Health insurance in Dubai: what your employer must cover

Is health insurance compulsory in Dubai?

Yes. Since Dubai's health insurance law of 2013, everyone in the emirate needs cover: UAE nationals, residents from abroad and visitors. The visa medical test is a separate step.

The law puts the duty on two people: your employer, for you, and your sponsor, for the family members they sponsor. The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) runs the scheme; its questions and answers (opens in a new window) are the plainest official summary.

What your employer must pay for

Your employer must insure you, and the rules are strict:

• It pays the whole premium for your own cover.
• It can't take any of that cost from your salary, or charge it to you another way.

The law sets the Essential Benefits Plan as the minimum for employees earning up to AED 4,000 (≈ ₹1.0 lakh) a month. Most tech salaries are well above that, so what you get depends on the plan your employer picks. Ask to see the plan before you sign.

Your family: who pays

In Dubai your employer only has to cover you. If you sponsor your spouse and children, you must insure them yourself unless your employer's policy already covers them. The no-deduction rule protects only your own cover: if your employer adds your family to its policy but doesn't pay for them, it can take their premium from your pay.

On the basic plan, our budget for a family of three allows about AED 200 (≈ ₹5,200) a month to insure a spouse and a child. See the whole family of three budget.

• A newborn is covered on the mother's policy for 30 days. Insure your baby before that ends.
• In your first UAE scheme, a condition you already have can be left out of cover for up to 6 months. Later policies can't leave it out.

The basic plan (the Essential Benefits Plan)

The Essential Benefits Plan (EBP) is the minimum Dubai allows. DHA's updated version has applied since 1 January 2025, and it set the premium at AED 550 (≈ ₹14,300) to AED 750 a person a year plus VAT. That's from DHA's circular for 2025, the latest we found.

• Annual limit: AED 150,000 (≈ ₹38.9 lakh), co-pays included.
• Hospital stays: you pay 20%, but no more than AED 500 (≈ ₹13,000) a stay and AED 1,000 a year.
• Doctor visits: you pay 20% of each visit with no cap, but nothing for a follow-up within 7 days.
• Medicines: up to AED 2,500 (≈ ₹64,900) a year, and you pay 30% of each prescription.
• Pregnancy: 8 antenatal visits and 3 scans, with a 10% co-pay. A normal delivery is covered up to AED 10,000 (≈ ₹2.6 lakh), and a medically necessary caesarean or complications up to AED 10,000.
• Physiotherapy: 6 sessions a year.

The co-pays add up with a family. Fuller plans cost more, so compare what you would pay for each visit and stay. The full list is in DHA's circular (opens in a new window).

What to ask for in a job offer

Health insurance is part of your package, so ask about it before you accept:

• Does the policy cover your spouse and children, and who pays for them?
• What is the annual limit, and what do you pay yourself for each visit, hospital stay and prescription?
• Which hospitals and clinics are in the network, and are any near where you'll live?
• Is pregnancy and birth covered, and from when?
• Are dental care and glasses covered?
• Does it cover you outside the UAE, for example on a trip home?

Our offer check helps you compare the whole package. For what a family spends each month, see the cost of living in Dubai.

Outside Dubai: the northern emirates and Abu Dhabi

Since 1 January 2025, health insurance has been compulsory for private-sector and domestic workers in Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain too, and MOHRE runs a basic scheme (opens in a new window) for them.

It costs AED 320 (≈ ₹8,300) a year. You pay 20% of hospital stays, up to AED 500 a visit and AED 1,000 a year; 25% of doctor visits, up to AED 100 a visit; and 30% of medicines, capped at AED 1,500.

The policy runs for 2 years, and the second year is refunded if the visa is cancelled. Pregnancy, childbirth and dental care aren't covered. The network is 15 hospitals, 100 clinics and 250 pharmacies, and LexisNexis reports that it covers ages 1 to 64.

Abu Dhabi goes further than Dubai: an employer there must also insure the employee's wife and up to 3 children under 18. Weighing up where to live? See Dubai, Sharjah or Abu Dhabi.

Fines and gaps between jobs

Dubai fines anyone who breaks the insurance law between AED 500 (≈ ₹13,000) and AED 150,000. A repeat within a year doubles the fine, up to AED 500,000. Not enrolling someone who should be insured costs AED 500 for each month of delay.

Your cover comes through your employer, so plan for the change when you switch jobs: ask your old employer when its policy ends and your new one when its policy starts. If you sponsor your family, keep their policy running whatever happens with your job.

This guide explains the general rules, not your policy. Check the terms with your employer or insurer, and DHA's health insurance pages (opens in a new window) for the rules.

Sources

1. Law No. 23 of 2005 on health insurance in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (opens in a new window), Department of Health Abu Dhabi, 29 September 2026
2. Health insurance: frequently asked questions (opens in a new window), Dubai Health Authority (ISAHD), 25 March 2026
3. Law No. 11 of 2013 on health insurance in the Emirate of Dubai (opens in a new window), Dubai Legislation Portal, 10 October 2026
4. UAE mandatory health insurance starting 1 January 2025 (opens in a new window), LexisNexis, 25 February 2026
5. Executive Council Resolution No. 7 of 2016 (health insurance fines) (opens in a new window), Dubai Legislation Portal, 29 September 2026
6. Circular GC 03/2024: the updated Essential Benefits Plan (opens in a new window), Dubai Health Authority, 23 July 2024
7. Employer information pack (opens in a new window), Dubai Health Authority, 1 July 2015
8. The basic health insurance scheme (opens in a new window), MOHRE, 29 September 2026