What Is the Northern Emirates Health Mandate?
The Northern Emirates Health Insurance Mandate requires every employer operating in Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain (UAQ), Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), and Fujairah to provide a basic health insurance plan for each employee on their payroll. This regulation came into full force on 1 January 2025 and brings the Northern Emirates in line with the mandatory health insurance schemes already operating in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
If you run a business in any of these five emirates — whether you have 2 employees or 2,000 — this applies to you. There are no size exemptions. Every visa-sponsored employee must be covered.
Who Is Covered and When?
The mandate covers all employees sponsored under your company's trade licence. This includes full-time staff, part-time workers, and domestic workers sponsored by the company. Dependants (spouses and children) are not required under the basic mandate but can be added as optional top-up cover.
- New employees: Cover must be in place from their first day of employment. You cannot onboard a new hire without an active policy.
- Existing employees: If a current employee's visa comes up for renewal, you must ensure a compliant plan is active at the point of renewal — you cannot renew the visa without it.
- Employees already on coverage: If your existing policy meets or exceeds the mandated minimum benefit schedule, you are already compliant. Check with your broker to confirm.
What Does the Basic Plan Cover?
The mandated minimum benefit schedule includes inpatient hospitalisation, day-case surgery, emergency care, maternity (basic), and outpatient consultations with government network hospitals. The plan does NOT need to be a gold-plated private plan — a basic network plan qualifies. Prices for compliant plans start from approximately AED 225 per employee per year for the most basic coverage, and typically range up to AED 800–1,200 per year depending on the insurer, the network, and any add-ons you include.
For context, most SMEs with 5–50 employees are finding that a group plan in the AED 400–700 per person per year range gives solid coverage and keeps premiums manageable. Advice works with 30+ UAE insurers and can benchmark your quote across all of them in a single request.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
The fine structure is serious and designed to hurt businesses that drag their feet:
- AED 300 per uninsured employee per month for the first offence period.
- Fines can escalate up to AED 150,000 per month for large-scale or repeat non-compliance.
- Visa renewals and new visa applications will be blocked until compliant cover is in place.
- Ministry of Human Resources can flag the company, affecting labour card renewals and free zone operating licences.
The risk of ignoring this is not just a fine — it is your ability to operate. A blocked visa renewal means you cannot keep the employee legally in the country, which triggers its own set of labour law complications.
How Advice Gets You Compliant — Fast
We are a licensed UAE insurance broker (CBUAE Licence No. 281) based in Fujairah, covering all seven emirates. We specialise in getting Northern Emirates businesses compliant quickly:
- One call or WhatsApp message and we assess your current situation.
- We compare compliant plans from all approved insurers operating in the Northern Emirates.
- Most businesses are quoted, bound, and issued policy documents within 2–3 working days.
- We handle the paperwork, certificates, and insurer coordination — you just approve and pay.
Do not wait for a visa renewal deadline to trigger a scramble. Call Advice today on +971 9 222 1133 or send us a WhatsApp and we will sort your compliance before it costs you more than it should.