UAE travel advisory: Indian embassy urges visitors to get comprehensive insurance

Abu Dhabi: Indian diplomatic missions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday issued an official advisory urging Indian citizens visiting the country to obtain comprehensive health insurance, including coverage for medical repatriation to India.

The caution follows multiple reported cases of citizens incurring exorbitant hospital bills that they and their families were unable to afford.

The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi, alongside the Consulate General of India in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, released the joint notice, prompting Indian nationals living in the UAE on work visas or as dependants to verify that their existing policy limits sufficiently meet prospective healthcare costs.

“The Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi and Consulate General of India, Dubai and Northern Emirates have been receiving several instances of Indian nationals meeting with unforeseen illnesses or medical emergencies resulting in huge medical bills beyond the capacity of the patient or their family members to bear and having inadequate insurance cover,” the advisory stated.

“All Indian nationals who are travelling to UAE for visit or tourism purposes are hereby advised to take adequate and appropriate medical insurance, prior to commencement of their journey, which also covers cashless facilities including the cost of medical repatriation to India in the event of unforeseen medical emergency,” it said.

“Indians residing in UAE on employment visa or as dependants are advised to verify that their medical insurance is adequate to cover all medical expenses in UAE and medical repatriation to India,” the statement added.

In July, India and the UAE reaffirmed their commitment to safeguarding the welfare, security, and dignity of their respective expatriate populations during the 7th Meeting of the India-UAE Joint Committee on Consular Affairs (JCCA).

Hosted in New Delhi on July 22, the session was co-chaired by Sripriya Ranganathan, Secretary (CPV and OIA) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), and Omar Obaid Alhesan Alshamsi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The JCCA conference was preceded by technical discussions addressing bilateral consular matters, employment and mobility frameworks, alongside extradition and mutual legal assistance protocols.

ANI