ILOE Insurance 2026: Who Must Subscribe, Cost, Fines and How to Subscribe

ILOE insurance is the UAE’s compulsory Involuntary Loss of Employment insurance: a small monthly premium, paid by the employee, that buys a cash benefit of 60% of basic salary for up to three months if the job is lost for a reason other than resignation or disciplinary dismissal. It was created by Federal Decree-Law No. 13 of 2022 and runs through an insurance pool led by Dubai Insurance under an agreement with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). Private sector and federal government employees must subscribe to ILOE and keep the premiums paid. If they do not, an ILOE fine follows, and it can be recovered from wages or gratuity.

This guide covers the subscription side of the scheme: who must join and who is exempt, which category applies to you, what ILOE insurance costs, every channel to subscribe and pay, deadlines, how to check your status, what the fines are and how they are collected, and what happens when you change jobs. It is written from the legislation, the scheme’s own policy terms, iloe.ae, u.ae and MOHRE’s published statements, checked on 23 September 2026. Where official sources disagree, we show both.

ILOE insurance at a glance

The short version, with the source for each line. Every row is expanded further down.

ILOE insurance: how MIRDXB PRO helps

We will say this first, because it is true: if you are a salaried employee with an Emirates ID and a UAE mobile number, you can subscribe to ILOE yourself on iloe.ae or the ILOE app in a few minutes, and those two channels have no service charge. You do not need a PRO for that.

Where people do come to us is everything around it. An ILOE fine discovered when a new work permit is being processed. A certificate that was cancelled years ago and nobody noticed. A promotion that moved the basic salary into the higher category. A company that has just received MOHRE’s list of staff who never subscribed. Or someone abroad, or without UAE Pass access, who needs the fine cleared before a visa can move. We are a PRO and visa services firm in Al Barsha 1, and if you want the whole thing handled, that is our ILOE sign-up and fine clearance service.

What we do

• Check your position first. Whether a live certificate exists, its expiry date, the category it is in, what is outstanding on the statement, and whether MOHRE is showing an unpaid ILOE fine against your record.
• Set up or renew the policy correctly: the right sector, the right category for your documented basic salary, and a payment plan that will not quietly fail.
• Clear fines through MOHRE’s channels, including asking for an instalment plan or submitting a waiver request where the facts support one.
• Fix category problems after a salary change, and request the premium adjustment the policy allows.
• For employers: go through MOHRE’s list of unsubscribed staff, get each person subscribed in their own name, and make sure fines do not hold up work permit renewals.
• Tie it into the rest of the file. If your work permit, labour card or visa is being issued, renewed or cancelled at the same time, we handle the ILOE point alongside it so nothing stalls.

How it works

1. Message us on WhatsApp with your Emirates ID number, your employer type (mainland private, federal government, free zone) and what you think the problem is.
2. We check and explain. We tell you what we found and whether you can fix it yourself at no cost. If you can, we show you how.
3. If you want us to handle it, we confirm our fee in writing before we start.
4. We complete it and send you the certificate, the payment receipts and any MOHRE confirmation.
5. We tell you the renewal date so the policy does not lapse next year.

What it costs

The premium and any ILOE fine are government-set amounts, passed on at cost. The ILOE insurance cost itself is AED 5 or AED 10 a month plus VAT, and any channel charge is shown on the receipt. Our own service fee depends on what needs doing (a simple check, a fine clearance, a company-wide review) and is quoted in writing before we start. Our general price list is on our fees page.

Why residents and companies use us

• We publish our sources. Every figure in this guide links to the legislation, the scheme or a MOHRE statement, and we show you receipts for what we pay.
• We tell you when you do not need us. Subscribing on iloe.ae has no service charge and is quick; we will say so.
• We handle the whole labour and visa file, so an ILOE point does not hold up a work permit, a renewal or a cancellation.
• A real office. Al Barsha 1, Dubai. visits by appointment; whatsApp us any time, 24 hours; office open Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 (Dubai time).

The law behind ILOE insurance

ILOE insurance rests on two instruments. Knowing which says what helps when a website, an employer or a typing centre tells you something different.

Federal Decree-Law No. 13 of 2022 on Unemployment Insurance

This is the parent law for ILOE insurance. It was published on 15 September 2022 and set up the scheme in principle. The articles that matter for subscription are these:

• Article 3 sets the scope: the scheme applies to workers generally, but not to investors, domestic workers, temporary-contract workers, juveniles under 18, or retirees receiving a pension who have joined a new employer.
• Article 4 creates the scheme and leaves the subscription amounts and procedures to the Cabinet.
• Article 5 sets the key eligibility rule: at least 12 consecutive months of subscription before any compensation. It also says compensation stops once the person is hired by another employer.
• Article 6 sets the benefit at 60% of the contribution salary, for three months from the date of unemployment, within an overall cap.

Cabinet Resolution No. 97 of 2022 (mechanisms and controls)

This is where the working detail of ILOE insurance lives. It was issued in October 2022 and published in the Official Gazette (No. 738) on 31 October 2022.

Ministerial decisions and later changes

MOHRE implements the scheme through ministerial resolutions. The subscription deadline was first 30 June 2023 and was then extended to 1 October 2023, which is when the AED 400 fines started for people who had not joined. In December 2023 MOHRE said private sector employees who received work permits after 1 October 2023 had four months to subscribe. In early 2024, immigration advisers Fragomen and Vialto reported that MOHRE had started asking for proof of ILOE insurance with new and renewed mainland labour card applications. We could not find that requirement on a MOHRE service card, so treat it as widely reported practice rather than a published rule.

2025 and 2026: at our check on 23 September 2026, we found no amendment to Decree-Law 13/2022 or Cabinet Resolution 97/2022 changing the premiums, categories, exemptions or fine amounts. The figures in this guide are those in the 2022 texts, which the scheme’s website still uses. If a change is announced, the Official Gazette and uaelegislation.gov.ae are where it will appear first.

Who must subscribe to ILOE

Whether ILOE insurance is compulsory for you depends on your sector. The legal answer is short: every employee in the private sector and in the federal government sector, Emirati or resident, unless one of the five exemptions applies. The practical answer depends on who issued your work permit.

ILOE exemptions: who does not need to subscribe

Five groups are outside the scheme and do not need ILOE insurance. The wording below follows the u.ae portal and Decree-Law 13/2022, Article 3.

Grey areas we are asked about

Shareholders who are also employees. The exemption is written for the owner of the establishment where the person works. A minority shareholder on an employment contract and a MOHRE work permit is in a less obvious position. The law does not spell it out, so confirm with ILOE on 600599555 before you rely on either answer. Paying premiums for years and being refused at claim stage is a bad result, and so is an AED 400 ILOE fine for not joining.

Part-time workers. Part-time work is not one of the five exemptions. A part-time employee on a MOHRE permit is, on the wording, inside the scheme. If you hold two part-time jobs, you still subscribe as one person; the category turns on the basic salary on the contract. Confirm with ILOE how two contracts are treated.

Freelancers and self-employed people. A freelance permit holder who invoices clients has no employer, so there is no employment to lose “involuntarily”. The law does not name freelancers, but the scheme is built on an employment relationship. Our reading is that the scheme is not designed for them. Check with ILOE if your arrangement mixes freelance work with an employment contract. Our guide to UAE work permit types shows which permits create an employment relationship.

Temporary contracts versus limited-term contracts. Most UAE employment contracts are now fixed-term (limited) contracts. That is not the same as a temporary work contract. A standard fixed-term contract does not exempt you. Our guide to UAE employment contract types explains the difference.

ILOE insurance categories: A and B

Everything about ILOE insurance cost and cover follows from one number: your basic salary, and whether it is above AED 16,000. The scheme calls them Category A and Category B; the law calls them the first and second categories.

Basic salary, not your package

The AED 16,000 line is drawn against basic salary as written in your employment contract. Housing, transport and other allowances do not count. In many UAE packages the basic is 40% to 60% of the total, so someone earning AED 25,000 a month all-in may have a basic of AED 12,000 and sit in Category A.

This matters twice. The basic salary sets your premium, and it also sets the 60% your benefit is calculated on. Take the figure from your signed contract (MOHRE offer letter and contract), not from your bank credit.

If you are paid on commission

The policy terms say a worker paid on commission may choose the category if the basic salary is not stated in the job offer and contract. Treat it as a real decision. Category B costs about AED 63 a year more and raises the monthly cap from AED 10,000 to AED 20,000. Whether that helps depends on what your assessed basic is likely to be, because the benefit is still 60% of it.

If your contract does state a basic salary, you have no choice: the figure decides the category.

When your salary crosses AED 16,000

A pay rise does not upgrade your ILOE insurance by itself. The policy terms say that where the basic salary in the contract increases, the insured, on request, pays the increase in premium. Advisers reporting MOHRE’s November 2023 clarifications said a change of category should be notified to the ILOE insurer by email, while a job change or labour card renewal in the same category needs no update.

So you have to ask. If your basic is now AED 18,000 and you stay in Category A, a claim is capped at AED 10,000 a month instead of AED 10,800. At higher salaries the gap grows quickly. Make the request in the same week the new contract is signed.

ILOE insurance cost: what you actually pay

The premium for ILOE insurance is fixed by law. What varies is the payment plan you choose and whether the channel adds a service charge. The scheme’s website says the full VAT amount for the policy is added to the first instalment or payment. The totals below are our arithmetic at the standard 5% VAT rate for a 12-month policy.

The ILOE insurance cost over a year is the same on every plan: AED 63 or AED 126. Some press reports also mention a two-year option paid at once on the portal. If you see it, the same monthly rate applies.

Channel service charges on top of the ILOE insurance cost

iloe.ae lists the portal and the app as the direct channels. It groups exchange centres, business centres, SMS and telecom bills, kiosks, and bank apps and ATMs as other channels “subject to additional service charge upon subscription”. The charge is set by the channel, not by the law, so check the receipt. If you want the lowest ILOE insurance cost, use the portal or the app.

Is ILOE insurance worth it?

Yes, in plain numbers. A year of Category A premiums costs less than the AED 400 ILOE fine for not subscribing, and the cover can pay up to AED 30,000 on one claim. ILOE insurance will not replace a salary. It buys time between jobs, which is often what people run out of first.

How to subscribe to ILOE: step by step

To subscribe to ILOE you need very little: your Emirates ID number, a UAE mobile number that can receive a one-time password (OTP), and a payment card if you pay online. No employer letter is needed. Your basic salary is read from your MOHRE record.

On the ILOE portal (no service charge)

1. Go to www.iloe.ae and select “Subscribe/Renew Here”.
2. Choose your sector. Private sector and federal government employees use their own options. Free zone, semi-government and local government employees choose the “non-registered in MOHRE” route.
3. Enter your Emirates ID number and mobile number, and confirm with the OTP.
4. Check the details shown: your name, employer and the category (A or B). If the category looks wrong, stop and check your contract before paying.
5. Pick a payment plan (monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual) and the policy term offered.
6. Pay by card. The first payment includes the VAT for the whole policy.
7. Download the insurance certificate. It shows the certificate number, your unified number and the start and expiry dates.

On the ILOE app (no service charge)

The ILOE app on iOS, Android and Huawei AppGallery follows the same steps. It is also the easiest place to check your certificate and statement later, so it is worth installing even if you subscribe on the website.

By SMS

Send ID, a space, and your Emirates ID number to 2120, as shown on iloe.ae. The premium is then charged through your telecom account. It is quick, but see the warning below about telecom billing.

Every channel, compared

ILOE insurance deadlines: when you must subscribe

The ILOE insurance deadlines have changed since the scheme began, and a lot of what circulates online describes 2023.

What this means today. If you start a new private sector job, subscribe as soon as your Emirates ID or MOHRE record exists, and in any case within four months of the work permit. If the typing centre asks for the certificate during the labour card stage, subscribing on the portal takes minutes. The 12-month wait before you can claim starts on the day you subscribe, not the day you started work, so earlier is better.

Checking your ILOE insurance: certificate, statement and status

Having subscribed to ILOE insurance once does not mean you are covered now. Check the certificate is live, the expiry date is in the future and nothing is outstanding.

Renewing your ILOE insurance

The policy terms define the policy period as not less than 12 months, from the inception date to the expiry date shown on the certificate. When it ends, you renew through the same “Subscribe/Renew Here” button. Early subscribers from January 2023 were sent renewal reminders in December 2023, and the insurer has continued to send them by SMS.

Renewing on time matters because your eligibility depends on a continuous history. Whether an expired, unrenewed policy is treated as “not subscribing” (AED 400) or as “not paying” (AED 200) is not spelled out on an official page we could find. Press reports have described both. The safe course is to renew before the expiry date and avoid the question.

ILOE fine: amounts, collection and how to clear it

There are two ILOE fines in the law, and one important difference between the law and the government portal.

How ILOE fines are collected

Article 8 lets the fine be recovered by deduction from the insured’s account designated for receiving wages, from the end-of-service gratuity, or by another approved method. MOHRE’s statements in September and December 2023 put it more plainly: unpaid fines can be deducted through the Wage Protection System or from gratuity, and workers with unpaid fines can be refused new work permits until they pay.

In practice this means an ILOE fine tends to surface at the worst moment: when a new employer applies for your work permit, or when your final settlement is calculated. Our end-of-service gratuity guide shows how to read a final settlement line by line, and an ILOE deduction is one of the lines to look for.

How to check and pay an ILOE fine

1. Open MOHRE’s website or app and find “ILOE Quick Pay”. On the app you can sign in with UAE Pass.
2. Search by Emirates ID number, unified number, labour card number or the 14-digit personal code on your labour card.
3. Review the fines shown: the type, amount and date.
4. Choose what to do: pay in full by card, request instalments, or submit a waiver request.
5. Keep the receipt, and then deal with the cause: subscribe or re-subscribe so a new ILOE fine does not follow.

MOHRE said in December 2023 that its digital channels accept requests to pay in instalments, and fines can also be paid at authorised business service centres. Gulf News, describing the Quick Pay service in 2024, reported that waiver requests are decided within about 15 working days. Article 8 gives the Minister power to allow instalments or exemptions, so a waiver is a legal possibility, not a guarantee.

When a waiver request is worth making

• You were in an exempt group (for example an owner-investor or a domestic worker) and the fine was raised in error.
• You were not required to subscribe at the time (for example a free zone employee, where MOHRE has said subscription is optional).
• You paid, but the payment posted against the wrong reference, and you have the receipt.
• A system problem prevented subscription before a deadline, and you kept evidence of your attempts.

If none of these apply, paying the fine, or asking for instalments, is usually faster than arguing it.

Keeping ILOE insurance alive: the 90-day rule

Subscribing to ILOE insurance takes minutes. Staying continuously covered over years, payment cards and job changes is the harder part, and it is where most problems start.

A lapse does two things. It leaves you uninsured, and it restarts your 12-month waiting period. Someone who lapses in March, notices in August and re-subscribes is not covered again until the following August. If the job ends in between, there is no claim. The saving from the missed payments might be AED 15. The loss can be AED 30,000.

Two special cases in the ILOE insurance policy

The middle row catches people. Clearing an absconding report feels like the end of the problem, but for ILOE insurance it starts a three-month clock. Check your statement in the same week the report is cancelled. Our guide to checking an absconding case explains how to confirm the report’s status.

The yearly ILOE insurance check

1. Is the certificate active, and when does it expire? (“View Policy Details”)
2. Is anything outstanding? (“View Statement”)
3. Is the payment method still one you use?
4. Has your basic salary crossed AED 16,000?
5. Is your mobile number current? The OTP goes there.
6. Is there an ILOE fine on MOHRE’s Quick Pay screen?

ILOE insurance when you change jobs, have a gap or leave the UAE

Your ILOE insurance is personal. It is attached to you and your Emirates ID, not to your employer. Changing jobs does not cancel it, as long as the premiums keep being paid and the policy is renewed when it expires.

Moving between the private sector and a free zone deserves a check. Your ILOE insurance stays yours, but the sector you selected on the portal changes. Log in after the move and confirm the policy still shows correctly. If you cancel your employment visa, our guide to cancelling a UAE employment visa covers the normal steps, and ILOE should be on your checklist there too.

ILOE insurance and your employer: who does what

Many uninsured workers assumed their employer handled ILOE along with medical insurance. The law puts the obligation on the worker.

For employers: ILOE insurance good practice

• Put ILOE insurance in onboarding. New arrivals are most likely to miss it, and the 12-month wait hits them hardest.
• Say clearly that it is the employee’s own obligation. One line in the induction pack prevents most confusion.
• Check MOHRE’s list of unsubscribed staff before work permit renewals, so an ILOE fine does not hold a renewal up.
• Mention the category at salary reviews. The upgrade happens only on request.
• Issue termination letters promptly with the date and reason. The employee’s claim depends on it, and the deadline is 30 days.

Companies managing ILOE insurance for a large headcount usually handle this with their wider labour file. Our corporate PRO services cover ILOE checks as part of work permit renewals and cancellations.

Claiming ILOE compensation: the short version

Claiming on ILOE insurance is a separate process, covered in full in our guide to claiming ILOE compensation. The points that affect how you manage the policy are these:

• 12 consecutive months of subscription, with premiums paid on schedule.
• Not resignation, not disciplinary dismissal, and no absconding complaint against you.
• Claim within 30 days of the end of the employment relationship, through the ILOE portal, app or call centre.
• 60% of average basic salary over the last six months, for up to three months, capped at AED 10,000 or AED 20,000 a month.
• Payment within two weeks of a complete claim; it stops if you start a new job or leave the country.
• 12 months in total across your whole working life in the UAE.

Paying for ILOE insurance: a channel that will not fail you

Every channel for paying ILOE insurance works on the day you use it. They do not all survive three years of ordinary life equally well, and a lapse costs far more than the premium.

Our recommendation: pay annually on the portal or app, on a date you put in your calendar. AED 63 or AED 126 once a year, the same total as monthly, with the silent-failure risk removed. Use the same reminder for the yearly check above.

ILOE insurance for new arrivals: the first 90 days

The reason to take out ILOE insurance in the first week is arithmetic. Cover starts to count 12 months after you subscribe. Someone who subscribes on arrival can claim from month 13. Someone who subscribes in month six waits until month 18.

Troubleshooting: what goes wrong when you subscribe to ILOE

If two attempts to set up your ILOE insurance have not worked, stop and call ILOE on 600599555 or email ILOEHELP@ILOE.AE. The person on the phone can see the record you cannot. Keep a note of the date you first tried, in case a delay later matters for a fine.

ILOE insurance: six cases, worked through

These cases are built from the situations we see most often. Names and identifying details are left out, and the figures are the published ones.

1. Retail supervisor, new job held up by an ILOE fine

A Dubai retail supervisor on a basic of AED 6,000 had never subscribed, assuming it came with the visa. When a new employer applied for her work permit, MOHRE showed an unpaid AED 400 ILOE fine for not subscribing.

What applied: Cabinet Resolution 97/2022, Art. 8 (AED 400), and MOHRE’s statement that workers with unpaid fines can be refused new work permits. None of the waiver grounds applied.

Outcome: she paid the fine on MOHRE’s ILOE Quick Pay, subscribed on iloe.ae in Category A on an annual plan (AED 63), and the permit went ahead. Her 12-month waiting period started that day.

2. Engineer whose telecom-bill payment stopped

An engineer subscribed in 2023 by SMS, with the premium on his phone bill. In 2025 he changed mobile provider. The premiums stopped, and after 90 days the certificate was cancelled.

What applied: the policy’s 90-day rule, the AED 200 ILOE fine for non-payment, and the rule that a new policy is needed after cancellation.

Outcome: he paid the fine, took out a new policy paid annually on the app, and set a calendar reminder. Had his job ended in the following 12 months, he could not have claimed.

3. Accountant whose ILOE insurance stayed in the wrong category

An accountant’s basic salary rose from AED 14,000 to AED 18,000 with a new contract. Her policy stayed in Category A because nobody asked for a change.

What applied: the policy term allowing the premium increase on request, and the category caps in Cabinet Resolution 97/2022, Art. 10. At 60% of AED 18,000, her benefit would be AED 10,800 a month, but Category A caps it at AED 10,000.

Outcome: she asked ILOE to move her to Category B and paid the difference, AED 5 a month plus VAT. Over a three-month claim, that protects AED 2,400 that the old category would have cut.

4. Free zone marketing executive

A marketing executive in a Dubai free zone was told by a colleague that she would be fined for not subscribing.

What applied: MOHRE’s October 2023 statement that free zone employees may register on an optional basis, and the “non-registered in MOHRE” option on iloe.ae.

Outcome: no ILOE fine applied. She chose to subscribe anyway because the cover was worth more to her than AED 63 a year, and kept a copy of the certificate in case her employer asked.

5. Commission-based property consultant

A property consultant’s MOHRE contract stated no basic salary; he was paid on commission.

What applied: the policy term allowing a commission-based worker to choose the category when the basic salary is not specified.

Outcome: he compared the extra premium with the likely benefit. Because the benefit is 60% of the assessed basic, he confirmed with ILOE how that would be worked out before choosing a category.

6. Small company with staff who never took out ILOE insurance

A trading company with 14 staff found, when renewing two work permits, that MOHRE’s list showed four employees had never subscribed and two had lapsed policies.

What applied: each worker’s own obligation to subscribe, the AED 400 and AED 200 ILOE fines, and the risk of renewals being held up.

Outcome: each employee subscribed in their own name, with fines paid or put on instalments through MOHRE. The company added ILOE to onboarding and to its annual renewal checklist.

ILOE insurance: what circulates online that is not true

How to verify every ILOE insurance figure in this guide

What we will and will not do

We will check your ILOE insurance and fine status with a file check (AED 100, 5% VAT included, fully credited to your fee if you go ahead), tell you when you can fix it yourself at no cost, subscribe or renew you in the right category, clear fines through MOHRE’s channels (including instalment and waiver requests where the facts support them), and handle ILOE alongside your work permit, visa or cancellation.

We will not promise that MOHRE will waive a fine, subscribe you in a category that does not match your contract, pay premiums through a channel you did not choose, or ask for your card details. You pay premiums and fines to the official channels; our fee is separate and in writing.

Related guides

• Claiming ILOE compensation: eligibility, the 30-day deadline and what gets refused
• End-of-service gratuity in the UAE: the other money due when a job ends
• The Wage Protection System explained: the channel ILOE fines can be recovered through
• UAE employment contract types: where your basic salary is written
• UAE work permit types: which permits create an employment relationship
• How to cancel an employment visa: the normal route when you leave a job
• What MOHRE is and does: the ministry that runs the scheme
• Employment visa cost breakdown: where ILOE fits in the cost of a job

Getting ILOE, work permits and the rest of the labour file right, first time, is what our PRO services in Dubai team handles.