UAE visa cancellation: Does your health insurance cover you during the grace period?

When your UAE residence visa is revoked, a grace period typically extends your stay for 30 to 90 days. However, this period does not automatically guarantee your employer-provided health insurance will remain effective throughout. Health insurance coverage rules vary across the UAE's different emirates, with no uniform standard.

In Dubai, employers are obligated to maintain health insurance for employees for 30 days following a visa cancellation, or until the employee departs the country, whichever occurs sooner. This 30-day window should not be mistaken for the immigration grace period, which allows prolonged residence. Other emirates may have more complex circumstances.

Firose Khan, CEO of Arabian Business Centre, notes that health insurance and residency visas may not share the same expiration date, and employers' policies differ. Some terminate insurance immediately upon visa cancellation, while others maintain coverage during the grace period, enabling time for new employment. Therefore, confirming the specifics of your health insurance with your former employer is advisable.

A visa cancellation signifies the termination of legal residency in the UAE, often initiated by the employer or the individual leaving the country. Following cancellation, the UAE grants a 30 to 90 day grace period to facilitate a new job search, visa category change, or departure planning. Employers in the UAE are mandated to provide health insurance for employees and, in Abu Dhabi, their dependents, including a spouse and up to three children under 18.

Similar obligations apply in Dubai, where health insurance is legally required for all private-sector workers and domestic workers, although employees must arrange coverage for family members if only the employee is insured.