Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

Hi,

one question keeps me going these days.

I wonder if its actually possible to have a health insurance in the UAE even if you have no residence visa.
My broker said, it´s not possible. But nowadays things change here a lot and i wonder if somebody knows a solution for this.

Friends of mine who have no residence visa because they are here with their boyfriend or so (not every couple is married here in dxb) would struggle if they need to go to hospital for treatment whether it´s because of sickness or a broken leg visit in ski dubai or something

any idea how to solve this problem here in the UAE?

well let me ask you this, if you aren't a resident then you're a tourist right? why not get travel insurance? it won't cover you for things like dental and regular checkups but at least your good for emergencies?


btw what do you mean there are couples here that aren't married

Fayz, unfortunately most travel insurance companies demand certain conditions, like being resident of the country where it was bought. For instance, UK travel insurance is only for UK residents. And they usually have a limit of travel time, i,e,maximum 60 days or something like that. Even anual policies have a limit for each travel.

However, there are special policies for gap years, where the amount of time allowed is a lot more (a year or so), so maybe one of these could do.

So if you are going to go for any of these, just make sure you read carefully the small prints, as there is no point of paying and insurance, only to find out that it won't cover you after all. And believe me, those stupid insurance companies will find whatever reason not to pay, I know this just too well.

saymen wrote:I wonder if its actually possible to have a health insurance in the UAE even if you have no residence visa.

It depends on the company and your status. If really are a tourist then probably not. If you're on renewable visit visas, ask the company and explain your situation. Be upfront. If you're not, and sign up, you might not find out insurance was invalid until you make a claim.

Julieta wrote:Fayz, unfortunately most travel insurance companies demand certain conditions, like being resident of the country where it was bought. For instance, UK travel insurance is only for UK residents. And they usually have a limit of travel time, i,e,maximum 60 days or something like that. Even anual policies have a limit for each travel.

However, there are special policies for gap years, where the amount of time allowed is a lot more (a year or so), so maybe one of these could do.

So if you are going to go for any of these, just make sure you read carefully the small prints, as there is no point of paying and insurance, only to find out that it won't cover you after all. And believe me, those stupid insurance companies will find whatever reason not to pay, I know this just too well.

I got my AXA travel insurance for one year worldwide (except US/CA) coverage from my company (Dubai) in addition to family health insurance because I travel out of the country a lot. At least I needed this for applying many visas too.

So they could also obtain a travel insurance from wherever they come from. Off course, not from Dubai-based insurance company since they're not residents.