Dubai's health insurance framework covered more than 4.9 million beneficiaries and logged 49.6 million claims in 2025, according to Dubai Health Authority figures. The emirate's Essential Benefits Plan mandates an overall annual limit of AED 150,000 alongside specific co-insurance and medicine caps. Employers and family sponsors must navigate detailed co-payments and provider network restrictions across basic and federal coverage tiers.
Dubai's General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs clarified four mandatory conditions for skilled workers seeking a five-year green residency visa. Applicants require an active UAE work permit, valid employment contract, a bachelor's degree, and a minimum monthly salary of AED 15,000. The programme is restricted to specific occupational classifications set by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
Effective 1 October 2026, holding a valid tax invoice alone is no longer sufficient to recover input VAT in the UAE under FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026. Businesses must perform structured due diligence on suppliers and transactions to avoid denial of VAT deductions linked to supply chain evasion. Transactions over AED 375,000 on a rolling 12-month basis trigger enhanced verification requirements, including bank confirmation letters.
The UAE Cabinet has issued Decision No. 149 of 2026 amending the Executive Regulation of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 on Value Added Tax, effective 1 October 2026. The revisions introduce an anti-fragmentation rule for supplies, restrict input VAT recovery on qualifying cash transactions, and clarify conditions for claiming input VAT on employee benefits. Further updates address financial services recovery criteria, medical products, profit margin schemes, capital assets, and tax credit notes.
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