Visa information

Information on different types of visa available in UAE, the most common are visit visa/tourist visa and residency visa the requirements and cost are subject to change depends on government regulations. You are advice to contact the near embassy or travel agent before you move to UAE. Kindly keep in mind that overstay is dealt with heavy fines. (The visa regulations and immigration laws are frequently change without notice, we try to maintain the website with a research team continuously monitoring the UAE regulation)

 

Visit visa/ Tourist Visa: Issued for 14, 30, 60 and 90 days. Some visit visas are extendable maximum up to 90 days but subject to the approval of the concerned department.

 

30-day visit visa free of charge upon arrival, subject to renewal up to 60 days, the following citizens are eligible for visa up on arrival.

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Holland(Netherlands), HongKong, Iceland Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands (Holland), New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City, France.

After this period, a visitor can extend the visit visa by a further two months by leaving the country and returning. This can be done twice. When the third visit visa expires, the person must leave the UAE for at least a month before returning.

 

Citizens of the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) member states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia) do not need a visa to enter UAE.

 

AGCC expatriate residents may obtain a non-renewable 30-day visit visa upon arrival.

 

An individual, who has UAE employment visa or residence visa or an establishment, must sponsor the Visit visa for the other citizens.

 

Transit Visa: Issued for 96 hours for passengers at UAE international airport. There may be a minimum stopover time of 5 hours. The applicant need to show an ongoing ticket and visa cost is Dhs 30, the airline which traveller flying should be able to arrange and sponsor the traveller.

 

Mission Visa: The newly added type of visa issued for the purpose of temporary work in the country mainly for the qualified professional but subject to the approval of the department. It is issued for a maximum of 6 months with a combined fee of Dh1,800. It is issued for three months against a fee of Dh600 and can be renewed for another three months against a fee of Dh1, 200. The employee must not under an employment ban while applying for the mission visa.

 

Multiple Entry Visa: It is an option for businessmen who are frequent visitors to the UAE and who have a relationship with a reputable company here. This multiple visa is valid for six months from the date of issue and costs Dh1,000. However, each visit must not exceed 30 days. The visitor must enter the UAE on a visit visa and obtain the multiple entry visa while he/she is here.

 

6 Months Visit Visa (for property owners): Foreign owners of property in the UAE will be able to stay in the country for six months with a renewable multiple entry visa. The property owner and family can stay for six months from the date of entry and then must return to his home country or a GCC state.

 

Family Visa: A residence visa is required for those who intend to enter the UAE to live indefinitely with a person who is already a resident. It is issued to the immediate kin (Wife and children) of a resident for three years. The dependent visa holders are allowed to take up the employment and they need to apply for a work permit from the department. The residence permit becomes invalid if the resident remains more than six months at a time out of the country.(Expatriate residents who want to bring their families into the country should now earn a minimum monthly salary of Dh10,000 and provide their family with independent accommodation.Previously the minimum salary requirement was Dh3,000, The amount was later raised to Dh4,000 and then Dh6,000 after rapid development and economic growth,The new decision will come into effect after amending by-laws of the residency law Gulf news July 01, 2009) Updated on july 2, 2009

 

Parents of residents are issued residence visas after special approval with a renewable validity of one year for a fee of Dh100 for each year. A refundable deposit of Dh 5,000 has to be paid for each parent.

 

Investor Visa: Investor visa issued to a foreign national to set up a company in UAE or for purchasing a property. The holder is allowed to work only in his establishment and the investor visa on property purchase is not allowed to work without a work permit or employment visa. Owning a property does not guarantee successful application for a residency visa. The immigration department decides that, not the property developer. The foreign investor must hold a minimum stake in the share capital. Like the residence visa, it is issued for three years.

 

Employment Visa: Employment Visa or Permit is issued by the Immigration Department to a foreign national who wishes to work for a company in the UAE upon the approval of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Mostly Employment visa are issued for a period of 3 years and allows working only for the concerned employer. If the employment visa holder changes his employment, he will get a 6 months’ work ban. This can be lifted or buy back if he is provided with an No Objection Certificate from the current employer.

Once the medical certificate is issued by the health department, an application for Labour Card should be submitted to the Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs within 30 days of the employees entry into the country. The next step is to submit the application to Immigration Department for stamping the residency on employee's passport. All the above formalities should be completed within 60 days of the arrival of the employee in UAE.

 

Free zone employment visa issued on the free zone companies and the holder can change the employment without a ban inside the freezone. However, the employee is not allowed to move to the other freezone without NOC.

 

Student Visa: Student visa in UAE is issued up on request by any educational institution and allows the candidate to stay until the completion of course duration, further extension is subject to the approval of the concerned institution until the completion of the course. The students can convert the student visa to employment visa at any time if they find some employment. The student visa holder is eligible to work fulltime and can change company without ban on their visa.

 

Visa regulations- 800-5111 toll-free in the UAE.

 

Your feedback and suggestions are important to us for further improvements email us feedback@uaehrzone.com

 

 

Saeed bin Tahnoon St.

Abu Dhabi

Tel: 02 4462244

 

Aditaba Road, near Dubai Islamic Bank, opposite Carrefour supermarket.

Tel: 03 7625555

 

Department of Naturalization and Residency, Trade Centre Road, near Bur Dubai Police Station

Tel: 04 3980000

 

Department for Naturalization and Residence, near General Post Office

Tel: 06 5726777

Umm al-Qaiwain

Tel: 06 7666419

 

Tel: 06 7422255

Ra's as-Khaimah

Tel: 07 2273333

 

Beginning next Tuesday, applications will be filed for new visit visas which were revamped under a Federal ruling last June, revealed an official at senior residency department.

 

The new fee schedule for visas ranging from visit visas to medical treatment visas, which should have been effective from 1st August, has been postponed due to the weekend holidays (30th July is an official government holiday). The rules are applicable to nationalites, requiring sponsorship for arriving in the country.

 

The DNRD (Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department) and the Economic Department will meet with representatives of tourist agencies, hotels, educational institutions and hospitals on Wednesday to brief them regarding the implementation of changes.

 

The Director-General of DNRD, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ahmad Al Merri, has reiterated the fact that visitors should hold health insurance coverage, while the sponsors will have to pay a refundable deposit of Dh.1000.

 

The Visit visa holder will be permitted to enter UAE once in two months from the date of issuance of visa. As per the amendments, there will be 16 new types of visas.

 

Residents can seek visas for their spouse or blood relative. Expatriates will not be permitted to sponsor friends, while sponsoring blood relative will need prior permission of a senior officer.

 

As per the new regulations expatriates will not be eligible to apply for relatives seeking to enter UAE for any medical treatment. Only hospitals are allowed to do this.

 

New Visa Fees are as follows (in Dirrhams)

Short Entry (visit) Visa - 500 (1 month)

Long Entry (visit) Visa - 1,000 (3 months)

Multiple Entry Visa - 2,000

Entry Visa for Study - 1,000

Renewal of Study Visa - 500

Entry Visa for Medical Treatment - 1,000

Renewal of Medical Treatment Visa - 500

Entry Visa for Expos and Conferences - 100

Tourism Entry Visa - 100

Renewal of Tourism Visa - 500

Entry Visa for GCC State Residents - 100

Renewal of GCC State Resident's Visa - 500

Entry Visa for GCC State Resident's Companions - 100

Renewal of GCC State Residents Companions' Visa - 200

Mission Entry Visa - 200

Transit Entry Visa - 100