Caregiver Services
for UAE Families.
Caregiver services in Sri Lanka for families in the UAE answer a problem that has nothing to do with distance. Colombo is four and a half hours from Dubai. The difficulty is that your leave is counted in days a year, and your parents need help on a Tuesday. BetterHands places a vetted carer in their home and reports to you after every shift.
The closest we serve
And the hardest to leave
1½ hrs
Behind Colombo
1,000+
Carer profiles
Vetted and reference-checked
72 Hours
Placement guarantee
Or we escalate immediately
96%
First-match success
50+ matching factors
PHSRC
Registered nurses
For clinical home nursing
Close enough to visit, too far to help
Why UAE Families Arrange Caregiver Services in Sri Lanka.
The Gulf holds more Sri Lankans than any other region abroad. In the UAE they are spread from Deira and Karama through Sharjah and out to Mussafah, working in construction, hospitality, healthcare, logistics and finance.
Almost everyone here came to support the family at home. The money goes back. The problem is that money alone does not get an eighty-year-old to a clinic appointment.
Therefore what UAE families usually need is not remittance but presence. Somebody in the house, every day, reporting back. That is precisely what professional caregiver services provide.
- Workers on fixed contracts whose leave is counted and approved in advance
- Families already sending money home, with nobody there to spend it usefully
- Parents who have never left Sri Lanka and never will
- Households where the last relative in Colombo has themselves moved to the Gulf
The real constraint is the calendar
Four and a Half Hours Away, and Still Unable to Go.
Every other country we serve has distance as its obstacle. The UAE does not. Dubai to Colombo is a direct flight most days of the week, and the fare is not the barrier either. The barrier is permission, and how little of it there is.
Leave is finite and approved
Annual leave in the Gulf is counted in days and signed off by an employer. Two emergencies in one year can exhaust a whole entitlement, and a third is simply refused.
A visit is not daily care
Even a fortnight at home does not cover the other fifty weeks. Medication, meals and mobility are daily problems, and they resume the moment your flight leaves.
The visa ties you to the job
Residency here follows employment. Walking away to care for a parent for three months is not a neutral choice, because it puts your status and your income at risk together.
Worth being clear about
What Your UAE Health Insurance Does Not Cover.
Health cover in the Emirates is mandatory and tied to your residency. In Dubai it is regulated by the Dubai Health Authority, in Abu Dhabi by the Department of Health, and in the northern emirates by the Ministry of Health and Prevention.
All of them share the same limit. They cover you, here. None of them pay for a carer visiting your mother in Nugegoda, and none would fund home care even if she were with you on a visit visa.
Sponsorship is the other question families ask. Bringing a parent over means meeting salary thresholds, lodging a deposit, and buying private medical cover at older-age premiums, renewed every year. It is possible. It is rarely the cheaper or kinder answer.
The practical position for most Gulf families
- Your UAE insurance stops at the border — there is no overseas benefit to claim.
- Sri Lanka has no state-funded home care, so care there is private wherever you live.
- Sri Lankan daily rates are modest against a Gulf salary, which is why full-time cover is realistic.
- You approve the care plan and the budget from the UAE, before anything begins.
The one thing that is genuinely easy
Ninety Minutes of Time Difference — and Why That Helps.
Sri Lanka is 1½ hours ahead of the UAE. Neither country changes its clocks, so the gap is fixed all year. Of every country we serve, this is the only one where the time zone is an advantage rather than an obstacle.
Morning here, morning there
Eight in the morning in Dubai is half past nine in Colombo. The day carer has arrived, your parents have eaten, and nobody is being woken up.
Your evening still works
Nine at night in Sharjah is half past ten in Colombo. Late, but not unreasonable, which means a call after a long shift is still possible.
No daylight saving, ever
Neither country adjusts its clocks. Unlike our Canadian or British families, you never have to recalculate the window twice a year.
Why we still write everything down
Because you can call easily, it is tempting to rely on calls alone. However, a parent who does not want to worry you will say they are fine, and a ten-minute conversation cannot show you a week of appetite, sleep and mood.
The written shift record exists for exactly that reason. It is also what a Gulf shift pattern demands, since a night shift in Dubai or a rotation in Mussafah does not always leave you free at a convenient hour.
What you actually get
How BetterHands Supports UAE Families.
A free assessment first
We visit your parents, talk to them properly, and tell you what they actually need. No leave required, and no obligation afterwards.
A carer matched, not allocated
Language, temperament, cooking, religious observance and medical experience all feed the match. Fifty-plus factors, not a rota slot.
A written update every shift
Food, medication, mobility, mood and anything unusual. Readable whenever your shift allows, rather than only when you are free to call.
Home nursing when needed
PHSRC-registered nurses for medication management, wound care, catheters and post-operative recovery at home.
Rates set in rupees
Fees are charged in Sri Lankan rupees, which is what makes daily cover realistic on a Gulf salary rather than an aspiration.
Unlimited replacements
If the match is wrong we replace the carer, with no cap inside your membership year and no argument about it.
Where our UAE families live and work
Caregiver Services in Sri Lanka by Emirate.
The care always happens in Sri Lanka. What changes between emirates is the work, the shift pattern, and which health authority regulates the cover you already hold.
Caregiver Services for Families Across the Northern Emirates.
Before you commit
What UAE Families Ask First.
Is this cheaper than flying home repeatedly?
Usually, yes. Two or three emergency return fares from Dubai in a year will often exceed a full year of daily care in Sri Lanka, and the care covers the other fifty weeks as well.
Can I set it up without taking leave?
Yes, and most families do. The assessment happens with your parents in Sri Lanka while you join by phone or video. Approval, matching and payment are all handled remotely from the UAE.
Who is accountable if standards slip?
BetterHands is. Carers are employed and payrolled through us, not introduced and forgotten. One team owns the placement, there is a number to ring, and the replacement guarantee has no cap.
Where the care actually happens
Island-wide coverage in Sri Lanka.
BetterHands coordinates carers from our office in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, just outside Colombo. Placements run island-wide, including Kandy, Galle, Negombo, Matara and Jaffna.
No district loading applies. A placement two hours from the capital costs the same daily rate as one in Colombo 7. Families discharged from the National Hospital of Sri Lanka or private hospitals are transitioned home directly.
BetterHands (Pvt) Ltd
200 Narahenpita - Nawala Rd, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte 11222, Sri Lanka
+94 74 21 21 744Transparent pricing
Membership first, then simple daily rates.
One annual membership covers coordination, payroll and unlimited carer replacements. After that you pay a flat daily rate for the level of care your parents need. Fees are charged in Sri Lankan rupees.
BetterHands Annual Membership
LKR 20,000
One-time annual registration fee
- Unlimited caregiver replacements at no additional cost if you are not satisfied
- Payroll management and caregiver administration
- Ongoing coordination and support from the BetterHands team
- Access to all services covered under the BetterHands membership
Step two — daily service rates
Duties below are what each role normally provides — your care plan is tailored during the free assessment.
Caregiver
Daily living support and companionship
LKR 4,500/day
Most families start here — a parent who is managing, but should not be alone all day.
- Friendly conversation and companionship
- Bathing and personal care assistance (if required)
- Medication reminders and general supervision
- Simple meals and refreshments
- Short walks and light activities (if appropriate)
- Day-to-day assistance and emotional support
Nursing Assistant
Personal care plus basic clinical support
LKR 6,000/day
Common where diabetes, blood pressure or early-stage dementia needs daily monitoring.
- Everything in the caregiver role
- Vital signs monitoring (BP, blood sugar, SpO₂)
- Medication reminders and administration support
- Basic wound and continence care
Professional Nurse
Complex medical and post-operative needs
LKR 9,000/day
Usually after a hospital discharge, a stroke, or where wounds and IV care are involved.
- Everything in the nursing assistant role
- PHSRC-registered clinical nursing
- Wound care, injections, and IV therapy
- Catheter, NG tube, and post-operative care
Daily rates are charged in addition to the one-time annual registration fee of LKR 20,000. The same daily rates apply to day care, night care and live-in support — no shift premiums, no travel supplements for any district. Hospital bystander cover is priced by shift length instead — see that service page for its packages. A free care assessment is provided before any commitment.
A one-way transfer for the caregiver is arranged at the start of placement.
Families we look after
Trusted with the people who raised us.
“BetterHands transformed my mother's quality of life. The caregivers are professional, compassionate, and treat her with so much dignity. Our whole family is relieved and grateful.”
Chamari W.
Colombo 07
“After my father's heart surgery at Lanka Hospitals, the nursing team from BetterHands provided exceptional post-operative care at home. They were thorough, kind, and always on time.”
Roshan & Dilini P.
Nugegoda
“My grandfather was very lonely after being discharged from hospital. His BetterHands companion has become a true friend — he is happier and more engaged than he's been in years.”
Priya N.
Kandy
Questions from the UAE
Frequently Asked Questions from UAE Families.
Yes. BetterHands runs a free assessment with your parents in Sri Lanka, matches a carer, and sends a written welfare update after every shift. You approve the care plan and pay from the UAE. Nobody needs to take leave to set the placement up.
Because proximity is not availability. A four-hour flight is easy; getting the leave approved, and repeating it every month, is not. Care your parents need on a Tuesday cannot wait for your next authorised trip home.
No. Mandatory health cover in the UAE is tied to your residency and treats you inside the Emirates. It does not extend to a parent living in Sri Lanka, and it would not cover home care even if they were here on a visit.
Sri Lanka is an hour and a half ahead of the UAE, and neither observes daylight saving, so the gap never changes. It is the smallest difference of any country we serve, which means you can call at almost any sensible hour.
Some families do, but it is rarely simple. Sponsoring a parent means meeting salary thresholds, lodging a deposit, arranging private medical cover at older-age premiums, and renewing annually. Many families conclude that care at home in Sri Lanka is both cheaper and kinder.
It is the reason most of our UAE families call. If a parent falls on a Sunday, the honest question is not how fast you could fly but whether you would be permitted to. A carer already in the house removes that dependency entirely.
Most placements begin within seventy-two hours of an approved care plan. Where a parent is being discharged from hospital we work to the discharge date instead. The assessment is usually arranged within a day or two of your first call.
Fees are charged in Sri Lankan rupees, which is what keeps them affordable relative to Gulf salaries. Most families pay by international transfer from a UAE account, and we provide a clear invoice each month for your own records.
BetterHands nurses are registered with Sri Lanka's Private Health Services Regulatory Council. UAE visa, sponsorship and insurance rules change periodically and should be confirmed against official government sources for your own circumstances.
You came here for them. This is how you stay for them.
Nearly everyone we speak to in the Gulf left Sri Lanka to make life better for the people they left behind. The cruelty of it is that the same job which pays for their care is the reason you cannot deliver it yourself.
A vetted carer in the house. Home nursing when the condition calls for it. A written update after every shift, readable whenever your rota allows. One company accountable, with unlimited replacements if the match is wrong.
The assessment costs nothing, needs no leave, and commits you to nothing. Sometimes it ends with us telling a family their parents are managing better than they feared. Either way you stop spending your annual leave on emergencies.
Check it yourself
Sources and further reading for UAE families.
Entitlements and health guidance change. These are the official sources — go to them rather than taking our word for it.
Your parents are in Sri Lanka.
We are already there.
A 15-minute call that costs you no leave and no flight. We will tell you honestly what your parents need — even if that turns out to be less than you expected.
1,000+
Caregiver profiles
96%
First-match success
Trained
Caregiver training
72
Hours to placement