Nafis Salary Support Calculator for Emiratis in the Private Sector

Salary support amounts from 1 September 2026

On 14 April 2026 the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council extended Nafis to 2040 and updated its amounts, with the changes applied from 1 September 2026. New beneficiaries receive salary support when their gross monthly salary is between AED 6,000 and 20,000, and the amount depends on qualification:

The "before the update" columns are the November 2022 rules that existing beneficiaries step down from. The WAM text calls the new table the "maximum support by qualification", while the Nafis Knowledge Centre says the amount depends on salary and qualification, so actual support may be lower than shown.

Eligibility: a UAE national working for a covered employer with a valid work permit and an approved contract, paid through the Wage Protection System, holding no share in the business, not combining a government and a private job, and registered with GPSSA or the local pension fund. If salary or contributions stop, there is a two-month grace period in which payment is suspended and then paid retroactively if the situation is regularised. With two jobs, support is based on the higher-paid one.

The step-down for existing beneficiaries

If you registered with Nafis by 14 August 2026 and your support is above the new amount, it falls by AED 500 every six months from September 2026, down to the new amount for your qualification if your salary is 20,000 or less, and down to zero if it is higher. The change is automatic, with no exceptions or extensions.

So a bachelor's holder earning above 20,000 receives AED 63,000 in total from September 2026 to August 2029. On the same logic, a diploma above 20,000 (was 3,000) reaches zero in March 2029, and high school (was 2,500) in September 2028.

Salaries below 6,000 and free zones

The minimum for all Nafis programmes is now AED 6,000 a month, in line with the Emirati minimum wage in the private sector (for new and renewed permits from 1 January 2026, with existing salaries adjusted by 30 June 2026). From September 2026, support stops if the gross salary is below 6,000 at an employer covered by that decision, and the employer faces penalties.

At employers outside the ministry and Central Bank umbrella, including free zones, current support is paid in full from September 2026 to February 2027, then 70% from March to August 2027, then 30% from September to November 2027, and then stops. Some newspapers read the schedule as applying once the salary is corrected to 6,000; the more likely reading is that it is a grace period for those still below the minimum, and that a raised salary moves you to the normal rules.

Child allowance

AED 600 a month for each eligible child with no limit on the number of children from September 2026 (previously up to four), for salaries of AED 6,000 to 50,000. Sons qualify until 21 or until they start work, daughters until they marry or start work. You need an active pension fund account with the last two months' contributions paid, and must not receive the allowance from another source.

It is not paid to anyone receiving a government salary or pension (except an inherited pension), or whose spouse works for a federal or local government entity. An Emirati mother qualifies if her husband has died, or if she is the legal provider by court ruling with proof that her husband cannot earn or is out of work. Only one spouse applies.

Eshtirak: your pension share

The Eshtirak programme covers the Emirati employee's share of the pension contribution when the gross salary is between AED 6,000 and 20,000, and the employer pays its own share in full from September 2026. The share is 11% for those registered with GPSSA from 31 October 2023 and 5% for those registered earlier, so on a salary of 12,000 Nafis pays about AED 1,320 a month for you. The calculator assumes your contribution salary equals your gross salary; for precise figures use the UAE pension calculator.

The two new categories

The 2026 update added support "of up to AED 3,000" for two groups of non-nationals in the private sector, both requiring a bachelor's degree accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education: children of Emirati mothers earning 6,000–20,000, and wives of Emirati men earning 6,000–15,000 with at least two children or five years of marriage. Medical and teaching staff and PhD holders are exempt from the children and marriage-length conditions after two years of marriage. Divorced or widowed non-national women and husbands of Emirati women are not covered.

Emiratis who lose their job have separate temporary support of up to AED 7,000 a month plus family additions; see the Nafis job loss support calculator. For employer obligations see the Emiratisation target calculator.