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This guide covers the visa medical test in Dubai from the moment you walk in to the moment your result arrives. If you need the medical test for UAE visa purposes and your file is in Dubai, Dubai Health runs it through its medical fitness centres. The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is still the emirate's health regulator.
Everyone aged 18 or over who is applying for or renewing a Dubai residence visa takes the medical fitness exam. You apply through Dubai Health's Salem portal, then visit a medical fitness centre in person.
Timing matters. Dubai Health lists a copy of your e-visa as a required document, so the medical always comes after the entry permit.
For an employment visa, MOHRE issues the work permit first, and that permit lets you enter the UAE. After you arrive come the medical, your Emirates ID and residence, and your employment contract, which MOHRE says your employer should give you to sign within a week of arrival. Your residence is then issued digitally and linked to your Emirates ID.
The form, the photo and the data entry are covered in our medical typing guide for Dubai. This page starts once you have your application number. The pre-travel GAMCA/Wafid medical some countries require is a separate process, and it does not replace the Dubai test.
Dubai Health lists 25 medical fitness centres across the emirate (checked October 2026). They fall into three groups, and the group you pick matters more than the address.
| Type | Locations | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Salem centres | Al Karama, Al Nahda, Al Muhaisnah (Salem Al Muhaisnah), Al Rashidiya, Bur Dubai, Al Quoz, Al Garhoud, Al Lusaily, Al Yalayis DIP, Al Yalayis Jebel Ali, Circle Mall JVC, Abu Hail, Zaabeel | The usual visa medical centres for most applicants |
| Free-zone and company centres | DAFZA, JAFZA, DIFC, Dubai Healthcare City (Emirates MFC), Dubai Airport, Emirates Airline, ENOC, AXS | Some may serve only certain zones or employers. Check before you go |
| Smart Salem | City Walk, Index (DIFC), Dubai Knowledge Park | The 30-minute service |
Looking for the old Al Muhaisnah centre? It still appears on Dubai Health's list, but visa medicals moved to the Salem Al Muhaisnah Medical Fitness Center in the same area, in Muhaisnah 2. Opening hours vary by branch, so check the centre's page on dubaihealth.ae before you go.
Dubai Health's official price list separates the tiers by how fast the certificate is delivered:
| Tier | Fee | Result time |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | AED 270 (AED 320 for domestic workers) | 24 working hours |
| Premium | AED 700 (AED 750 for domestic workers) | 6 working hours |
| VIP | AED 1,020 | 2 working hours |
| Smart Salem (Salem Innovative Center) | AED 700 | 30 minutes |
Domestic workers pay an extra AED 50 for the pregnancy test.
Note the words "working hours". Dubai Health calculates delivery time in official working hours, not clock hours, so allow extra time if your test falls just before a weekend or public holiday.
Choose Standard if your entry permit still has time left and nothing depends on the result yet. Pay for speed if a start date or a flight depends on it. If a Smart Salem branch is convenient, it costs the same AED 700 as Premium and gives you the result in 30 minutes.
If you're being hired, UAE rules make the employer pay for the post-arrival medical.
Dubai Health asks you to bring:
At the centre, staff take a blood sample and a chest X-ray. Some professions also get vaccinations during the same visit.
The legal basis is Cabinet Resolution No. 7 of 2008, as amended by Cabinet Resolution No. 75 of 2022. Dubai Health cites Resolution 75 of 2022 for its service.
New arrivals in those five categories who test negative for hepatitis get three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine.
How long you wait depends on the tier you paid for. Dubai Health tells you by SMS or email when the result is ready, and sends the medical fitness certificate to your registered email.
To check your result online, use Dubai Health's Check Medical Fitness Exam Status service at dubaihealth.ae/medical-fitness-check. Double-check the mobile number and email on your application, because that is where the result is sent.
Your Emirates ID biometrics appointment in Dubai is a separate ICP step, not part of the medical.
An unfit result does not always end the residency. The outcome depends on the condition, and on whether this is your first visa or a renewal.
In practice, do what the centre or the preventive medicine department tells you, and let your sponsor know the same day. With hepatitis, you only have 30 days to change the visa purpose, so start right away.
A typing centre or PRO cannot change a medical decision. They can handle the paperwork that follows, such as a change of visa purpose or a one-year renewal. Cases like this land on every company PRO's desk sooner or later.
Renewals need the medical too, because Dubai Health's service covers new applications and renewals alike. You bring your Emirates ID.
The main difference is the TB rule. A TB finding at renewal gets you a one-year residence tied to treatment, not an automatic refusal. The steps and deadlines for the rest of the renewal are in our residence visa renewal guide for Dubai.
Who runs the visa medical depends on the emirate. In Abu Dhabi it's SEHA's screening centres, under the Department of Health. Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah use the federal EHS (Emirates Health Services). If you're not sure which emirate your file is in, ask your sponsor before you pay.
You can sort all of this out yourself: the tier, the centre, the e-visa timing and the status checks. Or you can hand it to a counter that does it every day. Sarmat's typing centre in Deira has 12+ years in UAE government services and has served 5,000+ clients across Dubai.
If you handle visas for your employer, or want to, you can learn rules like the TB renewal condition through two years of trial and error. Or you can learn the residency workflow in three days on the KHDA-certified Certified PRO Officer Program. It costs AED 2,890, with Tamara and Tabby instalments of roughly AED 720 a month.
Got your e-visa but not sure which tier or centre to book? Message Sarmat on WhatsApp with your visa type and deadline, and we'll tell you what to book. If you'd rather write, use our contact form.
Standard is AED 270 (AED 320 for domestic workers), Premium AED 700 (AED 750 for domestic workers), VIP AED 1,020 and Smart Salem AED 700, per Dubai Health's price list.
Standard takes 24 working hours, Premium 6 working hours, VIP 2 working hours and Smart Salem 30 minutes. Dubai Health counts these times in official working hours, not clock hours.
Use Dubai Health's Check Medical Fitness Exam Status service at dubaihealth.ae/medical-fitness-check. The certificate is also sent to your registered email.
No. Dubai Health lists a copy of your e-visa as a required document, so the entry permit comes first.
No. The medical fitness exam happens at a Dubai Health centre. Emirates ID biometrics are a separate ICP step.
It depends on the condition. TB at renewal means a one-year residence tied to treatment. Hepatitis in the five listed job categories blocks the residency unless the visa purpose changes within 30 days. HIV blocks issue or renewal unless an exception is approved, and leprosy blocks issue or renewal.
Yes, if you're 18 or over. Dubai Health's medical fitness service covers renewals as well as new applications. Bring your Emirates ID.
Who runs the visa medical depends on the emirate. Abu Dhabi uses SEHA under the Department of Health, and Sharjah, Ajman and the northern emirates use the federal EHS. Book with the authority for the emirate where your visa is processed.
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