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.

Visa policy map

Visa exemption (free visa on arrival)

Ordinary passports

Holders of ordinary passports of the following countries and territories may enter the UAE without a visa for the following period: ^[1]

Freedom of movement   Bahrain ID   Kuwait ID1   Oman ID   Qatar ID   Saudi Arabia ID 180 days   Albania 2   Mexico 2 90 days   Bosnia and Herzegovina   Fiji   Kosovo 90 days within any 180 days All European Union member states (except Ireland)   Argentina   Armenia   Azerbaijan   Bahamas   Barbados   Belarus   Chile   Colombia   Costa Rica   El Salvador   Georgia   Honduras   Iceland   Israel   Kiribati   Liechtenstein   Maldives   Montenegro   Nauru   Norway   Paraguay   Peru   Russia   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines   San Marino   South Korea   Serbia   Seychelles   Solomon Islands    Switzerland   Uruguay 90 days within any 12 months   Brazil 30 days [2]   Andorra   Australia   Brunei   Canada   China 3   Hong Kong   Ireland   Japan   Kazakhstan   Macao   Malaysia   Mauritius   Monaco   Mongolia   New Zealand   Singapore   Ukraine   United Kingdom 4   United States   Uzbekistan   Vatican City

_{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.}

Date of visa changes

6 May 2015: All countries of Schengen Area 16 July 2015: Seychelles [3] 16 May 2017: Argentina [4] 1 July 2017: Japan 16 December 2017: Chile [5] 31 December 2017: Ukraine 16 January 2018: China [6] 31 March 2018: Montenegro [7] 25 May 2018: Honduras May 2018: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 29 April 2018: Uruguay 2 June 2018: Brazil [8] 1 July 2018: Barbados [9] 31 October 2018: Mexico [10] 30 November 2018: Liberia December 2018: Sierra Leone January 2019: Paraguay 17 February 2019: Russia 6 May 2019: Serbia [11] 16 August 2019: Paraguay [12] 5 March 2020: Colombia [13] 16 January 2021: Belarus 1 July 2021: Israel 20 April 2023: Albania 8 July 2023: Azerbaijan [14] 6 November 2023: Bosnia and Herzegovina 28 December 2023: Mongolia 1 February 2024: Armenia 16 February 2024: Uzbekistan 22 February 2024: Kosovo

Non-ordinary passports

  United Arab Emirates

  Visa not required for diplomatic and service passports

  Visa not required for diplomatic 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:

Country	Passports	Agreement signed on
Ghana [15]	All	18 November 2019
Jamaica [16]	Diplomatic, official	23 September 2019
South Sudan [17]	Diplomatic	23 April 2019
Papua New Guinea [18]	All	21 October 2017
Kenya [19]	Diplomatic	25 February 2017

Online Visa

Citizens of other countries have the option to obtain an online visa by two ways: ^[20]

Smart Service

Visitors may obtain a visa online through Smart Service for Dubai ^[21] or other emirates. ^[22] 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, ^[23] Air Astana, ^[24] Emirates, ^[25] Etihad ^[26] (and Air Baltic, Air Serbia, flydubai, ^[27] Turkish Airlines ^[28] 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. ^[20]

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. ^{[29] [30]}

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. ^[31] Indian citizens may extend their stay for an additional 14 days. ^[20]

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. ^[32]

The Golden Visa was invoked by the government of the United Arab Emirates in 2019, ^[33] under Cabinet Resolution No.56 of Organization of Residence Permits for Investors, Entrepreneurs and Professional Talent, 2018. ^[34] The UAE Golden Visa costs 136,000 USD for investors. ^[35]

Admission restrictions

Citizens of Nigeria are required to hold a hotel booking or an accommodation address for the whole period of their intended stay. ^[20]

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. ^[20]

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. ^[36]
•   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. ^[37]
•   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. ^[38]
•   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. ^[36]
•   Uzbekistan - Since June 2022, UAE residents with residency valid for at least 90 days can enter Uzbekistan visa-free for 30 days. ^[39]

Visitor statistics

Emirate of Dubai

Most visitors ^{[note 1]} arriving to Emirate of Dubai were from the following countries of nationality: ^{[40] [41] [42] [43]}

Country	2022	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
India	1,842,000	1,970,000	2,032,000	2,073,000	1,800,000	1,601,000
Oman	1,311,000	1,030,000	829,000	862,000	1,037,000	1,002,000
Saudi Arabia	1,216,000	1,565,000	1,568,000	1,529,000	1,638,000	1,542,000
United Kingdom	1,043,000	1,200,000	1,212,000	1,265,000	1,245,000	1,188,000
Russia	758,000	728,000	678,000	530,000	240,000	211,000
United States	590,000	667,000	656,000	633,000	607,000	602,000
Germany	422,000	560,000	567,000	506,000	462,000	461,000
China	n/a	989,000	857,000	764,000	540,000	450,000
Pakistan	n/a	501,000	513,000	598,000	607,000	513,000
Total	14,360,000	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: ^[44]

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

• United Arab Emirates portal

• Visa requirements for Emirati citizens

residency

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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2. Extendable for another 30 days for a fee.
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4. "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.
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6. 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.
7. "Detalji". Mvp.gov.me. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
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21. "Dubai Online Visa".
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23. "Visa and passport information - Air Arabia". Airarabia.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
24. "Visas". Air Astana. Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
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27. "UAE Visas". Flydubai.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
28. "Turkish Airlines". Evize.turkishairlines.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
29. "UAE announces new visa rules for residents, jobseekers and tourists". Gulf Business. 14 June 2018. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
30. "В ОАЭ отменили визы для транзитных туристов". Tourdom.ru. 14 June 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
31. "Smart Service".
32. "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.
33. Bell, Jennifer (16 February 2023). "UAE Golden Visa: Are you eligible and how do you apply?". Al Arabiya . Retrieved 21 February 2023.
34. "Golden Visa UAE". Future Vision. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
35. Gokulan, Dhanusha. "More investors seek second passports, UAE Golden Visas amid global headwinds". Gulf News . Retrieved 21 February 2023.
36. Timatic.
37. "Azerbaijan grants UAE residents visa on arrival". 29 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2020-01-02. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
38. "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.
39. "Uzbekistan Visa for UAE Citizens and Residents". www.advantour.com. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
40. "Visitor by Nationality - Emirate of Dubai 2017" (PDF). Dsc.gov.ae. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
41. "Visitor by Nationality* - Emirate of Dubai (2014 - 2016)" (PDF). Dsc.gov.ae. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
42. "Visitor by Nationality by years". Archived from the original on 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
43. Annual visitor report 2023. Dubai
44. "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

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UAE
• Emirati E-visa for sponsored individuals