Health insurance for a residence visa

Last updated 24 October 2026

Health insurance is a required document for UAE residence visas. GDRFA lists it for the student residence, ICP asks for valid health insurance when it issues and renews residence, and the Dubai Land Department lists it for the 2-year property visa. Employers must insure domestic workers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In Dubai, if an employer does not cover your spouse and children, the sponsor must. No official page we read sets a premium.

That is what we could confirm. Several rules you will read elsewhere come only from news reports. We mark those clearly below.

Which residence permits list insurance

Sources checked October 2026. u.ae also lists "medical insurance or health card" among the general residence visa documents.

Who has to provide the cover

Your employer, for domestic workers

MOHRE's domestic worker contract service says employers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi must provide adequate medical insurance for the worker. If you sponsor a maid, nanny or driver, the policy is your cost. See maid visa in Dubai for the rest of that route.

You, for your family, if the employer does not

The ISAHD FAQ, run by Dubai's health insurance regulator, says employers are encouraged to cover spouses and dependants. If the employer does not, "responsibility rests with the sponsor". So check your employment contract. If it covers only you, buy cover for each family member before you file their visa. The documents for that are on family visa requirements.

Golden visa holders and their families

ICP asks investors, entrepreneurs and specialised professionals, plus their family members, to hold full, valid health insurance. Real estate investors and specialised professionals must keep it for the whole validity of the visa. Public investors and entrepreneurs show it at application. A 10-year visa means 10 years of renewals on the policy.

Employees

The UAE labour rights page says the employer bears the costs of getting your residence permit. Whether insurance counts as part of that, and the Dubai rule that employers insure employees, we found only in media reports, not on a page we could read. Ask your HR team what the company policy covers.

What is only in media reports

You will often see these figures and rules online. We could not confirm any of them on an official page, so we describe them without numbers:

• The Dubai law. ISAHD refers to Dubai Health Insurance Law No. 11 of 2013 when it talks about penalties. The details reported in the press, such as which sponsor insures whom and that no visa is issued or renewed without cover, come from news articles, not from the law text we could read.
• The basic plan price. News sites quote a yearly premium and a cover limit for the basic plan aimed at lower salaries. We do not publish those numbers.
• The fine. Reports describe a monthly fine for being uninsured. We do not publish the amount.

If one of these decides your budget, check the Dubai Health or ISAHD website, or ask a licensed insurer to point to the rule.

Costs: what the official pages say

The visit visa lines are for tourists and relatives on a visit, not for residents. They are explained on health insurance for a Dubai visa.

Documents insurers usually ask for

• Passport copy and the entry permit or residence
• Emirates ID, once issued
• Your relationship to each dependant, for family policies

Insurers set their own lists. Get the policy certificate in the exact name on the passport, because the visa file checks it.

Steps

1. Check what your employer already covers.
2. Buy a policy for anyone not covered, valid in the emirate of your visa.
3. Upload the certificate with the residence or renewal application.
4. Take the medical test, which is separate from insurance.
5. Renew the policy before it ends, not when the visa ends.

Processing is set by the insurer. The visa offices do not state a time for checking insurance.

Problems that block a residence file

• The policy has expired before the visa renewal is filed.
• The name differs from the passport.
• A plan that covers another emirate only.
• A travel policy from abroad used for a residence visa.
• A domestic worker left uninsured because the family assumed the agency covered it.

Official sources

• ICP issuing residency: health insurance among documents.
• ICP renewing residency: insurance at renewal.
• GDRFA student residence: insurance for students.
• DLD 2-year investor visa: insurance for property owners.
• ICP golden residence: insurance for golden visa holders and families.
• ISAHD FAQ: sponsor responsibility for dependants.
• MOHRE domestic worker contract: employer insures domestic workers.

Checked 24 October 2026. Insurance rules change, so confirm with your insurer before you file.