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Is my health data safe abroad?

Is my health data safe in the UAE?

In the UAE, your record stays in the country and joins the shared network of the emirate you are treated in. Keep your own copy on your phone, and ask the clinic for your reports before you leave.

General information, checked against the law on 23 September 2026. For your own case, ask a lawyer in United Arab Emirates.

What the law says

How United Arab Emirates treats your health data.

The law
Federal Law No. 2 of 2019 on the use of information technology in health fields, which governs health data in place of the general data protection law[S116][S123]
The regulator
Ministry of Health and Prevention, with the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Health Authority[S116]
Health data
Clinics must keep health data confidential. They may share it without your consent only in listed cases: for insurers checking a claim, for anonymised research, for public health measures, for a court, or for the health authority.[S116][S122]
Sending it abroad
Health data must be stored in the UAE. A 2021 ministerial decree lists the exceptions, including treatment abroad, as long as a copy stays in the UAE, and handling insurance claims.[S116][S117]
Medical records
Health records are kept for at least 25 years after your last treatment. Licensed facilities in Abu Dhabi connect to Malaffi, and in Dubai to NABIDH, the shared health record networks of each emirate.[S116][S120][S121]
EU adequacy
No. The UAE is absent from the European Commission's adequacy list, so an EU organisation sending data there needs other safeguards.[S77]

Moving or living there

Moving to the UAE, or living there.

Does the UAE residency medical test check for HIV?

Yes. A residence visa needs a medical fitness test at an approved centre. It screens for HIV and tuberculosis for everyone, and for hepatitis and syphilis depending on your job.[S118]

What happens if I fail the UAE visa medical test?

It depends on the condition. A positive HIV result means residency is refused or not renewed. Drug-resistant tuberculosis is treated in the UAE, and residency can be renewed once you have recovered.[S118]

Can my employer in the UAE see my medical records?

The health data law lets clinics share your records without your consent only with insurers checking a claim, anonymised research, public health authorities, courts and the health authority. Employers are not on that list.[S116][S122]

Is health insurance compulsory in the UAE?

Yes, for residency. Since 1 January 2025, employers in every emirate must insure private-sector employees and domestic workers, and the policy is needed to issue or renew a residence visa.[S119]

Does the UAE keep a shared health record on me?

If you are treated in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, yes. Licensed facilities connect to Malaffi in Abu Dhabi and NABIDH in Dubai, and in Abu Dhabi you can read your own record on the Malaffi Health Portal.[S120][S121]

Travelling for treatment

Coming to the UAE for treatment.

Are medical records confidential in Dubai?

Yes. UAE law requires clinics to keep health data confidential, with sharing allowed without consent only in listed cases. Licensed facilities in Dubai also connect to NABIDH, the emirate's shared record network.[S116][S122][S121]

Will a UAE clinic share my records with my insurer back home?

Only what a claim needs, if you claim through insurance: the law lets clinics share data with insurers verifying a claim, and allows it to leave the UAE for handling insurance claims. If you pay the clinic yourself, no insurer is involved.[S122][S117]

Can I take my medical records out of the UAE?

Health data must stay in the UAE, with exceptions that include treatment abroad as long as a copy stays in the country. Ask the clinic for your reports and scans before you fly home, and keep them on your own phone.[S116][S117]

Sending your records

The law protects the clinic’s copy. How it gets there is up to you.

Email and messaging apps leave a readable copy on every server they pass through, in United Arab Emirates and at home. The safest file is the one that stays encrypted on your own phone, shown to the doctor in the room or sent by a link that expires by itself.

Who can see my medical records? Free check

Questions

United Arab Emirates: common questions.

Is it safe to email medical records to a clinic in the UAE?

Email is protected between mail servers only when both providers support TLS, and it stays readable on each server afterwards. Once your records reach a clinic in the UAE, local law applies: clinics must keep health data confidential. They may share it without your consent only in listed cases: for insurers checking a claim, for anonymised research, for public health measures, for a court, or for the health authority. For a full history, use a channel where you hold the key, such as a link that expires by itself.

Are my medical records private in the UAE?

Clinics must keep health data confidential. They may share it without your consent only in listed cases: for insurers checking a claim, for anonymised research, for public health measures, for a court, or for the health authority. The regulator is the Ministry of Health and Prevention, with the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Health Authority.

Can a clinic in the UAE send my medical records abroad?

Health data must be stored in the UAE. A 2021 ministerial decree lists the exceptions, including treatment abroad, as long as a copy stays in the UAE, and handling insurance claims. Health records are kept for at least 25 years after your last treatment. Licensed facilities in Abu Dhabi connect to Malaffi, and in Dubai to NABIDH, the shared health record networks of each emirate.

Keep reading

More on United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere.

Sources are numbered in the text and listed in full in the reference list.