Indian missions in the UAE have advised Indian nationals travelling to the country to take adequate medical insurance, including cover for medical repatriation to India. The advisory was issued on Tuesday, 27 October, by the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai and Northern Emirates. It followed several cases in which Indian nationals faced huge hospital bills after unforeseen illness or a medical emergency, and the patients or their families could not afford those bills because their insurance cover was inadequate.
The advisory asks people travelling to the UAE for a visit or for tourism to take adequate and appropriate medical insurance before the journey starts. The insurance should cover cashless facilities and the cost of medical repatriation to India if an unforeseen medical emergency occurs. Cashless facilities mean a hospital can settle the bill directly with the insurer, within the terms of the policy, rather than asking the patient to pay the full amount first and claim it back later. Repatriation cover pays for the cost of moving a patient back to India for further treatment, when that move is medically needed.
Indian nationals residing in the UAE on an employment visa or as dependants are also covered by the advisory. They are advised to verify that their medical insurance is adequate to cover all medical expenses in the UAE and medical repatriation to India. The check matters because a policy taken at the time of a job offer or a visa application may no longer match the cost of care, the hospital chosen or the treatment needed.
UAE advisory after large hospital bills
The missions said they have been receiving several instances of Indian nationals meeting with unforeseen illnesses or medical emergencies that resulted in huge medical bills beyond the capacity of the patient or their family members to bear, with inadequate insurance cover. The wording of the advisory points to two separate problems. One is the size of the bill. The other is the gap between the bill and the cover. A patient can have a policy and still face a large unpaid amount if the policy limit is low, if a treatment is excluded or if repatriation is not included.
For a visitor, the risk is higher because the visitor may have no local employer, no local health scheme and no long term doctor in the country of visit. The advisory therefore places the step before travel: take the insurance before the journey starts, and check that it includes repatriation.
UAE residents asked to check their cover
Residents on employment visas and dependants face a different version of the same risk. Many residents rely on insurance arranged through an employer or a sponsor. That insurance may cover routine care and hospital admission, but it may set limits on certain treatments, on the choice of hospital or on the cost of moving a patient to another country. The advisory asks residents to verify the cover, rather than assume it is enough.
The advisory does not name individual cases, and it does not give a figure for the bills involved. It states only that several instances have been received, and that the bills were beyond the capacity of the patient or the family to bear. That statement is the reason the missions issued the advice now, rather than as a general travel note. The advice is framed as a check to be made before travel and before a resident relies on an existing policy in an emergency.
UAE and India consular talks in July
In July, India and the UAE reiterated their commitment to protecting the safety, dignity and well-being of their citizens residing in each other’s territories at the 7th Meeting of the India-UAE Joint Committee on Consular Affairs. The meeting is the forum where the two countries discuss consular matters affecting their citizens in each other’s countries. Its July discussion provides the background to the advisory, because the same commitment to safety and well-being sits behind advice on medical cover.
The advisory from Abu Dhabi and Dubai therefore has two audiences and one message. Travellers should arrange adequate medical insurance, with cashless facilities and repatriation cover, before they leave India. Residents should verify that the insurance they already hold covers all medical expenses in the UAE and repatriation to India. The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai and Northern Emirates issued the advisory on 27 October, after several cases of huge hospital bills that patients and families could not afford.