Mandatory Health Insurance for Employees in the UAE: What Employers Must Provide
Health insurance for employees isn't optional in the UAE, isn't something you can pass the cost to the employee for, and — as of a federal update taking effect across the country — is now tied directly to whether an employee's residence permit can be issued or renewed at all.
The short answer
Employers must provide health insurance meeting at least the Essential Benefits Plan (EBP) standard for every employee, at the employer's own cost — it can't be deducted from salary or offset against wages. From 1 January 2025, valid health insurance is required across the UAE to issue or renew a private-sector employee's residence permit, not only in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
What changed, and when
Mandatory employer-provided health insurance has existed for longer in Dubai (since 2014, under DHA regulation) and Abu Dhabi (since 2006, under the Department of Health). From 1 January 2025, the requirement has extended UAE-wide: a valid policy is now a condition of issuing or renewing a private-sector employee's or domestic worker's residence permit in every emirate, not only Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Policies issued under the new system are generally valid for two years, and coverage must run for the full length of the employee's residence permit. Confirm the current transitional rules for any work permit issued before 1 January 2024, since those have their own timeline for coming into scope.
What coverage is required
The minimum is the Essential Benefits Plan (EBP), which generally has to include:
- Outpatient consultations and diagnostics
- Emergency care
- Maternity cover
- Prescribed medication
- Chronic disease management
A commonly cited minimum annual benefit figure is around AED 150,000 — confirm the current minimum with an insurer or the relevant health authority, since it's reviewed periodically. You can always offer a richer plan than the EBP minimum; you can't offer less.
Who pays, and for whom
- The employer pays for the employee, in full. The premium cannot be deducted from salary or set off against wages — it's a cost of employing someone, not a benefit the employee is funding themselves.
- Dependants are usually the sponsor's responsibility, meaning an employee generally has to arrange and pay for their own spouse's or children's cover. Abu Dhabi is the one emirate where the employer is legally required to cover dependants as well — check this specifically if you employ people sponsored in Abu Dhabi.
What happens if you don't comply
Penalties for not providing required coverage range widely depending on the violation — commonly cited figures run from several hundred to well over a hundred thousand dirhams — and, separately, a missing or lapsed policy can directly block a residence permit renewal regardless of any fine. In practice the permit-renewal consequence is usually the one that actually stops work, since it affects the employee's ability to stay in the country at all.
What HR should actually do
- Arrange EBP-minimum (or better) cover as part of onboarding, before the employee's first residence permit is issued. (See our onboarding checklist.)
- Track each policy's renewal date against the employee's own visa and permit renewal — they need to line up.
- If you're in Abu Dhabi, confirm whether your obligation extends to dependants and budget accordingly.
- Re-verify requirements before renewing any permit issued before 1 January 2024, since the transition rules differ for those cases.
- Don't quietly let a group policy lapse between renewal cycles — a gap of even a few weeks can be the thing that blocks a permit renewal later.
This is a general explanation of UAE employer health insurance obligations for HR teams doing their own planning — not legal or insurance advice. Minimum coverage standards, costs, dependant rules, transitional timelines, and penalties vary by emirate and are set by the relevant health authorities; confirm current requirements with a licensed insurer or the Dubai Health Authority / Department of Health – Abu Dhabi before relying on figures in this article.
Keep insurance renewal dates next to every employee record.
OfficeHR tracks the dates that actually gate a visa or permit renewal — insurance included — so nothing lapses quietly.