Expat workers to need health certificates from home

Foreign workers coming to the UAE may need to produce a disease-free certificate from their home countries if the rule is approved by the Federal National Council (FNC), which will debate it on Tuesday, an FNC member was quoted as saying.

Ali Issa Al Nuaimi said he would present the proposal to the FNC on Tuesday adding that it will help tackle congestion at health centres in the country.

He told Dubai-based Emarat Al Youm daily, the new measure would mainly target Asian workers who account for the bulk of the expatriate labour in the UAE.

“Thousands of workers, mainly Asians, visit health centres in the UAE daily…they put big pressure on the national health infrastructure, which has a limited capacity,” he said.

“We in the UAE have in excess of four million foreign workers…I believe our health centres can serve them. But those who come to work in the UAE for the first time should bring health certificates from their countries.”

He said such certificates must be approved by the competent authorities in those countries and in the UAE to prevent any manipulations.

“More than 50 per cent of the foreign workers who have been subject to medical check-up in the UAE have been found to be suffering from contagious diseases…so instead of allowing expatriate workers into the UAE before medical examination, they should be asked to bring authenticated health certificates from their countries before their entry into the UAE,” Nuaimi said.


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