Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Abdulrahman Saeed, Staff Reporter

The UAE Digital Government (DGOV) has said that the UAE is becoming a regional hub for medical and cosmetic treatment. Thanks to short waiting times, competitive pricing and high quality care, it serves an ideal destination for patients seeking treatment abroad.

An extensive network of hospitals and medical centres are located across the country that offer the best medical treatment and service.

In addition to routine operations and cosmetic procedures, the UAE hosts specialised centres for quality services in, dentistry, cosmetic and elective surgical procedures, general check-ups and diagnostics, oncology, cancer, diabetes, assisted reproduction, ophthalmology, dermatology, and gynecology.

The DGOV also explained that through this service, patients and those who have medical follow-up can submit a request for a medical treatment entry permit. The process time to issue the medical tourism visa is 48 hours.

The process passes through three steps, which start by booking an appointment with the preferred hospital or contact one of the authorised travel agencies.

The hospital will then submit your details to the authorities to process your visa. In the final step, the hospital or travel agency will send e-mail your visa (entry permit) within 48 hours, the DGOV added.

The required documents for this permit are an approved appointment and certified medical report by one of the medical tourism network hospitals, the passport's copy (passport should be valid at least six months), pay the visa's fee of Dhs250 (sponsor must be one of the hospitals in the UAE). The entry permit can be extended for another term of 90 days, it said.

The DGOV further pointed out that the UAE had included a number of medical institutions that certified by the Joint Commission International (JCI). Moreover, the government built medical complexes, which offer variety of medical and cosmetic services, such as Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, and Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City in Abu Dhabi, Dubai Healthcare City, and Sharjah Healthcare City.