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Nafis is the federal programme designed to move more UAE nationals into private-sector jobs, and from an employer's side it works as both a recruitment channel and a support scheme. Companies register on the Nafis platform, where they can post vacancies and reach Emirati jobseekers registered with the programme. The support side is what your leadership is probably interested in: the programme can provide salary support and other financial backing connected to Emirati hires, along with training and development schemes, which lowers the effective cost of employing a national. The obligations are about substance: the role must be genuine, the employee must be properly registered with MOHRE and enrolled in the pension system, and the hire must actually work in the position, since token or fake arrangements designed to claim benefits or tick quota boxes carry serious penalties. For a mid-sized company, Nafis also connects directly to Emiratisation compliance, because nationals you hire and register correctly count toward whatever targets apply at your headcount. Practical first steps: register the company on the platform, map which roles fit Emirati candidates, and brief payroll and HR on the registration requirements. A lawyer experienced in UAE employment compliance can review your hiring plan against the current rules.

With around twelve employees, your company currently sits below the thresholds where the main Emiratisation quotas bite. The headline regime, which requires annual increases in the share of UAE nationals in skilled roles, applies to private-sector companies with fifty or more employees. A separate, narrower scheme extended obligations to companies with twenty to forty-nine employees, but only in specified sectors and with much lighter requirements. A twelve-person trading company therefore has no hiring quota today. Three things still matter for you. First, confirm how MOHRE actually classifies your establishment and your registered employee count, since obligations follow the official records rather than your informal headcount, and if you operate multiple licences, look at each one. Second, watch announcements, because the programme has expanded in stages and the thresholds or covered sectors can change as you grow; crossing into the twenty-employee band in a covered sector would change your position. Third, if you do hire nationals later, never be tempted by token or fake Emiratisation arrangements; sham hiring is specifically targeted, heavily penalised, and actively enforced. A UAE employment lawyer can confirm your classification with MOHRE if you are unsure where your company falls.