lands, she is transported to the approved medical fitness centre for the required tests. Once results clear, the Emirates ID biometrics are captured. The 2-year residency visa is then stamped into her passport in place of the entry permit. The entire sequence is part of the maid visa in Dubai processing flow and fits inside roughly seven working days from arrival when no medical or documentation issues surface.

At the point the residency visa is stamped, the entry permit is formally closed in the UAE immigration system. This closure is what unlocks the AED 2,000 refund. The family does not need to take any action to trigger it. For the wider context of how the 7-day processing timeline works after arrival, the step-by-step guide to sponsoring a maid visa explains the full conversion sequence inside the maid visa in the Dubai framework.

Why the Two Fees Inside a Maid Visa in Dubai Cannot Be Combined

Families occasionally ask whether the agency can simply bill a single combined number and handle the internal allocation. The short answer is no, because the two fees go to different government workflows and the refund logic on the entry visa would collapse if it were not tracked separately. The AED 8,199 employment visa fee includes medical, insurance and ongoing sponsorship management over two years. The AED 2,615 entry visa fee is a single-purpose government charge covering the arrival window. Combining them on paper would obscure the refund entitlement and create reconciliation problems at renewal or cancellation under the maid visa in Dubai sponsorship.

The separation is also useful when a family wants to pause and compare options before committing. The AED 2,615 is only triggered when a specific candidate's travel is confirmed and the entry permit is actually applied for. Before that moment the family is only committed to the selection and processing side of the maid visa in Dubai, not to the entry permit charge.

What Happens If the Candidate Does Not Travel or Fails Medical

The refund mechanics shift if the candidate does not arrive in Dubai or fails her UAE medical fitness test. If she withdraws before travel for a personal reason, the entry permit is cancelled without her having entered the country. The refund logic is evaluated case by case depending on how far the government processing had advanced at the point of withdrawal. If she lands and then fails the medical, the entry permit is cancelled as part of the exit process and the AED 2,000 refund is generally recoverable under the same timeline as a successful conversion. The finer detail of medical failure is covered in the failed medical test and visa refund steps article, which explains what happens to the maid visa in Dubai application in that scenario.

Families should not treat the AED 2,000 as conditional when they budget, because under documented service conditions the refund does return. It is the AED 615 non-refundable portion that stays with the government regardless of travel outcome. Thinking of AED 615 as the genuine fee and AED 2,000 as a deposit is the cleanest mental model for the two-part entry visa structure inside the maid visa in Dubai flow.

Conclusion

The AED 2,615 entry visa and the AED 2,000 refund sit alongside the AED 8,199 employment visa because the UAE immigration system treats the arrival permit and the residency visa as distinct instruments. Understanding the separation removes the most common confusion families carry into their first conversation about a maid visa in Dubai. For any household ready to start the sponsorship or the overseas recruitment, the TPH team walks through both fee lines in full before any payment is taken. Families can get in touch with TPH Visas and Nannies for a written quotation that shows the entry visa and the employment visa side by side.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the AED 2,615 entry visa and how does it relate to a maid visa in Dubai?

The AED 2,615 is a UAE government entry permit issued by GDRFA in the sponsor's name before the candidate travels from overseas. It sits separately from the AED 8,199 employment visa. On landing the entry permit is cancelled and replaced with the 2-year residency visa.

How much of the AED 2,615 entry visa fee is actually refundable?

AED 2,000 of the AED 2,615 is refundable after the candidate arrives and the entry visa is successfully cancelled and converted into the 2-year TPH employment visa. The remaining AED 615 is a non-refundable government processing charge that covers the application and stamping of the entry permit itself.

When does the AED 2,000 refund actually arrive after a maid visa in Dubai is issued?

The refund does not process on the day the candidate lands. It triggers a few working days after the entry permit is formally cancelled and the 2-year residency visa is stamped into the passport. Families should expect the AED 2,000 to return within two to four weeks of conversion.

Can the entry visa and the employment visa be combined into one fee for a maid visa in Dubai?

No. The two fees go to different government workflows. The AED 8,199 employment visa covers 2 years of residency, insurance and WPS. The AED 2,615 entry visa covers only the arrival window. Combining them would obscure the refund entitlement and create reconciliation problems during sponsorship and renewal.

What if the candidate fails her UAE medical fitness test on arrival?

The entry permit is cancelled as part of her exit process and the AED 2,000 refund is generally recoverable under the same timeline as a successful conversion. The AED 615 non-refundable portion stays with the government regardless of travel outcome.

What if the candidate withdraws before boarding her flight?

The entry permit is cancelled without her having entered the UAE. The refund logic is evaluated case by case depending on how far the government processing had advanced before withdrawal. The AED 615 non-refundable portion is lost in full but a large part of the AED 2,000 usually remains recoverable.

Does the AED 2,615 apply if the maid is already in the UAE on a cancelled or visit visa?

No. The AED 2,615 entry visa is only triggered for overseas arrivals. If the candidate is inside the UAE on a cancelled or visit visa, the maid visa in Dubai is issued through an inside-country status change and the entry permit line does not appear on the quotation at all.