Nannies in Dubai: Hire a Verified Nanny Directly
Choosing a nanny in Dubai is not the same as hiring household help. You are deciding who spends the most waking hours with your children. ChooseMaid is a platform where you browse real profiles of nannies in Dubai, see what ages each candidate has worked with, and contact them directly rather than being assigned someone.
A one-time AED 299 unlocks contact details. No agency fee, no commission, no monthly cut of her salary. If the first candidate is not right, you can pick another candidate, no new fee.
How hiring a nanny in Dubai works
Filter for the care you actually need.
Unlock and speak to her directly.
Agree terms and arrange residency.
The three arrangements
| Arrangement | Best for | Typical monthly salary |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time live-in | Infants, early starts, overnight cover | AED 2,000 to 3,500 |
| Full-time live-out | School-age children, families without a spare room | AED 3,500 to 5,500 |
| Part-time | After-school cover, a few fixed days | AED 35 to 70 per hour |
Full-time nanny in Dubai
A full-time nanny in Dubai works a standard six-day week for one family. Most households with children under three choose this, because consistency matters more at that age than flexibility does.
The advantage of a full-time nanny in Dubai is that she learns your children rather than managing them. She knows which tooth is coming through, which friend causes trouble, and what the pre-nap routine is. That knowledge is the thing families miss most when they try to cover the week with rotating help.
Expect to pay more for a full-time nanny in Dubai with newborn experience or first aid certification, and expect her to be worth it.
Live-in nanny in Dubai
A live-in nanny in Dubai reduces the monthly salary because accommodation, food and utilities are provided on top. It also covers the hours that are hardest to staff, the 6am starts and the sick nights.
The requirement is a separate room and a household genuinely comfortable with someone living in. Families who hesitate on that second point should hire live-out instead. A live-in nanny in Dubai who feels like a guest in the way is not going to stay, and the turnover costs more than the salary difference saved.
Set house rules and private time explicitly in week one. The arrangements that last are the ones where a live-in nanny in Dubai has clear hours off and a space of her own.
Live-out nanny in Dubai
A live-out nanny in Dubai keeps her own accommodation and travels in each day. This is the fastest growing arrangement in the city and it suits two kinds of household: families without a spare room, and families who would rather keep their evenings private.
The trade-off is cost and coverage. A live-out nanny in Dubai earns more, typically AED 3,500 to 5,500, because she pays her own rent, food and transport out of that salary. She also works defined hours, so if your week involves unpredictable evenings, write that into the contract rather than assuming she can stay late.
Commute is the thing families underestimate. A live-out nanny in Dubai crossing the city twice a day will be tired before she starts. Filter for candidates already living near you and the arrangement holds up far better across a year.
Part-time nanny in Dubai
A part-time nanny in Dubai suits families who need the after-school window or two or three fixed days a week. Rates typically run AED 35 to 70 an hour depending on experience.
If you are booking part-time hours, the arrangement needs to run through a licensed Tadbeer center so the worker is legally covered for part-time domestic work. A part-time nanny hired informally is not a grey area, it is a liability for the family.
Be realistic about what a part-time nanny in Dubai can hold. Three afternoons a week is enough for homework, meals and activities. It is not enough to own a baby's sleep routine.
One practical note: a part-time nanny in Dubai often works for two or three families, so her availability is fixed rather than flexible. Agree the days in writing early, because the good ones are booked a term ahead.
Nanny, babysitter or maid: which one do you need?
These three get used interchangeably and they are not the same job.
A nanny is a childcare professional employed by your family. She plans the day, manages routines, meals, homework and development, and works with your children specifically.
A babysitter covers occasional hours, usually evenings or weekends, and is paid by the hour or the session. If you need someone two evenings a month, you want a babysitter, not a nanny.
A maid runs the household. Some maids have genuine childcare experience and are happy to take it on, but cleaning and cooking remain the core of the role.
If you need both childcare and housework, say so at the first conversation and agree the split in writing. Expecting a nanny to quietly absorb a full cleaning workload is the most common reason these arrangements break down in month two.
What a nanny in Dubai actually does
- Full daily care, routines and supervision
- Meal preparation for the children
- School runs, nursery drop-off and activity transport
- Homework support and reading
- Age-appropriate play and development activities
- Children's laundry, rooms and belongings
- Sleep routines and night waking, for a live-in arrangement
- Keeping you updated on behavior, health and milestones
Nursery hygiene, children's laundry and tidying their spaces are normally included. Whole-home cleaning is not, unless agreed and paid for.
How much does a nanny cost?
Salary is the visible number but not the whole cost. Budget also for residency and medical, roughly AED 5,000 to 7,000 a year through a licensed Tadbeer center, annual leave, a return flight home as agreed in the contract, and end of service benefits.
Rates move with experience far more than with nationality. The AED 299 on ChooseMaid is a one-time charge to unlock contact details. It is not her salary and nothing recurring is attached to it.
Nanny service in Dubai compared with hiring directly
Families searching for a nanny service in Dubai are usually weighing two things: how much work the search is, and how much it costs.
A nanny service in Dubai or a childcare agency does the searching and charges a placement fee, often several thousand dirhams, and in many cases keeps a monthly share of the salary. That buys convenience and a shortlist someone else assembled.
ChooseMaid is not an agency and not a nanny service in Dubai. It is a platform where nannies list themselves and families find them. Nobody here interviews candidates for you or decides who you should meet. You browse the same profiles everyone sees, you contact who you want, and the full salary goes to her.
Worth asking any nanny service in Dubai before you sign: what is the total first-year cost including placement and monthly fees, and what happens if the placement does not work out. On ChooseMaid you simply pick another candidate, no new fee.
Both routes are legitimate. The question is whether you want to choose the person yourself or have someone choose for you.
Finding a nanny in the UAE outside Dubai
Most candidates list across emirates, so you can search for a nanny in the UAE more broadly, including Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman, using the same filters and the same one-time AED 299.
Salary expectations for a nanny in the UAE outside Dubai typically run a few hundred dirhams lower for the same arrangement. Commute distances are usually shorter too, which makes a live-out arrangement easier to sustain.
If you are relocating within the country, confirm it with the center before you move, not after. Plenty of nannies in Dubai have previously worked in Abu Dhabi or Sharjah, and that experience transfers cleanly.
Filipino nannies in Dubai
A Filipino nanny in Dubai remains the most requested profile in the city, generally for strong spoken English, long childcare experience and familiarity with Western routines. Many have worked with newborns and hold first aid training.
The depth of the pool matters. Because so many families request a Filipino nanny in Dubai, you can be specific about what you need rather than taking whoever is free. Ask for newborn experience, or special needs experience, or a driver, and there will usually be candidates who match.
Rates for a Filipino nanny in Dubai sit at the upper end of the range, reflecting demand and experience levels. A Filipino nanny in Dubai with eight years and a first aid certificate will not take the bottom of the band, and should not.
Nationality is a starting filter, not a guarantee of fit. Read the profile, ask about the exact ages and situations you need covered, and judge the conversation rather than the label.
Questions worth asking before you hire
- What ages have you cared for, and for how long in each?
- Describe a day you ran on your own with a child my daughter's age.
- How do you handle a tantrum in public?
- Do you have first aid or CPR training, and when did you last renew it?
- What would you do if my child had a fever and I could not be reached?
- Do you drive, and do you have a UAE license?
- What days and hours do you expect off?
- Why did your last position end?
Ask these on the phone yourself, then agree a trial period in her contract before you commit. Watching someone with your children for a few hours tells you what no interview can.
Nanny visa, sponsorship and Tadbeer
A nanny in Dubai must be legally sponsored for the work she does. Get her visa through our licensed Tadbeer partner maids.cc, 100% online in 7 days, or arrange it yourself, meeting the salary and housing conditions set by the authorities.
Employing a domestic worker who is not properly sponsored for that work carries fines of AED 50,000 to 200,000 under UAE law. If you are unsure which route applies, ask the Tadbeer center before she starts rather than after.
ChooseMaid is never the employer and never the visa sponsor.
Trial periods and the first month
Agree a trial of two to four weeks in writing, with notice terms on both sides. Spend the first few days at home while she settles in. Write down routines, allergies, emergency numbers and what she is and is not responsible for.
Most arrangements that fail do so because nobody said out loud what the job included. The families who get this right over-communicate in week one.