Visa policy of the United Arab Emirates

The visa policy of the United Arab Emirates allows citizens of certain countries to enter the United Arab Emirates without a visa. Citizens of certain other countries must obtain a visa from one of the UAE diplomatic missions. Alternatively, they may obtain an online visa through Smart Service or airlines.

All visitors must have a passport valid for at least 6 months, or 3 months if holding a residence permit. Citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council countries need only show a government-issued ID card.

Ordinary passports
Holders of ordinary passports of the following countries and territories may enter the UAE without a visa for the following period:

ID - May enter with an ID card. 1 - For holders of biometric passports without "Article 17" stamp. 2 - Days above are for holders of ordinary passports only, non-ordinary passports are visa-exempt for 90 days within any 6-month period instead. 3 - Applicable for both holders of ordinary passports and passports for public affairs. 4 - Only applicable for British citizens, British Overseas Territories citizens and British Subjects who have a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode.

Non-ordinary passports


In addition to countries whose citizens are visa-exempt, holders of diplomatic or official/service passports of Algeria, Burkina Faso (30 days), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, India, Indonesia (30 days), Jordan, Liberia, Morocco, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Thailand (30 days), Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam (30 days) and holders of diplomatic passports of Armenia, Burundi, Chad, Congo DR, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Uzbekistan do not require a visa for 90 days (unless otherwise stated).

Future changes
United Arab Emirates has signed visa exemption agreements with the following countries, but they have not yet been ratified or applied:

Online Visa
Citizens of other countries have the option to obtain an online visa by two ways:

Smart Service
Visitors may obtain a visa online through Smart Service for Dubai or other emirates. Passengers must have a printed e-Visa confirmation.

Airline Visa
Visitors may obtain a visa online through an airline if they are arriving on Air Arabia, Air Astana, Emirates, Etihad (and Air Baltic, Air Serbia, flydubai, Turkish Airlines and Indigo Airlines.

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 2 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 citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, Niger, Syria, Somalia, Yemen.

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

Substitute visa
Citizens of India with an ordinary passport valid for 6 months from the arrival date with a visa issued by the USA which is valid for a minimum of 6 months may obtain a visa on arrival for a maximum stay of 14 days. They may apply before departure. Indian citizens may extend their stay for an additional 14 days.

The UAE has also introduced a new Green Visa for people with bachelors degrees who earn Dh15,000 (4,084 USD) 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.

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

Admission restrictions
Citizens of Nigeria are required to hold a hotel booking or an accommodation address for the whole period of their intended stay.

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

Use UAE Visa for other countries
The UAE visa or residence permit is accepted as a substitute visa and this visa allows simplified entry into the following countries:
 * 🇦🇲 Armenia - UAE residents may obtain a visa on arrival valid for up to 120 days.
 * 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan - UAE resident may obtain a visa on arrival for a maximum stay of 30 days if they have a residence permit valid for at least 6 months from the arrival date.
 * Georgia - UAE residents and visa holders may enter Georgia without visa for 90 days within any 180-day period. UAE visa and/or a residence permit must be valid on the day of entry into Georgia.
 * 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan - Citizens of Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Yemen who are UAE residents can obtain a short-term entry-exit visa under a simplified procedure.
 * 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan - Since June 2022, UAE residents with residency valid for at least 90 days can enter Uzbekistan visa-free for 30 days.

Emirate of Dubai
Most visitors arriving to Emirate of Dubai were from the following countries of nationality:

Emirate of Abu Dhabi
Hotel guests checking in hotels in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi were from the following countries of nationality: