Medical checks required for Dubai residency visas have returned to approximately 80 percent of pre-war levels, according to Smart Salem, a government-approved provider of the mandatory tests. The figures, reported by AGBI on July 1, suggest that the disruption to expatriate hiring caused by the Iran war is easing, though activity has not yet fully recovered.
Amanda Gravitis, chief executive of Smart Salem, which operates a public-private partnership with the Dubai Health Authority, said stalled relocations and hiring freezes since the conflict broke out on February 28 contributed to a significant drop in visa medical tests. Tests for new visas were down 70 percent in March compared to the start of 2026, and tests for visa renewals were down by approximately half.
The visa medical test data serves as a real-time proxy for expatriate hiring trends, as all new residents and those changing jobs in the UAE must undergo screening for communicable diseases including HIV and tuberculosis. Smart Salem conducts an average of 20,000 tests per month from three sites in Dubai International Financial Centre, City Walk, and Dubai Knowledge Park.
By the end of June, test volumes had reached around 80 percent of expected levels for the time of year, even accounting for the traditional Gulf summer slowdown in recruitment. ‘There was a significant drop-off in March, which is not ideal for any business and told us several things: people were not moving jobs and companies were not hiring externally or from overseas as much,’ Gravitis told AGBI. ‘But once the ceasefire was agreed in April, confidence has grown and things have been trending upwards.’
The recovery has implications for Dubai’s broader economy. Expatriate hiring drives demand across multiple sectors, including real estate, education, healthcare, retail, and hospitality. The hiring freeze during the war months created a ripple effect that slowed activity in these dependent industries. A return to normal hiring patterns would support consumer spending and economic growth in the second half of 2026.
Smart Salem expects a full recovery to annual norms by the fourth quarter of 2026. The company is in talks with the Dubai Health Authority to open a fourth testing centre and expand its services, reflecting confidence in the long-term trajectory of Dubai’s expatriate workforce growth. More than 1.2 million visa medical tests were carried out across the UAE in 2023.
Corporate relocations to the Gulf retain their appeal despite the disruption, with AGBI reporting in June that confidence in the region among large companies and relocating workers remained largely intact, even as some firms revisited timelines or developed contingency plans.
