Who Must Pay for Health Insurance in Dubai?

Article 6 of Dubai Law No. 11 of 2013 mandates that every employer operating in Dubai—whether mainland or free zone—must arrange and pay for health insurance coverage for all staff.

The law explicitly forbids employers from passing the cost of health insurance on to workers. Employers cannot deduct premiums, application fees, or administrative processing charges from monthly salaries or end-of-service gratuity.

Even if an employee earns below AED 4,000 per month, the employer must provide the DHA Essential Benefits Plan (EBP) at their own expense.

Unlike Abu Dhabi, where companies above certain thresholds are legally required to provide coverage for a spouse and up to three children, Dubai law places the primary statutory duty for dependants on the individual visa sponsor.

If an employee sponsors their spouse, children, or elderly parents on a residence visa, the employee is the sponsor under immigration law and is therefore responsible for purchasing compliant health policies.

Many corporate employers in Dubai voluntarily provide family insurance as part of competitive compensation packages. However, if your contract does not include dependent coverage, you must arrange individual policies.

Residents who employ domestic staff—including housekeepers, nannies, cooks, personal drivers, and private gardeners—act as their official sponsors under the UAE Domestic Workers Law.

As sponsors, individuals are legally obligated to provide health insurance for each domestic worker. The DHA allows domestic staff to be covered under the low-cost Essential Benefits Plan (EBP), which provides standard inpatient, outpatient, and emergency care.

Individuals holding Green Visas (freelancers, skilled professionals), Investor/Partner Visas, or 10-year Golden Visas act as self-sponsors.

Because they have no third-party corporate employer in the traditional sense, they must purchase their own health insurance directly from DHA-authorized insurers.

To complete residency visa stamping or renewal with the GDRFA, self-sponsored residents must provide an active health insurance certificate linked to their Emirates ID or Unified ID (UID).

University students sponsored by their educational institution typically receive mandatory health insurance through their university, with the premium included in administrative or tuition fees.

Students sponsored by their parents remain under the parent's dependent health policy.

Tourists and visitors entering the UAE on short-term visit visas must hold travel medical insurance covering emergency medical incidents during their stay.