Health insurance in Dubai: the rules, basic cover and what to check

Health insurance is compulsory for residents of Dubai, and if you are employed, your employer must provide your cover and pay for it. Since 1 January 2025, a federal rule has also required employer-paid cover for private-sector workers in the northern emirates. Here is what the rules say, what basic plans include and what to check in your own policy. Premiums and benefit schedules change, so confirm current figures before relying on them.

Key facts

• In Dubai, employers must insure their employees, and sponsors must insure their resident dependants.
• Employers pay for their staff’s cover; in Dubai, charging an employee for it can bring an AED 10,000 fine per person.
• Dubai’s minimum-benefit plan, the Essential Benefits Plan (EBP), has an annual limit of AED 150,000 (confirm the current schedule).
• The federal basic package for the northern emirates is priced at AED 320 per person per year, on a two-year policy.
• Freelancers and other self-sponsored residents buy their own cover.

Is health insurance mandatory?

Yes, though the rules depend on the emirate.

Dubai

Under Dubai’s Health Insurance Law (Law No. 11 of 2013), employers must insure their employees, and sponsors must insure their resident dependants unless the sponsor’s employer covers them. The law was phased in from 2014, with fines enforced from 2017, and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) regulates the system.

These are resident insurance obligations. Visitor and travel-visa medical-cover requirements can arise under different rules and vary by entry route, so they are not the same thing: an ordinary visitor is not covered by the resident EBP, and the resident-employer rules do not apply to them. If you are visiting or job hunting on a visit visa, check the current visa/travel conditions and arrange suitable medical cover of your own.

Employers must bear the full cost of employees’ premiums and must never deduct it from salaries. Fines include AED 500 for each month an employer or sponsor delays enrolling someone, AED 10,000 per person for charging them for their cover (plus a refund), and AED 1,000 per incident for failing to ensure the worker has their insurance card or digital proof of cover.

Abu Dhabi

Employers and sponsors must provide health insurance for employees and eligible family members, covering up to one spouse and three children under 18. Confirm with the Department of Health, Abu Dhabi who covers each person: the employee’s cover is the employer’s duty, and for dependants check whether the employer or the sponsor pays, and what happens for additional dependants or anyone already insured elsewhere.

Sharjah and the northern emirates

Since 1 January 2025, employers must buy health insurance for private-sector employees and domestic workers before their residence permits are issued or renewed, extending the compulsory system already in place in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Workers with existing valid permits come under the rule when their residence is renewed.

The federal basic package is priced at AED 320 per person per year; the policy is issued for two years, and the second year’s premium is refundable if the visa is cancelled. It covers people aged 1 to 64 (older workers complete a medical disclosure form). This federal package is not the Dubai EBP. Family members can be added under the scheme’s own eligibility and documentation terms, so dependants are not covered automatically just because they can join.

Employer cover or paying for it yourself

Who	Who arranges and pays
Employee in Dubai or Abu Dhabi	Employer
Private-sector employee or domestic worker in the northern emirates	Employer
Eligible dependants (spouse, children) in Dubai	You, as sponsor, unless your employer covers them
Eligible dependants in Abu Dhabi	Employer or sponsor per the Abu Dhabi rule (confirm, per the section above)
Freelancer or other self-sponsored resident	You
Visitor or job seeker on a visit visa	You, under visitor/travel cover rules, not the resident EBP

Employers can offer more than the legal minimum, and you can buy supplementary cover on top of a basic policy. Ask HR which plan you will be on before you accept an offer.

What basic cover includes

Two things are easy to confuse. The EBP is Dubai’s minimum-benefit standard that a compliant Dubai policy must meet, and it is also the specific low-cost product that DHA-approved insurers offer to workers in the DHA’s low-salary band. Not every Dubai resident buys the EBP product at its headline price: eligibility for that exact product depends on the salary band and applicant type, and dependants or self-sponsored residents may need a different compliant plan. Confirm who can buy the EBP product, the current low-salary-band threshold, and what a quote is for your situation.

The figures below are a summary of the EBP Table of Benefits and the federal package’s benefits, not a policy schedule. Treat cover as subject to the insurer’s current network, exclusions and policy wording.

Benefit	Dubai EBP	Federal basic package
Price	Indicative AED 550–750 a year plus VAT (DHA 2025 band; confirm it is current and for which applicant group)	AED 320 per person per year
Annual limit	AED 150,000	Not stated on the government portal
In-patient	20% co-pay, capped at AED 500 per encounter and AED 1,000 a year	20% co-pay, capped at AED 500 per visit and AED 1,000 a year, including medicines
Out-patient	20% co-pay per visit; none for a follow-up within seven days	25% co-pay, capped at AED 100 per visit; none for a follow-up within seven days
Medicines	30% co-pay; AED 2,500 annual limit	30% co-pay; AED 1,500 annual cap
Maternity	10% co-pay; up to AED 10,000 per delivery	Not detailed on the government portal
Pre-existing / chronic	Must be covered; may be excluded for the first six months	No waiting period for chronic illnesses

Under the EBP, basic care is covered within Dubai and emergency treatment anywhere in the UAE, and you need a GP referral before seeing a specialist. The plan includes limited dental (AED 500) and out-patient mental-health (AED 800) cover, and covers a newborn for 30 days from birth. Exclusions include cosmetic treatment and IVF.

Dependants

In Dubai, insuring your spouse and children is your responsibility as their sponsor unless your employer includes them, which the DHA encourages. Newborns are covered under the mother’s EBP policy for 30 days and must then be enrolled on a policy, as a dependant or individually. Budget for family premiums before you move: see our cost of living guide.

Freelancers and the self-sponsored

If you do not have an employer or sponsor in Dubai, you must arrange your own cover. Some visas add conditions, but the exact insurance requirement can depend on the category, sponsor and emirate, so confirm with the issuing authority: the Golden Visa generally requires comprehensive cover for you and your family, and the remote work visa requires valid health insurance. Check the current ICP/GDRFA guidance for your specific category. If you are going self-employed, read our freelance visa guide. Job hunting on a visit visa? You are not covered by the resident EBP, so travel with your own medical cover and check the current visa conditions.

How to check your cover

• Insurance card or digital proof: your employer must ensure you have it.
• Table of benefits: ask HR for it and check the annual limit, co-pays and medicine limit.
• Network and area: which hospitals and clinics you can use, and whether routine care is covered outside Dubai.
• Maternity, pre-existing conditions and dependants: check limits, waiting periods and who is on the policy.
• The insurer: the DHA publishes lists of permitted insurers and claims administrators.
• Leaving a job: in Dubai, cover must continue for a period after your visa is cancelled (commonly cited as 30 days) or until you leave the UAE, whichever comes first. Distinguish your employment end date, visa cancellation, the policy’s actual expiry and your departure, as these can differ; other emirates may use a different rule. Your visa grace period may be longer (see our work visa guide).

If a claim is refused: complain to your insurer first. If that does not resolve it, the route depends on the issue and emirate: the health regulator (DHA, or the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi) for a cover or network dispute, and Sanadak where the complaint is eligible and the insurer’s escalation conditions are met. These are not interchangeable, so use the one that fits your case. For the rest of your move, see our Moving to Dubai guide.

FAQ

Is health insurance mandatory in Dubai?

Yes, for residents. Employers must insure their employees, sponsors their dependants, and residents without an employer or sponsor must buy their own cover. Visitors arrange their own travel/medical cover under separate rules.

Can my employer deduct health insurance from my salary?

Not in Dubai. Employers must pay the full premium, and charging an employee can bring a fine of AED 10,000 per person plus a refund.

Does my employer have to insure my family?

Not in Dubai, where sponsors are responsible for dependants, although employers are encouraged to cover them. Abu Dhabi’s rules make employers and sponsors responsible for eligible family members (up to one spouse and three children under 18); confirm who pays.

Do freelancers need health insurance in Dubai?

Yes. Without an employer or sponsor, you must buy your own policy, and health insurance is among the documents required for residence.

What happens to my health insurance if I lose my job?

In Dubai, cover must continue for a period after your visa is cancelled (commonly 30 days) or until you leave, whichever comes first. After that you need new cover.

Am I covered in other emirates?

On Dubai’s EBP, emergencies are covered anywhere in the UAE, but routine care only in Dubai unless your insurer extends it. Confirm this against your policy’s network.