Dubai to Require All Individuals to Maintain Health Insurance

The Dubai Health Authority is making health insurance mandatory for all residents of Dubai, including mainland and free zone foreign workers and their dependents. Employers are expected to be obligated to provide insurance for their workers, but they may not be required to provide family coverage. Employees may be required to obtain insurance for their dependents. The requirements will be implemented in phases from 2014 to 2016.

Only authorized medical insurance providers that are registered with the Dubai Health Authority and hold Health Insurance Permits will be allowed to provide health insurance plans. Employers may need to confirm their current health insurance providers have the authorization to comply with Dubai’s requirements.

Details of how the insurance requirements will be implemented and how they will impact immigration processing are not yet available. We expect them to affect the Employment Residence Permit (ERP) process, mirroring similar policies already in place in Abu Dhabi. In Abu Dhabi, foreign nationals are required to obtain health insurance once they enter the Emirate with their Entry Permit. Foreign residents are required to provide a copy of their health insurance cards, or in some cases the original cards, when their ERP is stamped.

Fragomen will continue monitoring the implementation of health insurance requirements and provide future updates once more immigration-related details are available.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions or require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact your Fragomen immigration professional or send an email to [email protected].