How to prove your UAE work experience for immigration
Assessors accept UAE work experience when an employer letter states your duties, dates, hours and pay, and independent pay records support it. A short experience certificate or a contract on its own is often not enough. ACS, Engineers Australia, VETASSESS and IRCC each have their own list, and what one accepts another can reject.
Reviewed by the Cosmos case team, 22 October 2026. Rules and figures are as at 22 October 2026 unless a line says otherwise.
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Check my documentsWhat each body asks for
| Body | Employer letter | Pay and other evidence | What it rejects |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRCC (Canada, Express Entry) | A reference or experience letter from your employer, with job duties, dates you worked there and salary. For the Federal Skilled Worker Program the work must be at least 1 year of continuous work or 1,560 hours (30 hours a week). | IRCC also lists employment contracts, pay stubs and tax documents such as T4s and notices of assessment as accepted proof of employment. | IRCC's pages do not publish a rejection list. |
| ACS (Australia, ICT occupations) | Company letterhead, signed and dated by an authorised person, with employer name, address and website, your full name, letter date, start and end dates in DD/MM/YYYY, employment status, weekly hours, annual pre-tax salary, location (Australia or outside), job title, bullet-point duties, and the signatory's name, title, phone and work email (no personal email). | Two different types of payment evidence at the start and two at the end of each job, and at least one from a source other than the employer. Accepted: payslips, bank statements showing salary, official government tax records, employment-linked insurance documents, superannuation or provident fund documents. | A letter missing any required item is not assessed. Duties copied from the ANZSCO list or another reference. Contracts, offer letters and position descriptions are not assessable. Cash payments. Unpaid leave and unpaid internships. Work started before age 18. |
| Engineers Australia | Company letterhead stating full-time or part-time, pay rate, start and end dates, job title, at least five main engineering duties, the date issued and a signature from a manager, HR or direct supervisor with work email and phone, plus the company stamp if applicable. | Secondary evidence issued by government that names you and your employer and covers the whole period: income tax and pension or social-insurance statements, or a work permit and residence permit with official documents such as a work contract showing your employment details. | Statutory declarations and affidavits. Payslips and bank statements as secondary documents. Cash payments, stipends and living allowances as salary. Roles under 20 hours a week and long unpaid leave. |
| VETASSESS (Australia, professional occupations) | A Statement of Service on employer letterhead with start and finish dates, issue date, weekly hours, nature of employment, job titles, detailed tasks, business name and address, and the name, position, contact details, date and signature of your manager, supervisor or HR representative. | At least one of: two or more payslips showing your name and employer (ideally first and last), official tax records, superannuation documents, or bank statements showing the employer's name and income deposited. | A statutory declaration as the only evidence. VETASSESS treats it as supporting evidence only. |
Sources: IRCC, Your IRCC application: supporting documents (page details 23 April 2026), Federal Skilled Worker Program (page details 16 October 2026); ACS Info Hub, Employment references, Experience evidence and Payment evidence; Engineers Australia, Prepare your Migration Skills Assessment application (January 2026, v1.1); VETASSESS, Skilled migration for professionals FAQs. All read 22 October 2026. Check the body's own checklist before you lodge, because they update their lists.
What a UAE reference letter should say
Ask HR for one letter per employer that covers every item below. It satisfies the longest list among the four bodies, so you do not need to request a second version later.
- Letterhead, date and signature. Signed by your manager, a supervisor or an HR representative, with their name, job title, work email and phone number.
- Your full name as on your passport, and every job title you held, with the dates of each in DD/MM/YYYY.
- Employment status and hours. Full-time or part-time, with the hours worked per week.
- Pay. Annual or monthly salary before tax, and the pay rate if the body asks for it.
- Duties in your own words. At least five specific duties for the role, written from what you did, not copied from an occupation list.
- Company details. Company name, address and website, and the company stamp if it uses one.
- Where you worked. ACS asks whether the role was in Australia or outside Australia.
If a manpower or recruitment agency placed you with a client company, ACS requires the reference from the host company where you were placed. Our Australian skills assessment guide shows which body assesses which occupation.
UAE records that help, and what each can do
| UAE record | What it shows | Where it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Experience certificate | Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 13(11): on your request when the contract ends, the employer must give you a certificate, free of charge, showing start date, end date, total service, job title, last wage and the reason for termination. | Confirms dates, title and pay. It has no duties, so you still need a reference letter for ACS and Engineers Australia. |
| Payslips and WPS bank transfers | Under MOHRE's Wage Protection System, private-sector salaries are paid through banks, exchange houses or other financial institutions authorised by the Central Bank. | Payment evidence for ACS and VETASSESS. Not accepted as secondary documents by Engineers Australia. |
| Labour contract, work permit and residence permit | Official documents naming you, your employer and your job. | Engineers Australia lists the work and residence permits with a work contract as secondary evidence. IRCC accepts employment contracts. ACS does not assess contracts as references. |
| Tax records | The UAE does not levy income tax on individuals, so there is no personal tax statement to give. | Bodies that ask for tax records need the substitutes above. |
| Health insurance or provident documents naming you and your employer | Employment-linked insurance cards or policy documents, or fund statements where they exist. | ACS lists employment-linked insurance and provident fund documents as payment evidence. |
Sources: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 (MOHRE); u.ae, Payment of salaries and wages (Wage Protection System) and Taxation; the assessing bodies listed above. Read 22 October 2026.
Gaps, cash pay and employers who have closed
Gaps and leave. ACS and Engineers Australia count regular paid work of at least 20 hours a week. ACS does not count unpaid or partially paid leave, unpaid internships or volunteer work. Engineers Australia generally removes study leave and parental leave from the skilled employment period. If you worked for two employers at once, ACS counts only one of them for that period, while VETASSESS may combine the hours to reach 20 a week.
Cash. ACS does not accept cash payments as payment evidence, and Engineers Australia generally does not treat cash payments, stipends or allowances as a salary. If part of your pay was cash, tell us before you choose which jobs to claim.
Employer closed, merged or unwilling. ACS asks for a statutory declaration or affidavit when you cannot get an employment reference. VETASSESS accepts a declaration as supporting evidence only. Engineers Australia does not accept declarations. For a closed company, gather every official document you still hold.
Self-employed or free-zone freelance. ACS asks for letters from the companies you worked for with dates and hours, plus invoices matched to bank statements or official tax records. Engineers Australia lists client letters, invoices, a business tax report and bank statements. These are heavier files, so start early.
Common reasons a UAE experience claim fails
- The experience certificate gives a title and dates but no duties.
- Duties copied from the ANZSCO occupation text or from a colleague’s letter.
- The letter is unsigned, has no work email or phone number, or uses a personal email address.
- Bank statements or payslips that do not show the employer’s name, or do not cover the start and end of the job.
- A contract or offer letter submitted in place of a reference letter, where the body does not assess them.
- Dates in the letter that do not match the payslips, the visa or the CV.
The first five items follow the published rules above. The last is a check worth doing before you apply, and mismatched dates are the easiest problem to prevent. Build one timeline from your labour contract, residence visa and payslips first, then ask HR for letters that match it. For the points side, see the CRS guide for UAE residents and the Australia skilled migration guide.
Questions we get about UAE work experience
Does UAE work experience count for immigration?
Yes, if it is skilled work in your occupation and you can document it. IRCC, ACS, Engineers Australia and VETASSESS all assess work done outside their own countries, and none of the pages we read excludes experience because it was gained in the UAE. They reject experience that is not documented the way their rules require.
What must a UAE experience letter contain?
At minimum your full name, job title, exact start and end dates, full-time or part-time status with weekly hours, pay, and the duties you actually performed, on company letterhead, signed and dated by a manager or HR with a work email and phone number. ACS and Engineers Australia list these items in detail, and ACS says a letter missing any of them will not be assessed.
Is the standard UAE experience certificate enough?
Usually not on its own. Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 requires the employer to give a certificate on request when the contract ends, showing start date, end date, service term, job title, last wage and the reason for termination. It does not have to list duties, and ACS and Engineers Australia want duties, so ask HR for a separate reference letter.
Can I use my labour contract instead of a reference letter?
Not for ACS, which says employment contracts, offer letters and position descriptions are not assessable and may delay your application. IRCC lists contracts among the documents it accepts as proof of employment, and Engineers Australia lists a work permit and residence permit, with official documents such as a work contract, as secondary evidence.
Are UAE payslips and bank statements accepted?
ACS and VETASSESS accept payslips and bank statements that show your name and your employer's name, with deposits matched to the employment dates. Engineers Australia says payslips and bank statements are not accepted as its secondary documents. UAE employers pay private-sector salaries through the Wage Protection System, so the bank record normally exists.
UAE has no income tax, so what government record can I give?
The UAE does not levy income tax on individuals, so you will not have a tax statement. Engineers Australia accepts a work permit and residence permit, including official documents such as a work contract showing your employment details, as secondary evidence. ACS and VETASSESS accept bank statements or payslips instead.
What if my UAE employer has closed or will not give a letter?
ACS asks for a statutory declaration or affidavit when you cannot obtain an employment reference. VETASSESS accepts one as supporting evidence only, and Engineers Australia does not accept them at all. Send whatever official documents you hold, such as contracts, payslips and bank statements, and ask us before you submit.
Ask us to check your experience documents
Reviewed by the Cosmos case team, 22 October 2026. Cosmos Immigration is a private consultancy, not a government body. Each assessing body sets and changes its own evidence rules, so confirm against its current checklist before you lodge. Cosmos works with affiliated lawyers and attorneys in every country we serve.
Sources
- IRCC: Your IRCC application, supporting documents (page details 23 April 2026)
- IRCC: Federal Skilled Worker Program (work experience hours; page details 16 October 2026)
- ACS: Employment references (read 22 October 2026)
- ACS: Payment evidence (read 22 October 2026)
- ACS: Experience evidence (read 22 October 2026)
- Engineers Australia: Prepare your Migration Skills Assessment application (January 2026, v1.1)
- VETASSESS: Skilled migration for professionals FAQs (read 22 October 2026)
- MOHRE: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 (Article 13(11), experience certificate)
- u.ae: Payment of salaries and wages (Wage Protection System; read 22 October 2026)
- u.ae: Taxation (no income tax on individuals; read 22 October 2026)
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