Basic health insurance in Sharjah and the northern emirates

Abu Dhabi and Dubai already required employers to insure their staff. A Cabinet decision extended the rule to Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah from 1 January 2025.¹

Do you need health insurance in the northern emirates?

Yes, if you are a private sector employee or a domestic worker in one of the five emirates. Health insurance has been compulsory for both groups since 1 January 2025.²

The rule reaches you when your residency permit is issued or renewed. If your work permit was issued before 1 January 2025 and is still valid, your employer must buy the policy when your residency permit comes up for renewal.²¹

The basic package is not for people with a Dubai or Abu Dhabi visa.³ Those emirates have their own rules, set out in the health insurance law and the Abu Dhabi guide.

Check the emirate that issued your visa, then ask your employer for your policy.

Who pays for your cover?

Your employer pays. Private sector employers and the employers of domestic workers are responsible for the cost of the insurance when a residence permit is issued or renewed.²

Gulf News, reporting a statement by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) on 22 August 2026, lists making a worker pay all or part of the cost of subscribing or renewing as a violation.⁴

If money for the policy has been taken from your pay, raise it with MOHRE.

How much does the basic package cost you?

AED 320 per person per year for an employee or a dependant, before 5% VAT, as of 11 November 2026.⁵³ Partners and investors pay AED 483.³

The policy runs for two years.⁵ The first-year premium is not refunded. If the policy is cancelled within the first 12 months, only the second-year premium is refunded, and nothing is refunded for a cancellation in the second year.³ The ministry says the second-year premium can be refunded if the visa is cancelled.²

Parents and parents-in-law aged 64 and over need a medical application form, and their premium is set by underwriting.³

A second plan, WHI Enhanced, costs AED 440 for employees and dependants and AED 700 for partners and investors, with one annual limit of AED 100,000 for inpatient and outpatient care together.³

Ask for the total for both years with VAT and fees before you pay. For prices elsewhere in the UAE, see what health insurance costs.

What does the basic package cover for you?

It covers hospital treatment up to AED 50,000 a year and outpatient treatment up to AED 10,000 a year, inside the five northern emirates.⁵ Pre-existing and chronic conditions are covered with no waiting period.⁵²

The table of benefits also excludes mental health treatment unless it is an emergency, dialysis for chronic conditions, IVF, congenital conditions unless it is an emergency, and viral hepatitis other than hepatitis A and C.⁵

On 6 February 2026 the ministry’s scheme page counted seven hospitals, 47 clinics and medical centres and 44 pharmacies in the network.²

Download the network list from whi.ae and find the clinic and hospital nearest to you. If you are pregnant or planning to be, read maternity cover first.

What do you pay when you use it?

You pay a share of each bill, up to a cap.⁵

Book your follow-up visit within seven days of the first one so you do not pay twice for the same illness.

Where can you buy it?

On the Workers Health Insurance website, whi.ae, through the insurance pool’s app, or at a Business Services and Guidance Centre of MOHRE.²¹ The WHI website says subscribing there is free of charge.³

The table of benefits is in the name of Dubai Insurance Company PJSC, as a member and manager of the insurance pool.⁵ An employer may instead buy another product from an accredited insurance company.¹

For questions, call 800382467.² The steps for buying any policy are in how to get health insurance.

How does your cover tie to your visa or work permit?

Your residency permit cannot be issued or renewed without the policy. Since 1 January 2025 employers must buy it first.²

Law firm Morgan Lewis wrote on 27 October 2026 that ministry guidance says a work permit cannot be issued or renewed unless a valid policy has been verified through the relevant systems, the policy must meet the minimum cover and stay valid for the life of the work permit, and the guidance adds no new duties for employers.⁶

If you are the employer, check that the policy runs at least as long as the work permit before you apply.

What happens if your employer does not insure you?

The ministry can fine the employer and can suspend, reject or refuse to renew its work permits, according to a Gulf News report of 22 August 2026.⁴ The report gives no fine amounts. Ask MOHRE what fine applies to your case.

The same report lists six violations:⁴

• not enrolling a worker in a policy, or not renewing it
• refusing to pay for a worker’s healthcare or emergency treatment
• making the worker pay all or part of the cost of subscribing or renewing
• providing a policy below the basic cover approved by the ministry
• cancelling the policy while the work permit is valid
• not keeping cover continuous for the life of the work permit

If one of these applies to you, report it to the ministry. Fines in the other emirates are in fines for having no health insurance.

Can you add your dependants?

Yes. Your dependants can have the same benefits at the same price, AED 320 per person per year, under the terms of the policy.²³

The ministry’s scheme page does not say whether you must insure your dependants, or who pays for them.²

A policy for a child alone needs proof that the parent is insured.³

Ask your employer to add your spouse and children when your own policy is issued. Family rules across the UAE are in health insurance for dependants, and rules for household staff are in health insurance for domestic workers.

The small print

The ministry introduced the scheme with the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security and the Ministry of Health and Prevention, under a Cabinet decision.²

The ministry says a work permit issued before 1 January 2025 that is still valid is caught only when the residency permit is renewed. The UAE Government portal prints that date as 1 January 2024.²¹⁷

The ministry’s launch release says the package covers people aged 1 to 64. The Workers Health Insurance premium table prints the age band as 00 to 64.¹³ If your child is under 1, ask Workers Health Insurance which applies.

Khaleej Times reported on 17 December 2024, as summarised by LexisNexis, that the ministry had not explicitly stated that the rule extends to family members.⁸

The ministry’s launch release of 16 December 2024 counted seven hospitals, 46 clinics and medical centres and 45 pharmacies in the network.¹

Gulf News reports that fines are imposed under Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2020 on the ministry’s service fees and fines, as amended, and that Ministerial Resolution No. 504 of 2026 links health insurance enrolment to work permit issue and renewal.⁴

The ministry’s launch release says the inpatient cap of AED 500 per visit and AED 1,000 a year includes medications. The WHI table of benefits lists medicines separately, at 30% up to AED 1,500 a year.¹⁵

The table of benefits requires a GP referral through the e-Referrals system before a specialist’s costs are considered.⁵

Sharjah has a separate scheme for its own citizens, extended to all citizens of Sharjah in January 2020, and the Government of Ajman insures its own employees.⁷