UAE Visa Medical Test 2026: Who Needs It, What Is Screened, Fees in Every Emirate and What Happens If a Result Is Not Clear

The UAE visa medical test is a compulsory communicable disease screening that every expatriate aged 18 or over must pass before a residence visa is issued or renewed, and its result is issued as a medical fitness certificate that the immigration authority reads electronically. It is carried out by Dubai Health medical fitness centres in Dubai, by DoH-licensed visa screening providers in Abu Dhabi, and by Emirates Health Services centres in Sharjah and the Northern Emirates. The core test is a blood sample and a chest X-ray. It is not a general health check: people with diabetes, heart conditions or a history of surgery pass without difficulty, because the residency medical test looks only for a short, legislated list of infections.

This guide is written from the federal legislation, the EHS, Dubai Health and DoH service pages and standards, and u.ae, checked on 23 September 2026. It covers who has to take the UAE visa medical test, what is screened for each occupation, the procedure and visa medical fees in each emirate, how results reach GDRFA and ICP, and exactly what the law says happens if something is found. It does not give medical advice, and nothing here replaces a conversation with a doctor.

UAE visa medical test at a glance

Where your test is done depends on the emirate that issues the residence, not where you live. The first digit of a residence file number shows the issuing emirate: 1 Abu Dhabi, 2 Dubai, 3 Sharjah, 4 Ajman, 5 Umm Al Quwain, 6 Ras Al Khaimah, 7 Fujairah.

Visa medical fitness test in Dubai: our typing service, fee and turnaround

The medical is the shortest step in any residence visa and the one most likely to be scheduled badly. Done in the right slot it adds two days. Done in the wrong slot it adds two weeks, or has to be repeated. What goes wrong is everything around the test itself: the wrong category booked for a nanny or a salon worker, a result that never links to the residence application, a medical done so early that the certificate lapses, or a pregnant spouse who does not know what to ask about the X-ray. We are a PRO and visa services firm in Al Barsha 1, and we do the medical typing and booking for new and renewal visas, at GDRFA in Dubai and through ICP for the other emirates.

What we do

• Medical typing for new visas and renewals. We type the application against the live entry permit, status change or Emirates ID, so the result links to the right residence file.
• Book the right category. We check the job title on the visa and book the category that matches it, so a housemaid, a driver or a beautician is screened for what the law asks and the fee is right.
• Choose the speed with you. Regular, express or Smart Salem, depending on how close the entry permit, status change or renewal deadline is. If a work visa renewal is due this week, our urgent employment visa renewal service books the fastest medical as part of the file.
• Sequence the file. Medical, Emirates ID biometrics and residence stamping in the right order, with the timings shown to you in advance.
• Track the result and move the residence on as soon as the medical fitness certificate is issued, with updates on WhatsApp until the file closes.
• Tell you plainly when a result is not ours to handle. A referral is not automatically a refusal. If you are referred, tell us: we will explain the published process honestly rather than keep the file running, and the medical questions stay with the doctors.

What to bring to the appointment

• Original passport
• Entry permit or current visa page
• Passport photograph to specification (white background)
• Emirates ID, if you already hold one (needed for a renewal)
• Application form or typing centre reference

How it works, and how long it takes

What it costs with us

The visa medical fee is a government or health-authority fee, and we pass it on at cost with the receipt. Our own service fee depends on whether we handle only the visa medical or the whole residence file, and it is fixed and agreed in writing before we start. Our general pricing approach is on the fees page.

Why residents use us

• We publish our sources. Every figure in this guide links to the legislation or the health authority page it came from.
• We cover both immigration systems: GDRFA for Dubai-issued visas and ICP for the other emirates.
• We tell you when you do not need us. Booking a straightforward DHA medical test yourself through the Salem portal or the EHS app is simple, and we will say so.
• You can walk in. Our office is in Al Barsha 1, open by appointment; whatsApp us any time, 24 hours; office open Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 (Dubai time).

The law behind the UAE visa medical test

The residency medical test is not a policy of any one centre or emirate. It rests on federal legislation, and knowing which instrument says what explains why the rules look the way they do and why nobody at a counter can change a result.

Two practical points follow. First, the diseases and the consequences are set in Cabinet resolutions, so they are the same in every emirate; what differs is who runs the centres, how fast they work and what they charge. Second, because the outcome is legislated, it is not negotiable by an employer, a typing centre or a PRO company. Anybody offering to “fix” a result is describing something that does not exist.

Who needs the UAE visa medical test

The rule is simple once the two thresholds are separated: age, and whether you are applying for or renewing a residence. EHS lists the condition as a minimum age of 18 and its target audience as “residents aged 18 and above”. The DoH standard applies screening to “expatriates aged 18+ years seeking residency” and excludes visit visa holders. Dubai Health describes the service as for “all individuals applying for or renewing their UAE residency visa”.

Children: 18 for the residency medical test, 15 for fingerprints

Parents often expect to book a medical for a ten-year-old and are told none is needed. That is correct. The threshold that catches families out is a different one: ICP requires fingerprints and signature for its Emirates ID from age 15. So a 16-year-old may be called for biometrics without any medical, and a 19-year-old needs both. Our family visa renewal documents checklist puts both ages in one table.

Renewals are not exempt

People who have lived in the UAE for years sometimes assume the residency medical test is a first-time formality. It is not. Dubai Health, EHS and the DoH standard all cover renewals, and the 2016 amendment made TB screening at renewal universal. Expect a fresh UAE visa medical test and a new medical fitness certificate every time the residence is renewed, whatever the visa length.

What the UAE visa medical test screens for, by occupation

Everybody is screened for the same baseline. Certain occupations are screened for more, because the job brings the worker into close contact with children, food, blood or the public. The groupings below combine Cabinet Resolution 7 of 2008 (as amended) with the category names used in the DoH standard; EHS and Dubai Health apply the same federal list with their own category letters.

The 2008 resolution itself describes the baseline this way: AIDS (HIV), tuberculosis and leprosy are examined for all categories at first issue and renewal, and viral hepatitis and syphilis only for the listed occupations. u.ae summarises the same position: foreign nationals “need to be free of all forms of communicable diseases such as HIV and TB”, certain categories of workers “should test negative for syphilis and Hepatitis B”, and “female domestic workers must test negative for pregnancy”.

What happens in the room at a visa medical

EHS publishes its steps: check in at the customer happiness counter, visit radiology for the X-ray, then a physician evaluation, with results sent by email and SMS. Dubai Health lists blood collection, chest X-ray and vaccinations “for certain profession categories only”. The DoH standard adds a leprosy check by physical examination, looking for skin patches and loss of sensation, with suspected cases referred to a dermatologist. There is no fitness test, no interview about your medical history in the insurance sense and, under the published rules, no drug screen. The residency medical test is looking for a specific list, not forming a general opinion of your health.

Hepatitis B vaccination

Workers in the screened occupations who test negative for hepatitis B are vaccinated. The 2008 resolution provides a three-dose course and says a worker who shows the vaccination certificate at renewal is not revaccinated. The DoH standard gives the schedule (first dose at the visit, second after one month, third after six months) and exempts applicants who show attested proof of vaccination or a positive antibody (anti-HBs) report. Under Cabinet Resolution 4 of 2025, the first dose at EHS costs AED 50 and the second and third doses cost nothing. Keep the vaccination card: it saves the dose and the fee next time.

Chest X-ray and TB in the UAE visa medical test

Tuberculosis is the finding people worry about most, and it is also where the rules are most often misstated. Here is what the published sources actually say.

Is there a chest X-ray in the DHA medical test?

Yes. Dubai Health’s service page for the medical fitness exam lists “chest X-ray” among the tests, alongside blood collection. Smart Salem describes the visit as registration, examination, blood test and chest X-ray. u.ae still carries an older line saying Abu Dhabi screens for pulmonary TB by chest X-ray and “the emirate of Dubai does not”; the Dubai provider’s own page contradicts it, and in practice an X-ray is part of the UAE visa medical test in every emirate. Our previous version of this guide repeated the u.ae line; it is corrected below.

First-time applicants and TB

Under the 2008 resolution as amended, a new applicant found with active or old pulmonary TB is classed as unfit and the residence is not issued. That is the hardest line in the TB rules, and it applies at the first residence, not at renewal.

Residents renewing and TB

At renewal the position is different. u.ae, summarising the 2016 amendment: “Those found with scars or active TB or found having drug-resistant TB will be issued a conditional fitness certificate and a residence visa for one year. They will have to undergo treatment in the UAE.” The resolution’s wording has the certificate marked “subject to treatment”. Treatment is supervised (the resolution refers to directly observed therapy, DOTS), and a resident who does not comply, including missing three consecutive preventive medicine visits, is then treated as unfit and the permit is not renewed. Drug-resistant TB is treated until cured before renewal is considered.

Who is exempt from the TB unfitness rule

The resolution lists categories that are not refused on TB grounds, though they remain under preventive medicine follow-up:

• members of the diplomatic and consular corps, on the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs;
• relatives of resident expatriates: spouse, dependent children in education and parents;
• major investors, with the health authority’s approval on the economic authority’s recommendation;
• other categories set by the competent committee.

Old scars, latent TB and follow-up

A person treated for TB years ago can still show scarring on an X-ray. Under the DoH standard, an abnormal X-ray is read independently by a second and a third radiologist. Where pulmonary TB is suspected, sputum samples are collected (within three working days of the X-ray) and tested by TB PCR, culture and drug sensitivity. Old or inactive TB can be certified with the sponsor’s consent and a follow-up schedule: a repeat X-ray after three months, then every six months for two years if unchanged. The standard also refers to latent TB infection detected by IGRA blood tests. None of this is something you can prepare paperwork for. If you know you had TB, bring any treatment records you have and follow the centre’s instructions.

HIV, hepatitis, syphilis and leprosy: what a positive result means

The consequences below are those set by Cabinet Resolution 7 of 2008 as amended, cross-checked with the DoH standard. They are stated as the law states them; how they are applied to a particular person is for the health authority.

Article 5 of the resolution places positive cases under the preventive measures of Federal Law No. 14 of 2014 on communicable diseases. In Abu Dhabi, the DoH standard says confirmed HIV and hepatitis C cases are referred to infectious disease clinics. Medical records are confidential and are released only to screening staff and the health authorities named in the consent form.

Reactive does not mean confirmed: retests in the visa medical

A first blood test that comes back “reactive” is a screening flag, not a diagnosis. The DoH standard requires a second sample within 7 to 10 days for confirmation, and if the applicant does not give one, confirmation is run on the first sample. Dubai Health and EHS do not publish their confirmation steps in the same detail, but the principle of confirmatory testing is standard laboratory practice. If you are called back, go: a missed recall can hold the whole residence file.

Pregnancy and the residency medical test

Two separate questions get mixed together here: the pregnancy test for domestic workers, and the chest X-ray for a woman who is pregnant.

The pregnancy test for domestic workers

The resolution requires a pregnancy test for domestic workers before the medical fitness certificate is issued. The DoH standard makes it explicit that it applies to all female new and renewal applicants in category Bi. It is priced as a separate line: AED 50 in the federal fee table, and an extra AED 50 in Dubai’s catalogue. A positive result does not make the worker unfit; the employer decides, in writing, whether she will work for them.

The chest X-ray during pregnancy

The clearest published rule is Abu Dhabi’s. The DoH standard says: “The chest x-ray should not be performed for pregnant women whether the pregnancy is obvious, or if a pregnancy test is positive.” The X-ray is postponed until two months after delivery, and the sponsor signs a consent form accepting the postponement and responsibility for the follow-up appointment. Dubai Health and EHS do not publish an equivalent rule on their service pages. If you are pregnant, tell the centre at registration, before radiology, and ask how they handle the X-ray; bring evidence of the pregnancy if you have it.

DHA medical test in Dubai: step by step

If the residence is Dubai-issued, the DHA medical test is done at a Dubai Health medical fitness centre and the result goes to GDRFA Dubai. Dubai Health says it runs “a network of 21 medical fitness centers” across the emirate, several of them “Smart” centres with paperless, fast-track processing.

1. Have the application ready. For a new visa, the entry permit or status change must exist first, because the DHA medical test is registered against it. For a renewal, the Emirates ID identifies you.
2. Apply through the Salem portal (Dubai Health’s booking system), the Dubai Health app, a typing centre or Amer. Choose the service speed and the centre.
3. Pay the fee for the category and speed. Domestic workers are booked in the household domestic category.
4. Attend with the documents Dubai Health lists: the completed registration form, your original valid Emirates ID or passport, a passport-size photo with a white background, and a copy of the e-visa (entry permit).
5. Complete the tests: blood collection, chest X-ray, and vaccination if your profession requires it.
6. Receive the result by SMS or email. Dubai Health also offers online status tracking once you have been examined.
7. The result links to GDRFA and the residence application can move to Emirates ID biometrics and issue.

DHA medical test speeds and visa medical fees

The current official price list for Dubai is Dubai Health’s medical fitness packages list, dated December 2025 and checked on 14 October 2026; confirm the price on the booking screen. Smart Salem’s own site shows its current prices.

Smart Salem centres

Smart Salem, licensed by Dubai Health, lists three centres on its site: Index Tower, DIFC; Dubai Knowledge Park, TECOM; and City Walk, Al Wasl Road. All three open Monday to Friday, and TECOM and City Walk also open at weekends (hours on smartsalem.ae). It sells a standard visa medical test, a Golden Visa medical test and a household domestic test, all described as results in 30 minutes. Dubai Health’s contact number is 800 60.

UAE visa medical test in Abu Dhabi

For an Abu Dhabi-issued residence, the screening is carried out by DoH-licensed visa screening providers under the Department of Health’s Standard for Visa Screening Program. The Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre has stated that nine centres affiliated with SEHA (the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company) carry out the residency test, and other licensed providers operate alongside them. The result goes to ICP.

How the Abu Dhabi residency medical test runs

1. Book with a licensed provider. You are identified by the unified number (new applicants) or Emirates ID (renewals), plus name, date of birth or nationality.
2. Chest X-ray, digital, read by DoH-licensed radiologists; any abnormal image goes to a second and third reader. X-ray processing is completed within 24 hours.
3. Blood tests for HIV and, by category, hepatitis B and C and syphilis.
4. Physical check for leprosy by a physician or trained nurse using a checklist.
5. Pregnancy test for female category Bi applicants; X-ray deferred for pregnant women.
6. Result: fit, conditionally fit (with follow-up) or unfit (reported to the Ministry of Interior, unless an exemption applies).

Abu Dhabi visa medical fees

DoH’s standard does not set prices. The figures below are those reported by the press from provider and ADPHC information; confirm with the provider when you book.

Abu Dhabi also requires health insurance from employers and sponsors for employees and their families (one spouse and three children under 18, per u.ae). Health insurance and the residency medical test are separate obligations: one is an insurance policy, the other a public health screening. Both are needed for the residence.

UAE visa medical test in Sharjah and the Northern Emirates (EHS)

For residences issued in Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, the residency medical test is run by Emirates Health Services, the federal health provider that took over the former Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) hospitals and centres. EHS describes the service as enabling “an expatriate to obtain a fitness certificate … to prove that he is free from communicable and infectious diseases”. The result goes to ICP.

EHS visa medical steps, as published

1. Log in with UAE PASS on the EHS website or app.
2. Book the appointment.
3. Pay the fees if required.
4. Arrive 20 minutes early and check in at the customer happiness centre.
5. Go to radiology for the X-ray.
6. See the physician for the evaluation.
7. Receive the result by email and SMS. EHS gives 24 hours to issue the report and result.

EHS asks for a passport-type photo and a valid passport or valid Emirates ID, and notes that a renewal requires the Emirates ID. Companies sending ten or more workers need delegate cards. The service is available at medical examination centres and public health centres listed in the EHS app.

EHS visa medical fees: the card and the Cabinet fee table

The card totals are AED 10 above the Cabinet components in each category. Neither source explains the difference; it may be a printing or processing charge, and “service centre fees” are added on top. Where the second and third hepatitis B doses are needed, the Cabinet table sets no fee for them.

Visa medical fees across the UAE, with their sources

Here are all the visa medical fees in one place. Where two official sources give different figures, both are shown. Typing and service centre charges sit on top, and the figure on your payment screen is the one that counts.

For a full estimate of a residence, including the medical, Emirates ID and insurance, use our visa cost estimator. Other government charges are listed in our UAE government fees 2026 guide, and the employer’s full file is in the UAE employment visa cost breakdown.

Results, the medical fitness certificate and how it reaches GDRFA or ICP

You do not normally carry a paper certificate anywhere. The medical fitness certificate is issued electronically and read by the immigration system against the identifier used when you booked.

Two consequences matter in practice. A medical done too early, for example months before a renewal that then stalls, can expire before the residence is issued. A medical booked against the wrong number, such as an old passport or a cancelled entry permit, will not link. If your passport has changed, update the residence data first; our guide to transferring a UAE visa to a new passport explains how. How the Emirates ID then follows is covered in Emirates ID and visa linking.

Where the residency medical test sits in the sequence

Everything after step 3 waits for the result, and it is the only step whose outcome nobody can predict. That is why we put the visa medical at the front of the schedule. Typical elapsed times for the other steps are in our UAE visa processing times guide, and a status change inside the country is explained on our visa status change page.

If the UAE visa medical test is not a clear pass

There are three outcomes, not two. Knowing which one applies tells you what happens next.

Retests and second opinions after a visa medical

None of the authorities publishes a general “appeal” procedure for a confirmed result. What is published is confirmation before a finding is final: a second sample for reactive blood tests, independent second and third X-ray readings in Abu Dhabi, and specialist referral for suspected leprosy. The resolution also allows exemptions from the HIV rule at the discretion of the Minister of Health or the head of the health authority, and exemptions from the TB unfitness rule for listed categories. Requests of that kind go to the health authority, not to immigration.

What an unfit visa medical means for the residence

For a first-time applicant who is found unfit, the residence is simply not issued, and the entry permit or visit status they entered on is what governs their stay. For a resident whose renewal is refused, the residence ends on expiry and the normal cancellation and grace-period rules apply. We do not describe these outcomes as “deportation” because the published rules speak of residence not being granted or renewed; what the immigration authority then requires is set case by case. The grace periods are set out in our UAE residence visa grace period guide and the fine after it (AED 50 per day, per ICP and u.ae) in UAE overstay fine per day.

The employer and the medical fitness certificate

The medical fitness certificate flows to immigration. The detail behind a result is medical information handled by the health authority under confidentiality rules; the DoH standard limits who may see records to screening staff and the health authorities. An employer learns whether the residence can proceed. It is not entitled to the diagnosis, and a good employer does not ask.

Residency medical test by occupation: nannies, domestic workers, beauticians and health staff

The job title on the visa decides the category, so a mistake in the title changes the residency medical test. These are the groups where we see the most confusion.

Housemaids, nannies, cooks and private drivers

Domestic workers, and nursery and kindergarten staff with them, are in the domestic category everywhere (DoH Bi, EHS B, Dubai household). They are screened for HIV, TB and leprosy, plus hepatitis B and syphilis, and women take a pregnancy test. Hepatitis B vaccination starts at the first visit unless proof of immunity is shown. A household sponsoring a driver is often surprised that he is in the same category as a nanny; the resolution names “domestic workers” as a group and the EHS card names drivers expressly. The visa itself is covered on our maid and domestic worker visa page.

Barbers, beauticians, spa and gym staff

Workers in barbershops, beauty salons and health clubs are screened for hepatitis B and C and syphilis (DoH Bii; EHS category C). A positive hepatitis result in this group means the residence cannot be issued in that occupation, but the worker has 30 days to change the purpose of the visa. The same group also needs an occupational health examination in many cases: the federal table lists beauty salon and spa workers at AED 250.

Health workers

Staff of health facilities are screened for hepatitis B and C with vaccination. Their licensing authority will usually set further requirements of its own, which sit outside the residency screening.

Renewals and timing: when to book the residency medical test

The medical fitness certificate lasts three months, and the result is needed before the residence can be issued. Those two facts set the timing.

If a residence has already expired, the medical does not stop the grace period running. Our guide to what happens when a UAE visa expires sets out the options, and renewal itself is handled through our residence visa renewal service.

What goes wrong with the UAE visa medical test, and how to avoid it

UAE visa medical test: 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. DHA medical test for a new hire with a tight start date

Private-sector employee entered Dubai on an employment entry permit; the company wants the residence and Emirates ID done before a client project begins.

Position: general category, so HIV, TB (X-ray) and leprosy only. The regular service at AED 270 gives a result in 24 working hours, which would have been fine if booked on day one; the booking was left until the second week. Route: Smart Salem at AED 700 with a 30-minute result, biometrics booked the same week, residence applied for as soon as the medical fitness certificate linked. The lesson: the cheapest way to save a day is to book the visa medical on arrival, not to pay for speed later.

2. Visa medical for a housemaid sponsored by a Dubai family

A family sponsoring a female domestic worker for the first time. They booked a “normal” medical online.

Position: a domestic worker must be booked in the household category, which adds hepatitis B and syphilis screening, vaccination and a pregnancy test (AED 320 regular plus AED 50 in the Dubai Health price list). A general booking would have produced an incomplete result. Route: rebooked in the household category, first hepatitis B dose given at the visit, the vaccination card kept with her passport for the second and third doses. The lesson: the category follows the job, and a domestic worker’s residency medical test is not the same as an office worker’s.

3. Residency medical test at a Sharjah renewal, with a TB history

Long-term resident, treated for TB abroad years ago. Worried the renewal would be refused.

Position: the X-ray showed old scarring. Under the 2016 amendment, TB found at renewal leads to a conditional fitness certificate and a one-year residence with treatment or follow-up in the UAE, not an automatic refusal. Route: the resident attended the further tests the EHS centre asked for, the conditional certificate was issued, and the residence was renewed for one year on the conditional medical fitness certificate. We handled the ICP renewal; the medical questions stayed with the doctors. The lesson: at renewal, TB is a treatment pathway in the law. Bring old treatment records and attend every follow-up visit.

4. UAE visa medical test for a pregnant spouse in Abu Dhabi

A wife joining her husband on an Abu Dhabi family residence, in her second trimester.

Position: the DoH standard says the chest X-ray is not performed on pregnant women and is deferred until two months after delivery, with the sponsor signing a consent form accepting responsibility for the follow-up. Route: she told the provider at registration, the blood tests went ahead, the sponsor signed the consent, and the X-ray appointment was set for after delivery. The lesson: say so before radiology, and diarise the follow-up. The rest of the family residence application is on our family residence visa page.

5. Visa medical for a salon worker with a reactive hepatitis screen

New beautician for a Dubai salon; the first blood test came back reactive for hepatitis.

Position: in the personal-care group, hepatitis B and C are screened. A reactive screen is confirmed on a further sample before anything is final. If confirmed, the residence cannot be issued for that occupation, but the resolution allows 30 days to change the purpose of the visa. Route: she attended the recall; the salon and the worker then decided with the health authority’s guidance what came next. Our part was limited to explaining the published 30-day rule and, when asked, handling the change in the visa application. The lesson: reactive is not confirmed, and the 30-day rule is a real option to discuss with the employer.

6. Golden visa renewal and a 30-minute visa medical

Investor with a Dubai Golden visa, in the UAE for only a few days before travelling again.

Position: long-term residence does not exempt anyone from the UAE visa medical test at issue or renewal. The regular 24-working-hour service would have run past the flight. Route: Smart Salem’s Golden Visa medical test (AED 700, 30 minutes) booked for the morning after arrival, biometrics the same day where available, and the renewal filed with GDRFA before departure. The lesson: the premium speeds exist for exactly this situation. See our Golden visa page for the rest of the file.

What circulates online that is not true

How to verify every figure in this guide

What we will and will not do

We will book the correct category and speed for the residency medical test, make sure the result links to the right GDRFA or ICP application, sequence the visa medical with biometrics and the residence, pass on the medical fee at cost with the receipt, and tell you plainly when you can book it yourself.

We will not give medical advice, interpret your results, contact a health authority about your diagnosis without your instruction, suggest any way around a result, or promise an outcome that only the health authority and immigration can decide.

Related guides

• Family visa renewal documents checklist UAE: where the medical fits in a family file
• UAE employment visa cost: every line of a new employee’s file
• UAE visa processing times
• How long an Emirates ID takes
• UAE residence visa grace period
• ICP vs GDRFA: which authority your file belongs to
• UAE visa types
• Employment visa in Dubai
• Emirates ID renewal in Dubai

Booking medicals that link first time, for new hires, families and domestic staff, is part of what our PRO services in Dubai team handles every week.