Dubai health insurance deadline: Dh650 policy or Dh10,000 fine?

Dubai - Visa holders who have not obtained health insurance cover by December 31 will no longer be able to renew their visas.

With just 10 days (6 working days) to go before Dubai's mandatory health insurance deadline expires, residents who haven't yet secured cover face up to Dh10,000 in fines.

According to a circular issued by the Dubai Health Authority in late November, those who remain non-compliant will face severe visa issuance complications, with no existing visas being renewed and no new visas being issued where the individual concerned does not have health insurance coverage in place at the time of visa stamping or renewal.

As Khaleej Times has been advising our readers over the past weeks, visa holders who have not obtained health insurance cover by December 31 will no longer be able to renew their visas.

Employers in Dubai can expect to receive fines and be subject to severe visa sanctions for non-compliance with Dubai Law No. 11 of 2013 (the Dubai Health Insurance Law).

Read: Your guide to Dubai's mandatory health insurance scheme

As explained in the previous Khaleej Times report, the real-time system linking with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA) will be activated and in full effect as of January 1, 2017.

According to a circular issued by the DHA last month, the system has been developed to monitor and ensure compliance with the law. It's also designed to detect gaps in insurance. For example: if an individual's health insurance policy expires on February 1, 2017, and their visa expires on January 1, 2017, when they renew the visa during January 2017, it will be renewed without any issues.

However, if the individual does not maintain constant health insurance coverage, the system will track and log the gap in insurance upon the next visa renewal, ie, if they were uninsured for two months between visa renewals, they will incur a fine of Dh1,000 (Dh500 per month) at the time of renewal.

The fines can range up to Dh10,000 for failure in uploading policies by insurers resulting in visa delays.

The basic essential plan for unemployed dependents (65 years or younger) and domestic workers costs as little as Dh650 per year, while it goes up to Dh2,500 if a resident's sponsored parents are above the age of 65 years.

For unemployed, married women, the cost of coverage is between Dh1,600 and Dh1,750.

• UAE
• Dubai