Dubai by night

Travel means many things, and one of the most significant things is a need for appropriate documentation. Often, a passport from your home country is required as well as a visa of some sort. If heading to the UAE, you will want to know about Dubai tourist visa requirements.

Two Types of Dubai Tourist Visa Requirements

Currently, travelers headed to this dynamic and popular destination have to select from two types of Dubai tourist visa requirements:

A Tourist Visa – This is purely for leisure travelers and often requires that the visitor exit the country after 30 to 90 days after their initial arrival
A Visit Visa – This is also for a short-term stay, but may (or may not) demand the traveler exit Dubai. Instead, this is a visa that will be of use to those who are considering relocating and will allow them to convert the visa to a residence visa or an employment visa

If you are visiting Dubai (or the UAE) for 14 days or more, traveling for business, or to stay with family, the Visit Visa is a good choice. If it is purely for a holiday, your Dubai tourist visa requirements can be met by the standard Tourist Visa.

And as the official Dubai website says of Dubai tourist visa requirements: “People from different nationalities have to satisfy different criteria to get a valid visa to enter United Arab Emirates (UAE),” and if you meet the Dubai requirements you will find they apply to travel in any of the Emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah), too.

The fees for a standard visit visa are 370 AED for a 30 day visa, 700 AED for a 90 day visa and more for each if it is to be a multiple entry option.

Dubai Tourist Visa Requirements for US Citizens

If you are an American citizen with a regular passport, you actually do not need a visa in order to enter and visit the UAE. You will need a valid passport that is six months or more ahead of its expiration date and a “Confirmed round-trip airline ticket or airline ticket to other destination.”

You obtain the tourist visa upon arrival and can remain anywhere in the UAE for the next 30 days. If a visit is to extend beyond that, it is important to visit the immigration office to apply for a longer visa.

Dubai Tourist Visa Requirements for Non-US Citizens

Those from the following locations (below) have identical demands where UAE and/or their Dubai tourist visa requirements are concerned as U.S. citizens:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brunei, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Kuwait, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (Except the British overseas citizens), Vatican.

You will receive the visa upon arrival and can remain anywhere in the UAE for the next 30 days. If a visit is to extend beyond that, it is important to visit the immigration office to apply for a longer visa.

Anyone who is a citizen of a GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) nation – Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia – have no need of a visa in order to visit any part of the UAE.

Dubai Tourist Visa Requirements for Everyone Else

If you do not fall under any of the headings above, you must apply for your visa before you enter the UAE. This is done by a visit to a UAE embassy in your home country or through a UAE sponsor.

Some travelers will be able to obtain their 30 day tourist visa or a 14-day Service Visa, or even a Visit Visa via a travel company or a hotel where they have a confirmed reservation. To meet the Dubai tourist visa requirements, the traveler has to “transfer a copy of their passport and other documents to the hotel or travel agency along with their plan and arrival date,” and the hotel or travel company will fax a copy of the visa when it arrives.

The UAE also makes multiple-entry visas available for passengers aboard cruise ships who will be entering, exiting and re-entering any UAE country repeatedly during a visit. The requirements for such visas include obtaining a visit visa first and then obtaining the multiple-entry option.

Transit visas are also an option for those who may find themselves with an overly long layover at any of the major airports in the UAE. Good for up to 96 hours, a transit visa requires a confirmed onward ticket and travel documents valid for, at least, the next three months.

Traveling to Dubai, Egypt and Beyond

If you are concerned about the process of booking a journey, confirming your visa status, and making all of your travel plans, you can set it aside by working with experts in travel to the UAE and other areas of the Middle East.

For example, our Egypt and Dubai Tours include everything, even your air travel if you wish, and even offer a meet and greet service upon arrival. We ensure that your tour in Dubai is seamless and simple.