Official Guide of 2025 · UAE Federal
MoHRE's guidance on the Cabinet-approved basic health insurance scheme: from 1 January 2025 employers in Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain must buy a policy (AED 320 a year) for each private-sector employee and domestic worker before a residence permit is issued or renewed; workers with permits issued before that date are covered on renewal.
MoHRE's guidance page explains the basic health insurance package that became a condition of residence permits in the five Northern Emirates from 1 January 2025. It is guidance on a Cabinet decision, issued jointly with the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security and the Ministry of Health and Prevention, rather than a legal text in its own right, but it is the authority's own statement of who must buy the policy, when and for how much.
The scheme applies to private-sector employees and domestic workers in Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain, the emirates that had no mandatory employer insurance before. Employers are required to purchase the policy for each worker, and the trigger is the issuance or renewal of a residence permit on or after 1 January 2025. Workers whose work permits pre-date that day are excluded until their residence permit comes up for renewal, at which point the policy must be bought. Employees' dependants may be insured on the same terms and price.
The package is offered at AED 320 per year. The policy is written for two years, and the second year's premium is refundable if the visa is cancelled. Inpatient care carries a 20% co-payment capped at AED 500 per visit and AED 1,000 per year, with amounts above those caps covered in full by the insurer. Outpatient care carries a 25% co-payment capped at AED 100 per visit, waived for a follow-up within seven days of the first appointment. Medicines carry a 30% co-payment with annual cover capped at AED 1,500. Chronic and pre-existing conditions are covered without a waiting period, which the page contrasts with the six-month exclusion in most policies. Telehealth consultations carry no co-payment other than pharmacy services. Pregnancy, childbirth and dental care are not covered. The network listed is 7 hospitals, 47 clinics and medical centres and 44 pharmacies, and the policy is bought through the DubaiCare network or another approved supplier.
The page describes no fine for non-compliance; the consequence is that the residence permit will not be issued or renewed without the policy. Dubai and Abu Dhabi keep their own emirate-level insurance laws, so an employer with staff in several emirates runs two regimes. The page is current as read on 29 October 2026 and MoHRE may revise the premium and benefits without notice.
Private-sector employers and employers of domestic workers in Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain, for every worker whose residence permit is issued or renewed on or after 1 January 2025, and the dependants those workers may add to the same policy.
English official text in 2 passages. Open the full text or jump to a provision:
| Section: Overview | A mandatory basic health insurance package for private-sector employees and domestic workers, introduced under a Cabinet decision by MoHRE together with the ICP and the Ministry of Health and Prevention. |
| Section: Start Date and Scope | Applies from 1 January 2025 to workers in Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain; employers are required to purchase the policy on issuance or renewal of a residence permit. |
| Section: Exemptions | Workers with valid work permits dated before 1 January 2025 are outside the scheme until their residence permit is renewed, when the policy must be bought. |
| Section: Premium and Policy Term | The package is offered at AED 320 per year; the policy runs for two years and the second-year premium is refundable if the visa is cancelled; dependants can be added at the same price. |
| Section: Coverage and Co-payments | Inpatient 20% co-payment capped at AED 500 per visit and AED 1,000 a year; outpatient 25% capped at AED 100 per visit, waived for a follow-up within seven days; medicines 30% with cover capped at AED 1,500; chronic and pre-existing conditions covered with no waiting period; telehealth without co-payment. |
| Section: Exclusions and Network | Pregnancy, childbirth and dental care are not covered; the network comprises 7 hospitals, 47 clinics and medical centres and 44 pharmacies, and the policy is bought through the DubaiCare network or another approved supplier. |
The page states no fine. The sanction is operational: the ICP will not issue or renew a residence permit for a worker in the five emirates without a valid basic policy, so an uninsured employee cannot be onboarded or kept on a visa.
Our RAKEZ, Ajman and other Northern Emirates clients now buy an AED 320 basic policy for every employee visa we process, and we build it into the visa quotation and timeline from the outset rather than discovering it at stamping. For existing staff we track which work permits pre-date 1 January 2025 and add the policy at renewal. Clients with Dubai or Abu Dhabi licences keep their emirate-level cover, so a group with entities in both is running two insurance regimes and we reconcile them in the HR file. Where a founder wants richer cover for senior staff we still buy this policy to satisfy the ICP and layer a private plan on top, since the basic package excludes maternity and dental.
No amendments, repeals or cross-references recorded for this instrument.
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