United Arab Emirates
Health & Medical Emergencies
Last verified August 15, 2026
Written for U.S. passport holders
Emergency Numbers
- Dial 998 for an ambulance. Police are 999 and fire/civil defence is 997, three separate numbers rather than one unified line.
- 112 also works from any mobile phone (even with no SIM, signal, or a locked screen) and routes to the police dispatcher, who can connect you onward.
- For U.S. consular emergency assistance (a detained or hospitalized American, coordinating care, notifying family), call the State Department's Overseas Citizens Services from anywhere in the world: +1-888-407-4747 (from the U.S. or Canada) or +1-202-501-4444 (from overseas). This is separate from the local emergency number and won't dispatch an ambulance itself, but it's the number that gets the U.S. government involved.
Getting Treated as a Foreigner
- Genuine emergencies are treated first and billed after, but private hospitals (which most tourists end up at, for speed and English-speaking staff) commonly ask for insurance details or a payment guarantee once you're stabilized.
- Health insurance is mandatory for UAE residents, but that requirement doesn't extend to short-term visitors; as a U.S. tourist, you're not automatically covered by anything local, and you should assume you're paying out of pocket without your own travel insurance.
The Gotcha
998, 999, and 997 are genuinely three different numbers for three different services here, unlike the single unified line you'd dial in much of Europe or North America. Save all three in your phone before you need them rather than trying to remember which is which in the moment; 112 is the fallback if you blank, since it'll always get you connected to a dispatcher who can redirect you.
Sources
This page was drafted from the primary sources below. Rules change, so check the linked page directly before relying on any of this.
- Handling Emergencies (The Official Portal of the UAE Government (u.ae))
- Help Abroad (Overseas Citizens Services) (U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs)