Michael Page Lists Tax-Free UAE Salaries for 2027
The UAE Salary Guide 2027 sets out pay ranges across 18 sectors as Saudi Arabia prepares higher minimum salary thresholds for its Nitaqat program.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Employment
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Michael Page has released the UAE Salary Guide 2027, which lists pay ranges across 18 sectors for the coming year, with healthcare figures stated as tax-free. Separately, Saudi Arabia will raise the minimum Nitaqat Saudisation salary threshold in April 2027 and again a year later.
Why it matters
The guide reflects employer demand for AI fluency, regulatory compliance, financial modelling and project management skills, and suggests qualifications alone no longer secure top-tier roles. For professionals weighing a move to the Gulf, the figures give a benchmark for compensation in the region.
The guide surveys hiring trends across 18 sectors, with monthly ceilings reaching KSh 7.8 million for investment-fund CFOs and KSh 2.73 million for agentic AI engineers. The figures are survey-based estimates, and the guide does not indicate how many employers or roles each range represents.
The players
Michael Page
Michael Page is a global recruitment firm that publishes annual salary guides for markets including the UAE.
Saudi Arabia Nitaqat Program
Nitaqat is Saudi Arabia's Saudisation program that sets employment quotas and salary thresholds for companies operating in the kingdom.
The details
Michael Page's guide covers pay for AI, finance, consulting and healthcare roles, with specialist doctors earning between KSh 1.17 million and KSh 3.51 million monthly and DHA-licensed nurses between KSh 273,000 and KSh 585,000. Saudi Arabia's Nitaqat program will require employees to earn at least KSh 173,000 from April 2027 and KSh 208,000 from April 2028 to count fully toward a company's Saudization ratio.
Timeline
2026: Kenyans planning a move to the UAE in 2026 are the target audience for the salary figures.
April 2027: The first Saudi Nitaqat minimum salary threshold increase takes effect.
April 2028: The second Saudi Nitaqat minimum salary threshold increase takes effect.
Employment Landscape
Saudi Arabia's Nitaqat program, which ties companies' hiring quotas to Saudi employee pay, now sets rising salary floors for 2027 and 2028. These thresholds sit alongside the UAE's published pay benchmarks, which show how Gulf employers are competing for skilled foreign professionals.
Professionals comparing job offers can use the published ranges to judge whether a UAE package matches sector benchmarks, and healthcare figures are quoted tax-free. Saudi employers will need to meet the rising floors to count workers fully toward Saudization quotas, which may affect hiring of Saudi nationals.
The takeaway
Compare pay ranges by role and sector rather than by headline salary, since the figures in the guide differ widely between AI, finance and healthcare positions. Factor in that the UAE healthcare figures are quoted tax-free when comparing offers against home-country pay.
What happens next
Saudi Arabia's minimum Nitaqat salary threshold rises in April 2027 and again in April 2028, dates set by the program's scheduled increases.
Further reading
Explore more Employment coverage for context on how salary benchmarks and labor-market rules shape hiring decisions across borders.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Tuko.co.ke - Kenya news..
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