Signed an Arabic Contract You Couldn't Read? You're Not Alone.

The Scale of the Problem

In the UAE alone, 88 percent of the population are expatriates. In Qatar, it is 85 percent. In Kuwait, 70 percent. These millions of people rent apartments, sign employment contracts, buy property, insure their cars, and enroll their children in schools — and the contracts governing all of these are primarily in Arabic.

The MOHRE employment contract is in Arabic. The Ejari tenancy agreement is in Arabic. Property SPAs are in Arabic. Insurance policies are in Arabic. Government service agreements are in Arabic. For the vast majority of expats — from India, Pakistan, Philippines, UK, France, China, Russia — these documents might as well be blank pages.

What Expats Actually Do

Based on our analysis of hundreds of contracts, here is what most expats do when faced with an Arabic contract:

Real Examples: What Arabic Contracts Hide

Employment Contracts

The standard MOHRE contract is in Arabic. Most employers provide an English summary, but the Arabic version is the legally binding one. We regularly find clauses in the Arabic version that are absent from the English summary: non-compete restrictions, IP assignment clauses, gratuity calculation methods that reference basic salary only, and probation termination without notice.

Rental Agreements

Ejari contracts in Dubai are in Arabic. The agent might translate the rent amount and the duration, but the penalty clauses, maintenance obligations, and renewal terms are rarely explained. We have seen early termination penalties of three months rent, automatic 10 percent rent increases on renewal, and tenant liability for all repairs under AED 1,000 — all buried in Arabic text that the tenant never read.

Insurance Policies

Health insurance policies in Arabic contain sub-limits, waiting periods, and exclusions that the broker's English summary omits. A policy that appears to cover AED 500,000 annually might have room rent sub-limits of AED 500 per day, dental caps of AED 3,000, and a 48-month pre-existing condition exclusion — none of which were mentioned in the English brochure.

Translation Is Not Enough

Even if you get a certified translation, you still do not know if the terms are fair, standard, or dangerous. A translation tells you what the contract says. It does not tell you what it means for you.

A non-compete clause of 24 months across the GCC might be translated accurately, but unless you understand that this is the maximum allowed by law and that most contracts negotiate it to 6-12 months, the translation alone does not help you make a decision.

This is why TenderScan does not just translate. It analyses. It compares each clause against standard terms, flags deviations, and gives you a clear verdict: SIGN, NEGOTIATE, or REJECT — with specific guidance on what to push back on.