Holders of Ordinary Passports:
- Chinese nationals holding ordinary passports are exempted from prior visa to enter the UAE starting from 2016/11/1 free of charge for staying 30 days and can be extended to stay in the UAE for a similar period once after paying the fees according to the regulations applied in the UAE.
- Nationals of the countries listed below do not require a prior visa in order to enter the United Arab Emirates for business or leisure. Those visitors will be granted upon arrival a one-month non-renewable visa.
United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Norway, Portugal, Greece, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Monaco, Iceland, San Marino, Spain, Vatican, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Poland Slovenia, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Slovakia , Czech , Lithuania , Hungary, Latvia , Estonia , Malta , Cyprus , Croatia, Romania , Bulgaria , USA, Australia , New Zealand , Japan , Singapore , Hong Kong, Brunei , Malaysia, South Korea, Canada.
- Nationals of the Russian Federation, normal passports holders are granted entry visas to the UAE from all ports of the UAE with effect from February 1, 2017, free of charge for staying 30 days and can be extended to stay for a similar period (30 days) once after paying the fees according to the regulations applied in the UAE.
- Nationals of Republic of India, normal passports holders with the United States visas or green cards, are granted entry permissions to all ports of the UAE with effect from May 1, 2017.Nationals of The Republic of Argentina, diplomatic, official and ordinary passport holders are exempted from visas to enter the UAE with effect from May 16, 2017 for staying 90 days per visit.
- Nationals of The Republic of Mali, diplomatic passport holders are exempted from visas to enter the UAE with effect from August 18, 2017 for staying 90 days per visit.
- Nationals of The Republic of Maldives, diplomatic passport holders are exempted from visas to enter the UAE with effect from November 16, 2017 for staying 90 days per visit.
- All other nationalities who wish to visit the UAE must obtain a visit visa in advance through a sponsor. The sponsor can be your travel agency, your hotel, the company or organization you are doing business with in the UAE, or an individual (e.g. a relative or friend who lives in the UAE and earns a monthly income over 4000DHS).
The following steps can be followed to apply for the required visa:
- Send a copy of your passport to your visit sponsor (minimum validity of the passport should not be less than 6 months)
- Your sponsor will submit an application to the relevant authorities in the UAE.
- After the visa has been issued, your sponsor will send you a copy of it and deposit the original at your arriving airport at least one hour prior to your arrival.
- Carry the copy of your visa with you and collect the original from the airport visa desk after your arrival and before you proceed to the UAE passport control area.
Diplomatic/ Official Passports Holders
- Nationals of the following countries, holding diplomatic and official passports, are permitted to enter the United Arab Emirates without a pre-obtained Entry Visit Visa. However, those visitors will be granted upon arrival to the UAE a free of charge, one-month non-renewable visa:
- Nationals of the Republic of Costa Rica, diplomatic passport holders are exempted from visas to enter the UAE with effect from April 17, 2017 for staying 90 days per visit.
- United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Portugal (Diplomatic Passports Only), Finland, Spain (Diplomatic Passports Only) , Greece, Turkey, Cyprus ,New Zealand, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, China (Diplomatic Passports Only) , Vietnam, Algeria, Armenia (Diplomatic Passports Only) , Egypt, Jordon (Diplomatic Passports Only), Tunisia, Morocco, Azerbaijan (Diplomatic Passports only), Kazakhstan (Diplomatic Passports Only), Chinese (Diplomatic, Service and Public Affairs)
Holders of diplomatic passports from other countries who are posted in Shanghai can apply with the Consulate General for a short visit visa prior to travel.
The following documents need to be submitted:
- Note Verbal from their diplomatic /consular mission indicating the title of the applicant, the purpose and date of the visit, duration of stay.
- Original Passport with a validity of not less than 6 months.
- 2 photographs.
- Completed visit visa application form which can be downloaded from here.
Types of visa
Short visit visa
- This type of permit entitles the holder to a 30 day stay from the date of entry, non renewable and is valid for (60) days from the date of issue.
Long visit visa
- This type of permit entitles the holder to a 3 month stay from the date of entry, non renewable and is valid for (60) days from the date of issue.
Multiple Entry Visa
- This visa, often used by business people who are frequent visitors to the UAE, entitles the holder to multiple entries into the country for a period of six months from the day of issuance with a stay of no more than 14 days each time.
Transit Visa
- Passengers passing through the UAE airports while flying to or from different parts of the world can obtain a special 96-hour transit visa, which is sponsored by an airline operating in the UAE. The traveler must have a valid ticket for onward flight to a third destination and the duration between the two trips is not less than 8 hours.
How to apply for a visa:
You can get entry visa through the following ways:
- Getting from the competent authorities in the United Arab Emirates through the host or sponsor in the state, which deposits the visa at ports of entry.
- Passengers for tourism can get entry visa to the United Arab Emirates through travel companies and hotels.
You can also get entry visa through the national carrier by the following links:
- Emirates Airlines
- Etihad Airway
- The application for transit visa could be arranged by the UAE National Airlines or other airlines, depending on their regulations.
- For information about the other types of visa , please click here.
