Is health insurance required by law where you live in the UAE?

The rule depends on the emirate that issued your visa. Dubai and Abu Dhabi each have their own law, and the five northern emirates follow a federal Cabinet decision.¹

Is health insurance required where you live?

Yes if you are a resident of Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Yes in Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah if you are a private sector employee or a domestic worker.

Dubai’s law applies in every part of the emirate, free zones included,² and a 2017 resolution names who must enrol each group.³ The EBP is the minimum for any policy issued in Dubai.⁴ The Abu Dhabi row is from Law No. 23 of 2005,⁵ with the Basic Plan limit as the Abu Dhabi Media Office gave it on 31 May 2024.⁶ The northern emirates price is from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) and the limits are from the package’s table of benefits.^7,8

A northern emirates worker whose work permit was issued before 1 January 2025 comes under the rule when the residency permit is next renewed.⁷

Find your emirate in Table 1, then read the page for it: the EBP for Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or the basic scheme in the northern emirates.

Who pays for your health insurance?

Your employer. In Dubai an employer must enrol its employees and “bear the cost of enroling his employees in Health Insurance, and not charge such cost to Beneficiaries”.² In Abu Dhabi the employer must provide cover for all employees.⁵ In the northern emirates the employer is responsible for the cost when a residence permit is issued or renewed.⁷

If you have no employer, the person who sponsors your visa pays, in Dubai and in Abu Dhabi.^2,5

Ask your employer for your insurance card. In Dubai the employer must give you one, and the fine for not doing so is AED 1,000 per incident.^2,9

Is medical insurance mandatory for your dependants, and who pays?

In Dubai, yes, and you pay as the sponsor unless your employer enrols them.³ The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) says employers are encouraged to cover spouses and dependants.¹⁰

In Abu Dhabi, yes. The law puts the wife and three children under 18 on the employer, and anyone else you sponsor on you.⁵ The 2006 regulation puts the full cost of their Basic cover on the employer.⁵ The health authority announced on 29 June 2016 that employees on the Basic Plan would pay 50% of the premium for their dependants from 1 July 2016, and the full premium for a father, a mother or a fourth child.¹¹

In the northern emirates, MOHRE names employees and domestic workers as the people the scheme covers, and says dependants can take the same benefits and prices.⁷ Ask MOHRE on 800382467 whether your dependants must be insured.⁷

Ask your employer in writing whether your family is on the company policy and which share of the premium it pays. Health insurance for dependants covers what to do if it is not.

Who pays for your domestic worker?

You do, as the sponsor or employer. In Dubai the sponsor is responsible for “labourers and servants (helpers)”.³ In Abu Dhabi a sponsor must cover everyone he sponsors who is not covered by an employer, and may not pass the cost to the sponsored person.⁵ In the northern emirates the domestic worker’s employer pays.⁷

Buy the policy before you apply for or renew the worker’s residence permit. Health insurance for domestic workers sets out the plans.

Can your employer take the cost from your salary?

No in Dubai. DHA says insurance costs “must not be deducted from employee salaries under any circumstances”.¹⁰ An employer or sponsor who charges you all or part of the cost is fined AED 10,000 per person and must refund what you paid.⁹

In Abu Dhabi the regulation says the employer may not pass on the cost of Basic policies, or any part of it, to employees.⁵ The Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH) penalty schedule sets AED 10,000 per person, plus a refund, for recovering the employer’s or sponsor’s share from the insured person.¹² Under the 2016 announcement, a worker over 40 on the Basic Plan may pay up to 50% of their own premium if the worker and employer agree it.¹¹

Gulf News reported on 22 August 2026 that MOHRE lists making a private sector worker bear all or part of the cost as a violation.¹³

If insurance appears as a deduction on your payslip, keep the payslip and ask your employer for a refund in writing.

What are the fines if you or your family have no health insurance?

AED 500 per month of delay in Dubai, which DHA applies per member, and AED 300 a month per person in Abu Dhabi, charged to the employer or sponsor.^9,14,12 If you sponsor your family or a domestic worker, the fine is yours.

A repeat in Dubai within one year doubles the fine, up to AED 500,000.⁹ The Abu Dhabi figures are from the DoH penalty schedule.¹²

In Dubai an employer or sponsor who fails to enrol someone is also liable for the whole cost of that person’s health services and emergency treatment.¹⁵ In Abu Dhabi a sponsor is personally liable for care costs where there is no valid policy.⁵

In Abu Dhabi no fine applies from the date a worker is reported as absconding, where the sponsor has died, or where the person is in the country illegally without a valid residency visa.¹⁶

For the northern emirates, Gulf News reported that fines are imposed under Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2020 and that MOHRE may suspend, reject or refuse to renew work permits. The report gives no amounts.¹³ Ask MOHRE what fine applies to you.

Check the expiry date on every policy you are responsible for. What happens if you have no health insurance goes through the fines case by case.

Do you need health insurance to get or renew a visa?

Yes. In Dubai no new visa is issued and no existing visa renewed unless you have health insurance in place at the time of the application. DHA and the residency authority began that check on 1 August 2015, starting with employers of more than 100 staff.¹⁷

In Abu Dhabi the law says a non-UAE national may not get or renew a residence permit, or be employed, without being enrolled.⁵

Across the UAE, the Government portal says that from 1 January 2025 employers must buy a health insurance policy before applying to issue or renew the residency permit of a private sector employee or domestic worker.¹⁸ The law firm Morgan Lewis wrote on 27 October 2026 that a work permit cannot be issued or renewed unless a valid policy is verified, and that the employer must not cancel the policy while the permit is valid if that would leave the employee without cover.¹⁹

Have the policy in place before the visa application goes in, and keep it valid until the permit ends.

Where can you read the laws yourself?

On the government sites below.

• Dubai Law No. (11) of 2013. The official English translation is published by the Supreme Legislation Committee. The Arabic text prevails.²
• Dubai resolutions, bylaw and circulars. DHA lists them on its law and regulations page.²⁰ The fines are in Executive Council Resolution No. (7) of 2016.⁹
• Abu Dhabi Law No. 23 of 2005. DoH publishes the law with its implementing regulation.⁵
• Northern emirates. MOHRE describes the scheme on its basic health insurance scheme page.⁷

Two older documents are also kept here.

• An English copy of Dubai Law No. 11 of 2013. It is not the official translation, and its wording differs from the Supreme Legislation Committee’s text.²¹
• DHA’s Employer’s Information Pack, dated 1 July 2015. It is DHA guidance. Its 2015 benefit table, insurer lists and price band have been superseded by the current DHA table of benefits and lists.^22,4

Rely on the official translation and the current DHA documents if the wording matters to you.

The small print

• Dubai law. Issued on 24 November 2013 and in force 60 days after publication in the Official Gazette (Article 32).² A DHA circular says it became effective in February 2014.¹⁷ Scope is Article 4, who enrols and pays is Article 9, employer duties are Article 10, sponsor duties are Article 11, and the visa link is Article 28.²
• Dubai penalties in the law. Article 23 sets a range of AED 500 to AED 150,000, doubled for a repeat within one year up to AED 500,000.² The amounts in Table 2 are items 6 to 10 of Schedule (2) to Resolution No. (7) of 2016. Item 6 reads “AED 500.00 per month of delay”.⁹ DHA’s circular of 24 November 2016 says the penalty “for an uninsured member, whether an employee or dependent, is AED 500 per month per member”.¹⁴
• Dubai phases. Resolution No. (6) of 2017 applies the fines to an employer or sponsor who had not enrolled residents, family members, labourers and helpers by 31 March 2017, and tells DHA to work with the residency authority so that entry permits, visit visas and residency permits are issued and renewed only when the health insurance requirement is met.³
• Dubai bylaw. Administrative Resolution No. (78) of 2022 is the implementing bylaw of the law.²³
• Dependants’ premiums in the 2015 pack. The 2015 Employer’s Information Pack says that where an employer does not pay for dependants, they can join the employer’s scheme, with the employer deducting their premium from the employee’s pay. The same pack says employers may not deduct the employee’s own premium.²² Ask DHA whether it still accepts this.
• Abu Dhabi law. Who is covered is Articles 2 and 4, exemptions are Article 3, and the employer and sponsor duties and the visa link are Article 5. People who arrive on a tourist visa are exempt.⁵
• Abu Dhabi regulation. Where an employee has more than one wife the employer insures one, and where there are more than three children under 18 it insures the first three in order of birth (Article 11). The employer’s and sponsor’s duty to enrol starts seven working days after arrival or from the date of the medical examination card, whichever is first (Article 12).⁵
• Abu Dhabi fine wording. Article 24 of the law says “not less than” AED 300 a month for each person.⁵ DoH’s schedule and its 2022 statement give AED 300 a month.^12,16
• Abu Dhabi Basic Plan. Daman says it is for people on an Abu Dhabi visa with a total salary of AED 4,000 a month with accommodation or AED 5,000 a month without, and other categories set by DoH.²⁴
• Northern emirates start date. MOHRE says work permits issued before 1 January 2025 are excluded until renewal.⁷ The UAE Government portal gives 1 January 2024.¹⁸
• Northern emirates policy. The basic package is a two-year policy.⁷ MOHRE said employers can also buy another product from an accredited insurance company.¹