Health insurance for your maid: what each emirate requires

Dubai's health insurance law and MOHRE's scheme for the five northern emirates make you insure your maid at your own cost, and tie the policy to her residence permit. MOHRE's renewal service says that in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, employers are required to provide adequate medical insurance to their domestic workers.

MOHRE is the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. Its scheme covers Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, which this guide calls the northern emirates. The Domestic Workers Decree-Law is Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, and it covers domestic workers in all seven emirates. Health insurance is also separate from the domestic worker insurance policy MOHRE asks for before it issues a work permit: both are explained below.

Is health insurance mandatory for a maid in the UAE?

In Dubai and the northern emirates, yes, and you need the policy for her residence permit. In Abu Dhabi, yes too, according to MOHRE's renewal service, and a federal rule applies as well (see below). Here is how the rules compare:

Insurance comes up again whenever you renew her contract. MOHRE's conditions for renewing a domestic worker's employment contract include that the worker is inside the UAE, with a passport valid for at least three months, a valid medical fitness result, a medical insurance policy and an Emirates ID renewal application. MOHRE's renewal service page (opens in a new tab) has the full list, and our guides to the maid visa process and renewing your maid's visa show where each step falls.

Is health insurance compulsory for a maid in Dubai?

Yes. The rule is in Dubai Law No. 11 of 2013 on health insurance. In Dubai, employers must enrol their employees in health insurance, and sponsors must enrol the people they sponsor who have no employer cover; employers and sponsors pay the cost, may not charge it to the insured person, and must produce the policy when a residence permit is issued or renewed.

In plain terms, you buy her policy, you pay for it, and you can't pass the cost on to her. The law doesn't mention domestic workers by name: a family falls under the duties it sets for employers and sponsors. Dubai Law No. 11 of 2013 on health insurance sets fines of AED 500 to AED 150,000 for violations.

We found no official page that gives the price of a plan for a domestic worker in Dubai, so ask insurers for written quotes and compare what each plan covers. If an insurer or a visa service tells you the rules are different, check with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).

Is maid health insurance mandatory in Sharjah and the other northern emirates?

Yes. As of September 2026, MOHRE's page on its Basic Health Insurance Scheme sets out the rule and the price. In Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, health insurance for domestic workers has been mandatory since 1 January 2025, paid by the employer; the basic package costs AED 320 a year.

A co-payment is the share of each bill that the insurance doesn't pay. As MOHRE's page listed the basic package's terms on 29 September 2026:

• MOHRE's basic health insurance package for the northern emirates is valid for two years, and the second-year premium can be refunded if the visa is cancelled.
• MOHRE's basic health insurance package for the northern emirates has co-payments of 20% for inpatient care, capped at AED 500 a visit and AED 1,000 a year, and 25% for outpatient care, up to AED 100 a visit; it covers pre-existing chronic diseases without a waiting period, but not pregnancy, childbirth or dental care.
• MOHRE's page also sets a co-payment for medicines: ask the insurer how it works before you rely on it.

The same page ties the policy to her residence permit. In Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, employers must buy the health insurance policy to issue or renew a domestic worker's residence permit, and for a worker whose work permit is dated before 1 January 2025, it must be bought when the residence permit is renewed.

MOHRE's page lists the MOHRE UAE app and business services and guidance centres among the places to buy the package. Prices and co-payments can change, so check MOHRE's page on the scheme (opens in a new tab) before you buy.

Is health insurance mandatory for a maid in Abu Dhabi?

Yes. MOHRE's renewal service says that in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, employers are required to provide adequate medical insurance to their domestic workers. The Domestic Workers Decree-Law's federal rule applies there too. In Abu Dhabi, as in every emirate, the employer must pay for a domestic worker's medical care under the UAE health system or provide health insurance under the applicable health laws.

MOHRE's renewal service page also lists a medical insurance policy among its conditions for renewing her contract (see above). It doesn't say what adequate cover means, and we found no official page that gives the price of a plan for a domestic worker in Abu Dhabi. Before you sponsor her, ask Abu Dhabi's Department of Health, or the insurer, what cover she needs, and get the answer in writing.

Which insurance does your maid need, and when?

Two different policies come up, at different stages. In order:

1. First, the domestic worker insurance policy. Before a work permit is issued, the employer must buy a domestic worker insurance policy that covers the worker's unpaid dues up to AED 20,000.
2. Then, in Dubai and the northern emirates, her health insurance, before her residence permit is issued. In Abu Dhabi, see the section above. If she is already in the UAE, our guide to hiring a helper already in the UAE shows where this step falls.
3. At renewal: MOHRE lists a medical insurance policy among its conditions for renewing her contract, and in Dubai and the northern emirates her residence permit needs a valid policy when it is renewed. We found no official page that says whether the domestic worker insurance policy has to be bought again, so ask MOHRE on 600 590000.

The two policies do different jobs. The domestic worker insurance policy covers her unpaid dues, while health insurance pays towards her medical care. When you buy a policy, check which of the two it is, and get what it covers in writing. Our guides to the maid visa cost and to a live-in maid's first-year budget show where both sit among your other costs.

Who pays for a maid's health insurance?

You do, if you sponsor her yourself. The rules say so in three ways:

• In Dubai, the emirate's health insurance law says employers and sponsors pay the cost and may not charge it to the insured person.
• In the northern emirates, MOHRE's scheme says the employer pays.
• In every emirate, the Domestic Workers Decree-Law adds a general rule. An employer may not charge a domestic worker any cost, directly or indirectly, unless the law, the regulations, MOHRE decisions or the approved contract allow it.

It works differently when a helper registered with a licensed recruitment office works for you on its Temporary or Flexible package. Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, the agency sponsors the worker in the Temporary package and holds the worker's visa in the Flexible package, and in both it pays the worker's salary, legal entitlements and medical costs. If you use one, ask the office in writing whether its price includes her health insurance. In a Traditional package she is on your own file, so you are her sponsor. Our guide to Tadbeer centres explains the packages.

How can MaidMatch help?

By helping you find a helper, and by connecting you with a visa partner if you'd like the visa and insurance handled for you. Most helpers listed on MaidMatch are already in the UAE and ready to work. MaidMatch is a free platform for families: they can browse every profile at no cost, with no registration or subscription required. Families contact helpers directly on WhatsApp, through the Hire button on each profile.

Sponsorship is the employer's responsibility; families can manage the visa themselves or ask MaidMatch to connect them with its visa partners. MaidMatch's visa partner offers a two-year employment visa, with the visa, medical test, Emirates ID and insurance handled end to end. Before you go ahead, ask the partner which insurance that includes (health insurance, the domestic worker insurance policy or both), who sponsors her on that visa and what the two years cover. Our partners page has the details and the current price.

Or browse helpers in your emirate: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. From each page, open the full list to filter by nationality and live-in or live-out, sort by salary, and watch helpers' video CVs before you get in touch.