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Visitors to the United Arab Emirates must obtain a visa prior to travel, unless they come from one of the visa-exempt countries or one of the countries whose citizens are eligible for visa on arrival.

Citizens of member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council have freedom of movement in the UAE.

All visitors visiting the United Arab Emirates must hold a passport valid for at least 6 months, or 3 months if holding a residency permit. Gulf Cooperation Council nationals need only show a government-issued ID card.

Visa policy map

Visa exemption or free visa on arrival

Nationals of the following countries and territories may either enter the United Arab Emirates without a visa or are eligible to obtain a free UAE visa on arrival: [1] [2]

Freedom of movement
180 days
90 days within any 180 days
90 days within any 12 months
30 days[3]

ID — May enter with an ID card.
1 — Not applicable to passports stamped "Article 17".
2 — For holders of biometric passports only.
3 — For holders of normal passports only; non-ordinary passports are visa-exempt for 90 days within any 180 days instead.
4 — Also including holders of passports for public affairs.
5 — Only applicable if national has used up their 90 days maximum stay limit.
6 — Only applicable for British citizens, British Overseas Territories citizens and British Subjects who have a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode.

Substitute visas

Citizens of  India who are valid visa holders or residents of the United States, or who are residents of the European Union, are eligible to obtain a free 14 day visa on arrival. [1] [19]

The UAE has also introduced a new Green Visa for people with bachelors degrees who earn Dh15,000 ($4,084) or more per month. The five-year visa policy would offer greater stability and flexibility to middle-income workers in the education sector and attract new talent to the Emirates. [20]

The Golden Visa was invoked by the government of the United Arab Emirates in 2019, [21] under Cabinet Resolution No.56 of Organization of Residence Permits for Investors, Entrepreneurs and Professional Talent, 2018. [22] The UAE Golden Visa costs $136,000 for investors. [23]

Diplomatic and service category passports

  United Arab Emirates
  Visa free or free visa on arrival for diplomatic and service category passports
  Visa free or free visa on arrival for diplomatic passports

In addition to nations whose citizens are visa exempt, holders of diplomatic or service category passports of Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia, Grenada, India, Indonesia, Liberia, Morocco, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Vanuatu and Vietnam and holders of diplomatic passports of Armenia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Congo DR, Ethiopia, Guinea, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Uzbekistan also do not require a visa or can obtain a free visa on arrival.

Future changes

United Arab Emirates has signed visa exemption agreements with the following countries that are not yet ratified or applied:

Transit visa

Passengers on all international airlines may enter the United Arab Emirates for 96 hours after obtaining a transit visa at the airport. The time difference between the two flights must be over 8 hours and the passenger must continue to a third destination. Passengers also must have a hotel booking. This is not applicable to nationals of Afghanistan, Iraq, Niger, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen.[1]

All travellers in transit are exempt from entry fees for the first 48 hours; this brief entry may be extended for up to 96 hours for a fee of 50 AED.[29][30]

Requirements for visa application

For all others nationals who are not granted visa-free or visa on arrival, UAE visas rules vary according to nationality, age and gender. For example, for Moroccans, Algerians, Libyans, Syrians, Mauritanians and Tunisians, the minimum age requirement to apply for a visa is 40. For other nationalities, the minimum age requirement to apply for a visa is 21 for men and 23 for women.[31][32]

Airline visas

Visitors normally require a sponsor but visas can also be arranged online through an airline if they are arriving on Air Arabia,[33] Air Astana,[34] Emirates,[35] Etihad[36] (and Air Baltic[37] and Air Serbia[38]), flydubai,[39] Turkish Airlines[40] and Indigo Airlines[41]

Admission restrictions

In addition to a visa, nationals of  Nigeria entering the United Arab Emirates are required to hold a hotel booking or an accommodation address for the whole period of their intended stay.[1]

Additionally, nationals of  South Sudan who hold a "business passport" are refused entry into the United Arab Emirates, but are allowed to transit in the UAE.[1]

Use for other countries

UAE visas or residence permits are accepted as substitute visas for national visas or they allow for simplified entry procedures in the following countries:

Visitor statistics

Emirate of Dubai

Most visitors[note 1] arriving to Emirate of Dubai were from the following countries of nationality:[45][46][47]

Country 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
 India 1,970,000 2,032,000 2,073,000 1,800,000 1,601,000
 Saudi Arabia 1,565,000 1,568,000 1,529,000 1,638,000 1,542,000
 United Kingdom 1,200,000 1,212,000 1,265,000 1,245,000 1,188,000
 Oman 1,030,000 829,000 862,000 1,037,000 1,002,000
 China 989,000 857,000 764,000 540,000 450,000
 Russia 728,000 678,000 530,000 240,000 211,000
 United States 667,000 656,000 633,000 607,000 602,000
 Germany 560,000 567,000 506,000 462,000 461,000
 Pakistan 501,000 513,000 598,000 607,000 513,000
Total 16,730,000 15,920,000 15,790,000 14,900,000 14,200,000

Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Hotel guests[note 2] checking in hotels in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi were from the following countries of nationality:[48]

Country 2019 2018 2017
 India 450,000 416,000 360,000
 China 396,000 401,000 372,000
 United Kingdom 267,000 278,000 261,000
 United States 204,000 194,000 164,000
 Egypt 184,000 169,000 160,000
 Philippines 175,000 183,000 181,000
 Saudi Arabia 163,000 168,000 152,000
 Germany 128,000 142,000 131,000
Total 5,100,000 5,043,821 4,852,405

See also

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for United Arab Emirates.

Notes

  1. ^ International visitors who spend one night at least in Dubai including air, land & sea visitors, excluding United Arab Emirates residents, local Emiratis and aircrews & marines
  2. ^ Excluding Emirati citizens

References

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  3. ^ Extendable for another 30 days for a fee.[1]
  4. ^ Sharon Uranie (14 July 2015). "It's official! Visa-free travel to UAE for all Seychelles passports as of Thursday". Seychelles News Agency. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Memorándum de Entendimiento entre la República Argentina y los Emiratos Árabes Unidos sobre Exención Mutua del Requisito de Visa para Titulares de Pasaportes Ordinarios" [Memorandum of Understanding between the Argentine Republic and the United Arab Emirates on the Mutual Exemption of the Visa Requirement for Holders of Ordinary Passports] (in Spanish). Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  6. ^ "UAE visa-waiver deal with Chile". UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  7. ^ 驻阿联酋大使倪坚出席中阿扩大免签范围换文仪式 (in Chinese). Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United Arab Emirates. 19 December 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Detalji". Mvp.gov.me. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  9. ^ Agreement between the government of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the government of the United Arab Emirates on mutual visa waiver for holders of a normal passport Archived 2021-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil. (in Portuguese)
  10. ^ "404". Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-22. ((cite web)): Cite uses generic title (help)
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  13. ^ "Ambasada Republike Srbije u Ujedinjenim Arapskim Emiratima". Archived from the original on 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  14. ^ "Emiratis can now visit Paraguay without pre-entry visas". Archived from the original on 2019-09-01. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
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  18. ^ Nur-Sultan, UAE Embassy (8 February 2018). "Поздравляем дружественный народ Казахстана с тем, что с 10 марта вступает в силу безвизовый режим для граждан Казахстана сроком пребывания в Объединенных Арабских Эмиратах до 30 дней. Желаем приятного пребывания в ОАЭpic.twitter.com/mrcxKiYp4z". Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  19. ^ "More Indian passport holders to get visa on arrival in UAE". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  20. ^ "What the UAE's new green visa means for teachers". The National. 2022-04-28. Archived from the original on 2022-05-02. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  21. ^ Bell, Jennifer (16 February 2023). "UAE Golden Visa: Are you eligible and how do you apply?". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  22. ^ Vision, Future. "Golden Visa UAE". Future Vision. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  23. ^ Gokulan, Dhanusha. "More investors seek second passports, UAE Golden Visas amid global headwinds". Gulf News. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  24. ^ Wam. "UAE, Thailand sign visa waiver agreement". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  25. ^ "Jamaica, United Arab Emirates sign visa waiver agreement". jamaica-gleaner.com. 2019-09-23. Archived from the original on 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  26. ^ "Mohamed bin Zayed, President of South Sudan attend signing of MoUs". wam. 2019-04-23. Archived from the original on 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
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  36. ^ "UAE visa - Etihad Airways". Archived from the original on 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  37. ^ Services, TT. "UAE Visa Services - UAE Visa Application and Processing Center". Ttsuaevisas.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
  38. ^ Services, TT. "UAE Visa Services - UAE Visa Application and Processing Center". Ttsuaevisas.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-14. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
  39. ^ "UAE Visas". Flydubai.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  40. ^ 2011, Medyasoft (c). "Turkish Airlines". Evize.turkishairlines.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2016-07-13. ((cite web)): |last= has numeric name (help)
  41. ^ "Welcome to travel2dubai with IndiGo". Indigo.travel2dubai.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-28. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  42. ^ a b Timatic.
  43. ^ "Azerbaijan grants UAE residents visa on arrival". Archived from the original on 2020-01-02. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  44. ^ "On Approval of the List of Countries, Whose Visa and/or Residence Permit Holders May Enter Georgia without a Visa for an Appropriate Period and under Appropriate Conditions". Archived from the original on 2020-01-02. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  45. ^ "Visitor by Nationality - Emirate of Dubai 2017" (PDF). Dsc.gov.ae. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
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  47. ^ "Visitor by Nationality by years". Archived from the original on 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  48. ^ "Abu Dhabi Hotel Report 2018" (PDF). Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism. 31 December 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.

External links

Visa policy by country
Visa requirements by citizenship
United Arab Emirates articles
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