Fines for having no health insurance in the UAE

The fine for missing health insurance falls on the employer or sponsor who should have arranged it.

What is the fine if you have no health insurance?

It is AED 500 per month of delay in Dubai, which the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) applies per member, and AED 300 a month for every uninsured person in Abu Dhabi. For the northern emirates, Gulf News reports fines from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation without giving an amount.

The Dubai amounts are from the fines resolution issued on 7 March 2016.¹ DHA lists it among its laws and regulations, as of 11 November 2026.² The Abu Dhabi amounts are from the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH) penalties schedule.³

For the northern emirates, Gulf News reported on 22 August 2026 that the ministry will impose administrative fines under Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2020 on its service fees and fines. It describes the ministry’s statement as covering private sector employees and domestic workers, and does not limit it to the five northern emirates.⁴

Find the row for the emirate that issued your visa, then read on for who pays.

Is the Dubai fine charged for each person you have not insured?

Yes, according to DHA. Its circular of 24 November 2016 says the penalty “for an uninsured member, whether an employee or dependent, is AED 500 per month per member”. Its example is a person uninsured for two months between visa renewals, who incurs AED 1,000.⁵

The fines schedule itself does not use the words “per person”. It says “AED 500.00 per month of delay (a part of a month will be rounded up to a full month)”, for an employer’s or sponsor’s failure to enrol “his employees or the persons he sponsors”.¹ The Abu Dhabi schedule says AED 300 monthly for every person.³

A repeat of the same violation in Dubai within one year doubles the fine, up to AED 500,000.¹

If you are an employer or sponsor facing a Dubai fine, ask DHA how it has counted the months and the people.

Who pays the fine, you or your employer?

The employer or sponsor pays, under the schedules in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.^1,3

If you sponsor your spouse, children, parents or a domestic worker, you are the sponsor and the fine is yours. See the dependants guide and the domestic workers guide.

In Abu Dhabi DoH said on 6 July 2022 that no fine applies in three cases: the worker has absconded, from the date of the absconding report; the sponsor has died; or the person is living in the emirate illegally. The sponsor must show official proof of the absconding report or the death.⁶ Abu Dhabi fines are paid through the TAMM service “Health Insurance Penalty Payment”.⁷

Some Dubai fines fall on the insured person:

• not reporting a lost or damaged card within 30 days, AED 500
• letting someone else use your card, AED 5,000
• acting to get benefits illegally, AED 5,000 plus the cost of the benefits.¹

Report a lost card to whoever enrolled you within 30 days.

Can your employer charge you for your health insurance?

No. In Dubai the employer must bear the cost of enrolling you and must not charge it to you.⁸ DHA says insurance costs must not be deducted from employee salaries under any circumstances.⁹ An employer or sponsor who charges you all or part of the cost is fined AED 10,000 per beneficiary and must refund what you paid.¹

In Abu Dhabi, recovering the cost of the basic policy from the insured person carries a fine of AED 10,000 per person plus a refund.³

For ministry work permits, Gulf News lists making the worker pay any part of the subscription or renewal cost among six violations named by the ministry.⁴

Keep every payslip that shows an insurance deduction and ask for the money back in writing.

What happens to your visa or work permit?

A visa is not issued or renewed without cover.

• Dubai. DHA and the residency authority began checking cover at visa application and renewal on 1 August 2015, starting with employers of more than 100 staff.¹⁰ DHA said the live link between its member register and the residency authority would be in full effect from 1 January 2017 and would log gaps in cover between visa renewals.⁵
• Abu Dhabi. A residence permit is not renewed without evidence of health insurance for the previous period, and an employer’s trade licence is not renewed without evidence of cover for the previous period.¹¹
• Northern emirates. Since 1 January 2025 a policy has been a condition for issuing or renewing the residency permits of private sector employees and domestic workers.¹² Law firm Morgan Lewis reports ministry guidance that a work permit cannot be issued or renewed unless a valid policy has been verified, and that the policy must stay valid for the length of the permit.¹³ Gulf News reports that the ministry may suspend, reject or refuse to renew work permits.⁴

Check your policy’s expiry date against your visa’s expiry date, and ask whoever enrolled you to renew before either lapses. How enrolment works is in the guide to getting covered.

What should you do if your employer has not insured you?

Ask your employer in writing first, then go to the regulator for your emirate.

In Dubai an employer who leaves you uninsured must pay for your emergency treatment.⁸ A DHA directive in force from 27 October 2025 says employers and sponsors who fail to enrol someone are fully liable for the entire cost of health services and emergency medical interventions.¹⁴ DHA answers questions about the law on 800342 and at isahd@dha.gov.ae.¹⁵

In Abu Dhabi the penalties schedule fines an employer AED 1,000 per case for not paying the emergency care cost of an uninsured person.³ The regulator is DoH, covered in the Abu Dhabi guide.

Work through the checklist on this page, then contact the regulator with your documents. If the dispute is with an insurer and not your employer, use the complaints guide.

The small print

Dubai’s employer and sponsor duties, including emergency costs, are in Articles 10 and 11 of Law No. 11 of 2013.⁸ The fines on the insured person are items 11 to 13 of Schedule 2 to Resolution No. 7 of 2016.¹

Article 24(1) of Abu Dhabi’s Law No. 23 of 2005 sets a fine of “not less than” AED 300 for each month, multiplied by the number of persons. The penalties schedule gives AED 300 monthly for every person.³ The visa and trade licence rules are in Article 5 of the law and Articles 11(6), 12(4) and 12(5) of the regulations.¹¹

Gulf News reports that the northern emirates procedures were issued under Ministerial Resolution No. 504 of 2026.⁴