Typing centres, Tasheel and Amer: what they do and what they charge

A typing centre is a licensed business that fills in, prints and submits government forms for the public. The name goes back to the days when applications were typed on paper. Today the work is done on government portals, but the centres still sit between residents and the system.

A typical centre in the UAE handles Emirates ID applications and renewals, residence visa transactions, labour contract work, tenancy registration (Ejari in Dubai), tenancy and trade licence paperwork, translation referrals and document attestation.

A centre is not a law firm and not an accountant. It processes forms and receipts. The value it adds is knowing which form, which fee and which counter, so you do not queue twice.

Tasheel is the network of service centres authorised to process transactions for the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). Typical services include work permits for new hires, labour contract registration and amendment, work permit renewal, establishment card issuance and renewal, and cancellation of a work permit.

Employers use Tasheel for almost every step of hiring and leaving. Employees can also use it to check their own records.

You pay the MOHRE government fee plus a service fee to the centre. Service fees at a Tasheel centre are typically AED 30 to 100 per transaction in Dubai, but the government component is the larger part. These are typical Dubai figures; in the other emirates costs are often similar or somewhat lower. Always ask for the receipt with the transaction number.

Amer is the network of centres for the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA). Typical services are entry permits, residence visa issuance and renewal, visa cancellation, status change, visit visa extension and visa for family members. Amer centres serve Dubai. In the other emirates, residence visas go through the ICP, and typing centres there submit applications on the ICP system.

For Emirates ID, centres work with the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP), and the ID is issued after biometrics are taken at an ICP-approved centre.

Amer fees mix government charges and a centre fee, and a straightforward visa transaction commonly costs AED 100 to 250 in centre fees, depending on the number of steps. The visa cost itself is the government's component, and changes with type and duration.

Look for the centre's trade licence displayed in the premises, with an activity for typing, document or government service work. Check the number on the register of the emirate's economic department (DET in Dubai, ADDED in Abu Dhabi, SEDD in Sharjah) as our guide on verifying a trade licence describes.

For Tasheel and Amer, ask for the authorisation. Real centres display their registration number for each service, and an official sign. You can also check the list of authorised centres on the authority's website or app.

Check that the receipt carries the transaction number and that the status shows on the authority's system. A centre that handles your file but cannot show a receipt is a risk to your documents.

Prices and waiting times differ more than people expect. A centre in a mall in Dubai Marina may charge twice the centre fee of one in Al Qusais or Deira for the same transaction, so a ten-minute drive can save AED 50 to 100 on a multi-step file. Phone two centres and ask for the total in two lines before you travel.

Ask for the total split into two lines: the government fee and the centre's service fee. The government fee is the same at every centre. The service fee is where the difference lies.

For example, a work permit renewal might have a government fee of several hundred dirhams and a service fee of AED 50 to 100. If a centre quotes one bundled figure, ask for the breakdown and compare it with the authority's published tariff.

Cheap does not always mean good. A centre that charges AED 20 less but sends you away with an incomplete form costs you a second trip. Ask what happens if the transaction is rejected, and who pays for the correction.

Many transactions can now be done directly. MOHRE has an app and website, GDRFA Dubai has its own portal and app for Dubai residence files, and the ICP offers residence services for the other emirates as well as Emirates ID services through its app and UAE Pass. A resident with a UAE Pass and a clear case can often finish a renewal in ten minutes at home.

A centre remains useful for first-time applications, anything that involves originals and stamps, transactions with several linked steps and cases where a previous application was rejected. It is also useful for people who are not comfortable with the portals.

If a step needs your login, do it yourself on their screen or your phone.

If an application is rejected, ask the centre for the rejection reason from the portal and for a corrected submission. A fair centre corrects its own error without a second fee.

If the centre kept an original document, ask for it back with a signed receipt. If it refuses, report the matter to the authority whose service it was handling and to the consumer protection section of the emirate's economic department (DET in Dubai), and ask the issuing authority for a replacement if needed.

If a centre charged you for a government fee it never paid, collect the receipt and the portal status, and report it to the police (in Dubai, Dubai Police). Centres that do this can lose their licence.