UAE health insurance for visit visas and dependents
ICP covers all emirates except Dubai. Dubai residence and visa services sit with GDRFA. Emirates ID is federal, always ICP. Health insurance, by contrast, is split by emirate and by population, and that split is the whole point. Health insurance in this context means a health insurance policy or scheme that covers medical care, held by a resident, a worker, a dependent, or, in one narrow case below, a tourist visa applicant. Whether you must hold health insurance depends first on which emirate and which population you fall under. Dubai places a duty on employers and sponsors for dependents who live in Dubai. Abu Dhabi law places a duty on employers and sponsors for residents of Abu Dhabi, and it exempts arrivals on a tourist visa. For visit visas in general, no general insurance mandate was verified on an official page. The only visit-visa insurance requirement verified on an official page is the one tied to a single visa type, the 5-year multiple-entry tourist visa. Read the three sections below separately, and do not carry a rule from one section into another.
Dubai health insurance employer and sponsor duties
Dubai law makes health insurance a mandatory requirement in Dubai. The Government of Dubai page states it in these words: “According to Law No 11 of 2013 Concerning Health Insurance in the Emirate of Dubai (“Dubai Health Law”), Health insurance in Dubai is a mandatory requirement. Employers in Dubai, including those in free zones, are responsible for providing health insurance to their employees. Sponsors are also required to extend health insurance coverage to dependents, such as spouses, children, and domestic workers.”
That duty has two parts.
- Employers in Dubai, including employers in free zones, are responsible for providing health insurance to their employees.
- Sponsors are also required to extend health insurance coverage to dependents, such as spouses, children, and domestic workers.
The sponsor duty in this section is a duty for dependents. It is not stated on this page as a visit visa rule.
The same page states how cover is obtained: “Private sector companies and family sponsors can get health insurance coverage for their dependents from insurance companies authorized by Dubai Health Authority.” It also states: “To get an insurance coverage, the employer or sponsor will submit an application to an approved insurance company. The cost varies depending on the benefits they wish to receive.” The cost point is stated only in that general form. The page does not state a fixed cost.
The page states it was last modified on 14 April 2026. Treat that date as the date of the wording used here, and re-check the live page before you act, because the wording on the live page on the day you check it is the wording that matters.
Separately, the page states: “Dubai citizens and government employees are eligible to get health insurance under ENAYA program.” That is a separate programme for Dubai citizens and government employees. Do not read it as the rule for sponsored dependents above.
The Dubai page does not state a minimum coverage figure, a premium or price, or a fine. It does not use visit visa or tourist wording for this duty, and the word visitor does not appear on the page. It does not state where insurance is checked, and it does not state that visa issuance or renewal depends on it. It does not name a specific plan, a benefit list, or a salary threshold. None of those points is stated for Dubai, because the page used here states none of them.
Abu Dhabi Law No. 23 of 2005
Abu Dhabi has its own law, and this section states that law only. The law text below is reproduced in a compilation dated February 2023. Later amendments, implementing regulations, and current plan schedules are not covered on that compilation page, so re-check the live position before you act. The law is Law No. 23 of 2005, from the Department of Health, Abu Dhabi, Encyclopedia of Health Legislation, Book 2, Third Issue, February 2023.
Article 1 gives two definitions. “Non-UAE Citizen Resident” means anyone who does not hold UAE citizenship “and works within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi for a pay of any kind, or resides on the sponsorship of a natural or legal person within the Emirate.” “Sponsor” means “Whoever sponsors a Non-UAE Citizen Resident.”
Article 2 states the scope of the scheme: “Health Insurance scheme shall apply to Non-UAE Citizen Residents of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and their families pursuant to the provisions of this Law, and may be applied to UAE Citizens in the Emirate by resolution of the Executive Council.” Article 2 also states: “The Implementing Regulations of this Law shall set out the Health Insurance provisions applicable to visitors who are sponsored by their relatives.” That sentence points to regulations. The page does not reproduce those regulations, so what they set out is not stated here. A direction to regulations is not the regulations themselves.
Article 3 lists exempted categories. The exemptions include:
- employees of establishments with their own licensed medical facilities, if exempted by Authority decision
- non-UAE-citizen women married to UAE citizens
- children of UAE-citizen women married to non-UAE citizens
- “4. Arrivals to the Emirate on tourist visa”
- other categories exempted by Authority decision after Executive Council approval.
The tourist visa arrival exemption is item 4 in that list. It sits inside a residents law, and it is stated only as it is written in that law.
Article 4 states: “subscription to the Health Insurance scheme shall be mandatory for Non-UAE Citizen Residents of the Emirate and their families, and shall be optional for others.”
Article 5 states the employer and sponsor duties: “An Employer shall enroll all its employees/workers and their family members, including an employee’s/worker’s wife and three children under the age of 18, in Health Insurance scheme. A Sponsor shall also enroll in Health Insurance scheme those sponsored by him who are not covered by the Employers, from the date of their arrival to the State. A non-UAE Citizen person may not obtain a residence permit or renew the same, nor may he/she be employed, unless after he/she is enrolled in the Health Insurance scheme.”
Article 12 lists the mandatory services in the law:
- medical examination, treatment and primary care by GPs and specialists
- laboratory tests and radiology
- inpatient stay and treatment
- regular dental/gum treatment excluding orthodontics and dentures
- medications required to treat a case
- accommodation charges of one companion in critical cases.
This is the service list in the law as compiled in February 2023. Do not treat it as a current product description, because current plan benefit schedules were not covered here.
Article 13 lists the exclusions in the law. The list is given here exactly, and no item is expanded or softened:
- self-inflicted injuries;
- diseases from stimulants/sedatives without prescription or alcohol/drugs;
- plastic surgery unless necessitated by serious accidental injury;
- comprehensive checkups/vaccines/preventive means not required by treatment;
- “Pregnancy and delivery treatment for women enrolled as unmarried in the scheme”;
- therapeutic recreation;
- occupational diseases/injuries;
- sexually transmitted venereal diseases as medically recognised;
- post-HIV-diagnosis treatment expenses;
- dental implants/dentures/bridges/orthodontics except from external violent occurrences.
The articles quoted here do not state a minimum annual coverage figure, a premium, or a fine figure. They do not name a plan product or tier. They do not state a visit visa rule beyond the Article 2 direction to regulations for relative-sponsored visitors and the Article 3 tourist visa arrival exemption. None of those missing points is stated for Abu Dhabi.
Visit visa insurance requirement
For visit visas in general, the position is plain: no general visit visa insurance mandate, no minimum coverage figure, no premium, and no fine was verified on an official page. That does not mean a general rule can be assumed in either direction. It means no general rule can be stated, and the position for your visa type must be confirmed on the live official screens for that type.
The one narrow requirement verified on an official page concerns only the 5-year multiple-entry tourist visa. The u.ae tourist visa page states: “To obtain this visa, the applicant must have: a bank balance of 4,000 USD or its equivalent in foreign currencies during the last six months; a valid health insurance policy applicable in the UAE, valid for 180 days; a ticket showing continuing or return journey from the UAE.” The 180-day insurance validity figure belongs only to this 5-year visa type. It is not a general visit visa figure, and it must not be carried into any other visa type. The same page states that this visa can be issued for all nationalities, that the holder may remain in the country for 90 days on each visit, and that the stay can be extended for a further 90 days. Those duration points belong to this visa type, not to any nationality list.
Two further lines concern residence documents, not visit visa rules, and they are labelled here as residence documents so the populations stay separate.
- The ICP family issuance service lists “valid health insurance” among its documents.
- The u.ae general provisions list “Medical insurance or health card” among dependent documents.
Both lines concern residence and dependent sponsorship. Neither line is a visit visa requirement, and neither is presented as one.
The conflict on a general visit visa mandate is unresolved on official pages. The Dubai and Abu Dhabi sections above address residents, workers, and sponsored dependents. The Abu Dhabi law exempts arrivals on a tourist visa. The u.ae page states an insurance requirement only for the 5-year tourist visa type. No official page used here resolves those points into a single general rule for all visit visas, and no official page used here states a minimum coverage figure or a fine for a visit visa holder. Until a live official screen for your exact visa type states otherwise, treat the general visit visa insurance position as not verified, and confirm it for your type before you travel or apply.
Related guides
- UAE guides
- UAE visa rules
- UAE visit visa extension
- UAE Visa Types Explained: A Verified Index by Category and Authority
- Check Medical Insurance Status with Emirates ID
