Dubai is making it easier for international travellers to visit the emirate and introducing incentives to encourage them to return in a drive to strengthen its position as a leading global tourism and business destination.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, on Sunday announced a strategy that includes a tourism loyalty programme that rewards repeat visitors and integrating more visa services into Visit Dubai, the city's official tourism platform.
Travellers can apply for single-entry, multiple-entry tourist visas and long-term multiple-entry visas through Visit Dubai, with additional visa categories expected in the future. Visitors can access the services through a single channel, without navigating multiple websites, applications or entities.
The platform provides these services together with information and tools to support every stage of the visitor journey, from discovering attractions and experiences to booking tickets, exploring events and planning itineraries.
Not every visit visa is a tourist visa. Dubai offers entry permits to suit different travel needs, from short-term holidays and family visits to longer stays, business trips and transit stopovers.
Types of tourist visas
The city offers several tourist visa options through Visit Dubai. The website redirects applicants to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, which remains responsible for assessing applications and issuing visas.
Single-entry tourist visa
The UAE offers 30-day and 60-day single-entry tourist visas, allowing visitors to enter the country once and stay for the permitted duration. Once a visitor leaves the UAE, they cannot use the visa to re-enter.
Multiple-entry tourist visa
Visitors can also apply for 30-day and 60-day multiple-entry tourist visas, which allow them to enter and leave Dubai several times during the visa's validity, subject to the permitted stay conditions.
Requirements
Required documents include a copy of a passport valid for at least six months, a recent passport-size photo with a white background, a confirmed return or onward flight ticket, and valid UAE medical insurance. On arrival, visitors may also be asked to provide hotel booking or accommodation details, along with additional identification documents, depending on the applicant's nationality.
The GDRFA lists the fees as Dh200 ($54.46) for a 30-day visa and Dh300 for a 60-day visa, excluding VAT and other applicable service charges. The fee for multiple entry is Dh300 for a 30-day visa and Dh500 for a 60-day visa, excluding VAT and other applicable service charges.
A UAE-based company or tourism business, such as a licensed travel agency, must sponsor or arrange these visas, rather than an individual.
Five-year multiple-entry tourist visa
Dubai also offers a five-year multiple-entry tourist visa for frequent visitors. It allows holders to enter the country several times, with each visit generally limited to 90 days. Stays can be extended by another 90 days, provided the total stay does not exceed 180 days within one year.
The five-year visa does not require a UAE-based sponsor. Applicants must provide a bank statement showing a balance of at least $4,000, or its equivalent, over the preceding six months, along with valid health insurance, a passport and a return or onward ticket.
Other types of visit visas
Beyond standard tourist visas available through the Visit Dubai website, the UAE also offers several other visit visas.
The visit visa for relatives and friends allows foreign nationals to travel to see people living in the UAE. It can be issued for single or multiple entries, subject to eligibility and sponsorship requirements.
Residents can bring in relatives up to the third degree or friends, provided they meet the minimum monthly salary requirements. For first-degree relatives, the sponsor must earn at least Dh4,000 ($1,090) a month, and Dh8,000 for second or third-degree relatives. Sponsoring a friend requires a minimum monthly income of Dh15,000.
Applicants must have a passport valid for at least six months and a return travel ticket.
AI specialists get a single- or multiple-entry permit for a specific period, subject to a letter from a host or sponsoring technology company.
Entertainment visas are granted to foreigners coming for a temporary period for leisure purposes.
For those attending festivals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars, or cultural, economic, sports, religious, or educational activities, the UAE provides event visas. The sponsor/host must be a public-sector or private-sector entity, and the applicant must submit a letter from the hosting organisation that includes details of the event and its duration.
A maritime tourism visa is another multiple-entry visa for tourists arriving on cruise ships or leisure boats, subject to an approved travel itinerary and a licensed host company.
Visa on arrival and visa-free entry
All international visitors do not need to apply for a UAE tourist visa before travelling. Gulf citizens can enter the UAE without a visa.
More than 80 nationalities are eligible for a visa on arrival in Dubai, while nationals of several other countries are eligible for visa-free entry, including the EU, the UK, the US, China, Australia, and Japan.
Depending on nationality, visitors may be granted permission to stay for 30 or 90 days, with different conditions applying to each category.
Transit visas are also available for eligible travellers passing through the UAE, allowing stays of 48 or 96 hours.
In June, the UAE granted visa-on-arrival to citizens of six countries living abroad. Nationals from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Kenya, and South Africa living abroad can obtain a 14-day or 60-day visa on arrival, provided they hold a valid residence permit issued by the US, an EU member state, the UK, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada.
