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Tourist visa

A tourist visa is for those who are not eligible for  visa on arrival  or a  visa-free entry  to the UAE. You can apply for a tourist visa through airlines, hotels and travel agents. Read about the eligibility criteria and the steps to apply.

Multiple entry 5-year tourist visa

Who is a tourist visa for, who can apply for your tourist visa, related eservices.

The multiple entry 5-year tourist visa enables tourists to enter the UAE multiple times on self-sponsorship and remain in the country for 90 days on each visit, and can be extended for further 90 days. This type of tourist visa can be issued for all nationalities.

To obtain this visa, the applicant must have:

• a bank balance of 4,000 USD or its equivalent in foreign currencies during the last six months
• a valid health insurance policy applicable in the UAE
• a ticket to and from the UAE

Documents required

To apply for the multiple entry tourist visa, the applicant must provide the following:

• a colored photo
• a copy of the passport
• medical Insurance
• bank statement for the last 6 months with a balance 4,000 USD or its equivalent in foreign currencies
• tour programme
• a ticket for onward journey.

Read related news coverage on  WAM .

Related online services

• Issue family group multiple entry long-term tourist visa - 5 years - (all nationalities) – ICP
• Issue multiple entries long-term tourist visa - 5 years - (all nationalities) – ICP

Tourist visa is for those who are not eligible for  visa on arrival  or a  visa-free entry  to the UAE. Tourist visa can be obtained for eligible individual tourists from around the world. Females below the age of 18 are not eligible to apply for this type of visa unless they are travelling with their parents.

According to a Cabinet resolution passed in July 2018, children under the age of 18 years who are accompanying adults, can get a  free visa for their visit from 15 July to 15 September each year.

Tourist visas through airlines

Each airline has some conditions, which must be met in order for your visa to be arranged by them. One of the conditions is flying with them. For more updated and specific information, check the following UAE-based airlines for visa types, facilities, terms and conditions:

• Visa services from Etihad Airways  - Etihad Airways
• Visa Services offered by Emirates Airline  - Emirates Airline
• Visa services from Fly Dubai  - Fly Dubai
• Visa services from Air Arabia  - Air Arabia

Tourist visas through agencies and hotels

Licensed travel agents and hotels in the UAE can arrange a tourist visa for you provided you purchase the ticket through them and maintain hotel reservation with the specific hotel.

You can also contact travel agencies in your country for any tourist packages available to the UAE in collaboration with a local tour operator.

It is important to check the authenticity of travel agents you are dealing with and refrain from paying or sending copies of your official documents until after you are 100 per cent sure the tour operator is genuine. You can seek the help of the  UAE embassy in your country  for verification.

Note: The UAE embassies do not issue tourist visas. In order to get a tourist visa to the UAE, you need to get in touch with one of the UAE-based airlines, a tour agency or a hotel (where you intend to stay) in the UAE who will apply for visa on your behalf to the official  visa-issuing authorities  in the UAE.

• Tourist visa from Etihad Airways  - Etihad Airways
• Tourist visa from Emirates Airline  - Emirates Airline
• Tourist visa from Fly Dubai  - Fly Dubai
• Tourist visa from Air Arabia  - Air Arabia

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UAE: No visit visa extensions without exiting country; here's everything you need to know – Khaleej Times

Thu, Nov 09, 2023 | Rabi Al-Aakhir 25, 1445 Published: Wed 14 Dec 2022, 12:38 PM Last updated: Fri 20 Jan 2023, 5:10 PM On Tuesday, new rules came into effect which discontinued the option for visit visa holders in the UAE to extend their visas from within the country. As of now, visitors must exit the country once their visa validity is over. What does this mean for those who are currently on a visit in the country? Here is what travel agents had to say: “It was during the Covid pandemic that the UAE first introduced the option for visitors to extend their visas from within the country,” said Afi Ahmed from Smart Travels. "The option to extend the visa or change [their] status from the country was not available before that.” During the pandemic, when travel became difficult, the UAE made this change due to humanitarian concerns. Visitors who have secured a job in the country or are opting for a residency visa must also exit the country and re-enter for the status change to be effective. The change in rules came into immediate effect on Tuesday, December 13. Travel agents pointed out that the amendments have come into place in all emirates except Dubai. “We applied for an extension for a Dubai visit visa on Tuesday and it was approved,” said Bharat Aidasani from Pluto Travels. “We tried the same for two Abu Dhabi and Sharjah-based visas but it was rejected.” However, some Dubai agents reported that they were unable to process visit visa extensions with an error showing up when they try to apply. Others reported their visa extensions getting rejected. “There are a number of residency visa options available for those wanting to stay longer in the country,” said Abdul Rahim from Aftab Tours. “There are the usual 2-year visas, freelance permits, work from home visas and many more for people to choose from. So, it is not really necessary for people to extend their visit visas.” Other travel agents also agreed. “We have seen cases of some people staying in the country for even a year on a visit visa,” said Bharat. “The government does not really want to encourage that. Those who come for tourism purposes will rarely extend their visas indefinitely like this. For those who are in the country for other purposes, they have several visas to choose from. So, I understand why the changes have been made.” A call centre representative from Rayna Tours also explained that freelance visa permits allowed people to stay in the country and look for work, or take up jobs on a freelance basis. Currently, those who are in the country on a visit visa have several options available to them. Here are some questions from Khaleej Times' readers answered by Afi Ahmed, Smart Travels: My travel agent said visa renewal from inside the country without exiting has been suspended. My visa expires today. So, should I leave the country today? It depends on whether the visit visa is from Dubai or not. If it is from Dubai, then, right now, you may have the option to extend it. You will need to check with your travel agency. However, if it is from any other emirate, you must leave the country ASAP. How many days of grace period are there for me to make my travel arrangements? It depends on your visa duration. If you have a 30-day visit visa, you have a 10-day grace period to exit the country. After the ten days, you will start getting a fine. You can check how many days of grace period you have left on the smart channel portal https://beta.smartservices.icp.gov.ae/echannels/web/client/default.html#/fileValidity I came into this country before this new system was implemented. Will this affect my case too for visa renewal? Yes. The new rule is applicable to everyone with immediate effect. 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UAE announces visa rules: Expats must have Dh10,000 in monthly income to sponsor relatives

Uae government.

3 categories of visas exempt from cancellation if they stay abroad for more than 180 days

Dubai: The UAE has announced new visa regulations and clarifications for expats in a new resolution.

Ali Mohammad Al Shamsi, Chairman of the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security, issued Resolution No. 74 of 2022, which covers the conditions and controls under Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2022, which came into effect on October 3, 2022. 

The new decision features all procedures related to the loss or damage of passports or identity cards for expats, inside or outside the country. Details of the resolution were first reported by Al Khaleej. 

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Lost passport/ID?

The decision allows expats to enter the UAE if they have lost their passport or identity card or both, and visit the competent department within three working days to complete procedures. The expats must first submit an entry request to the UAE through the smart services platform, reporting the loss.

The new decision also outlines the conditions for granting tourist visas, including that the sponsor or host should be a tourism-related institution, company, or registered body in the accredited facility card system and provide a tourism program. It also specifies the conditions for entry visas for truck drivers from land entry outlets or UAE embassies abroad, and for employees' entry visas on tourist ships and picnic boats.

Border ports

Foreigners may be granted an entry visa at adjacent border areas of land entry ports for a 90-day period. Visa holders can enter the country multiple times as long as the visa is valid, and stay every time for a period not exceeding 48 hours, provided that the holder has a valid residence visa in the adjacent border country, is a resident in it, and is not a worker. Domestic workers are excluded if accompanied by the employer or their family members, and visa holders are not allowed to work in the UAE with or without wages.

According to the decision, the Director General of Residence and Foreigners Affairs or their representative may issue an entry visa to expats who are required by relevant authorities in the UAE, based on an official request. In addition, the Director General of Residency and Foreigners Affairs is authorized to issue a "private entry permit" to individuals accompanying heads of state and ministers during their official visits to the UAE.

Entry Visas

The decision specifies that entry visas are valid for 60 days from the date of issuance, and permit the holder to stay in the country in accordance with the type of visa issued. All visit visas allow their holders to enter the UAE once or multiple times, as determined by the issuing entity. However, the visa holder is not allowed to stay in the country for more than 180 days.

Furthermore, the decision includes new regulations for issuing a visit visa to a friend or relative. These conditions apply in addition to previously announced requirements. To obtain the visa, the visitor coming to the UAE must be a friend or relative of an Emirati citizen, regardless of their degree of kinship. Alternatively, the visitor must be a first or second-degree relative of an expat residing in the UAE, in which case the resident expat must hold a job within the first or second level.

Humanitarian cases: 5 rules to sponsor relatives

The decision outlines the issuance of a residence permit that is valid for one renewable year, subject to the availability of a sponsor or host. The decision also lays out 5 conditions that must be met to issue a residence visa for expats from countries affected by wars, disasters, or unrest. These conditions include holding the nationality of a country classified as being in a state of war, disaster, or unrest, as determined by the chairman of the authority, being present in the UAE, having sufficient financial solvency, and having suitable accommodation.

The residence permit may also include family members of the applicant, whether they are inside or outside the country.

Who can be sponsored?

With regards to expat relatives, the decision specifies that those wishing to bring their relatives or their wives' relatives must meet certain requirements to obtain a residence permit. If the expat is related to an Emirati in the UAE, they must prove their kinship. If the foreigner is related to a UAE resident or their spouse, they must have the following degree of kinship: the foreigner's father, mother, or underage siblings, provided that they can financially sponsor them, or the wife's father and mother.

Additionally, the decision requires that a foreigner who wishes to bring their relatives or their wives' relatives must have adequate housing and monthly income. They are allowed to bring in up to 5 individuals if their monthly income is Dh10,000, and up to 6 individuals if their monthly income is Dh15,000. If the number of individuals exceeds 6, the chairman of the authority will determine the applicant's suitability.

Staying outside UAE

The decision outlines 3 categories of individuals exempt from having their residence visa cancelled if they stay outside of the country for more than 180 days. The residence permit will remain valid until its expiration for holders of golden visas and their families, green visas and their families, and individuals approved for exemption by the Director General of Residence and Foreigners Affairs for legitimate reasons and upon payment of the prescribed fee.

Furthermore, the decision specifies 6 categories of foreigners who are exempt from the passport validity requirement upon entering the UAE, as long as their passport is valid for at least one month. These include airplane crews, sailors, workers on board tourist and picnic ships, those with emergency entry, transit, and entry visas, and individuals entering adjacent areas.

The decision also identifies 5 categories of individuals permitted to stay in the UAE for up to 180 days after the cancellation or expiration of their residence permit. These include holders of golden and green visas and their families, foreign widows and divorced expats residing in the UAE, students continuing their studies after graduation, and spouses, parents, and children of Emiratis or foreign passport holders.

Only two categories of individuals are permitted to stay in the country for 90 days after visa cancellation or visa expiration: skilled professionals from the first, second, and third levels, and property owners. Holders of visas issued by sponsors or hosts are allowed to stay for 60 days, while all other categories are only permitted to stay for 30 days.

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UAE President on historic visit to US: Top official reveals what's on the agenda

President of us-uae business council opened up about the priorities of the visit during an exclusive interview with khaleej times.

Nandini Sircar

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Last updated: Sun 22 Sep 2024, 9:18 PM

The UAE plays a significant role in the Middle East and is a valued partner for the United States with the two countries looking to benefit from robust bilateral cooperation across various issues.

These areas entail talks around regional and international peace including Gaza and Sudan, Ukraine and Russia, relationship with China, artificial intelligence (AI), technology transfer, space exploration, and achieving global climate goals among other matters.

Danny Sebright, President of the US-UAE Business Council opened up about the priorities of the agenda during an exclusive interview to Khaleej Times ahead of President Sheikh Mohamed’s historic visit to Washington on Monday.

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He said: “The UAE has always been a close partner to the United States, first in the political and diplomatic areas, then in military intelligence and security and in the last 15 to 20 years, in business and trade. This business and trade and commerce relationship has just ‘exploded’. This is a huge focus between the two countries right now.”

Sebright, who has been involved in Middle East peace efforts since the 1980s and was part of former US President Bill Clinton’s team during those discussions, added:

“At the moment, economic, trade, digital, and AI, all of these things are really essential. The US looks to the UAE for its leadership on climate change. It looks to the UAE for its leadership on north, south, east, and west. All of these things come back to good business, good trade and investments. If we build those bridges, some of the other things that we want to achieve on geopolitics will follow.”

History will be made

Notably, history will be created on Monday with the first visit by a sitting UAE president to the White House. This will also be the inaugural meeting of the UAE and US presidents on American soil since the establishment of the Emirates.

“Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan went (to the US), but he went to Cleveland, Ohio for medical care. Former President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan never went. Sheikh Mohamed came as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, but he never came as the president,” added Sebright.

In 2008, Sheikh Mohamed engaged in discussions with then US President George W. Bush at Camp David, Maryland. Additionally, Sheikh Mohamed met with Biden at a summit in Jeddah two months after assuming the presidency of the UAE in May 2022. They also held talks during the G20 summit in New Delhi in 2023.

“But this is the first time a president of the UAE will visit the White House and have a meeting with the US President Joe Biden there. He’s also going to meet with the Vice President, Kamala Harris (running for presidency).”

Priorities of the visit

Shedding light on the priorities of the visit, Sebright, who has already flown to the US for this significant occasion, said: “So, a very important aspect is to give an official statement to this ‘wonderful tech relationship’ that has developed over the last two years…AI, digital and all of these things. This will be a big focus of the visit.”

Referring to the Microsoft’s enhanced partnership and investment in G42, based in Abu Dhabi that aims to provide advanced AI solutions to public sector clients around the globe, Sebright added:

“The deals that Microsoft and others have signed and working forward between the US and the UAE and the tech and the AI relationship (will be on the list). Then pushing forward on the AI, specifically, some of the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) issues, transfer and sale of technology, making it clear that these are the areas that the US and the UAE want to focus on in the future and ensuring that everybody understands that the US and the UAE governments have discussed and agreed to this.”

Close bilateral space cooperation to grow

Sebright also emphasised that a significant area of interest would be ‘space exploration’, particularly the collaboration between NASA and the UAE Space Agency.

“Going forward, we will have more UAE astronauts getting trained at the Johnson Space Centre. The NASA-UAE Space Agency, NASA-Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) collaborations, are only going to grow. They’re going to grow not only with the astronauts themselves, but they’re going to grow with real research and development, with the teams working together to create new projects."

International collaboration in energy technology

He also pointed out that the discussions would include energy, emphasising not only traditional oil and gas but also renewable and nuclear energy.

“Everything to do with renewable energy, nuclear energy, not just oil and gas, but green energy (will be on the agenda). The things that Masdar are doing in solar and wind…there’ll be a lot of discussion on these topics,” added Sebright.

‘Take the risk for peace’

He reiterated another important talking point on the agenda is that the two global leaders will engage in talks focused on improving regional stability and reducing tensions.

Their dialogue will likely focus on collaborative strategies to address ongoing conflicts and foster a more peaceful environment in the region.

“On the regional, political or strategic (front) they’re obviously going to talk about Gaza and the relationship with Israel. They’re going to talk about Sudan. I expect that issues of Russia and Ukraine are going to come up. There will have to be something said about China, about the importance of having a relationship with China,” said Sebright.

He highlighted that the United States serves as a facilitator, uniting all parties to promote dialogue and teamwork.

“The US’ role is to build the table and create the room. We’re the convener. Our role is to get everybody in the room, brain storm for ideas and try to make people talk. However, we can never get someone to make a deal if they’re not ready to make a deal…it can’t happen."

“But we still have the respect of anybody else on all sides of the table, to bring the people together and convene them. What we used to say back in the (Bill) Clinton years is help them ‘take the risks for peace’. Work with them to lower the things that they’re worried about the most and help them say, ‘I can sign my name to this and have a deal’, because the United States has always helped lower the risk in signing that deal.”

• UAE President to go on historic visit to Washington; Biden to discuss Gaza, Sudan in meeting
• UAE analysts say Kamala Harris may play more active role in ending Middle East humanitarian crises
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