Whenever you plan a visit to Dubai (UAE), the first thing you need to do is to check whether you need a visa for Dubai or not, and if the answer is yes, how to get Dubai visa for your trip.
Don’t look around, we provide you all information in this post.
1. Do I need a visa to enter Dubai (UAE)?
This is the very first thing that you need to know before every trip to Dubai.
Travelers to Dubai will be divided into 3 groups:
- Dubai visa-free countries
- Dubai free-visa-on-arrival countries, and
- Required pre-arranged Dubai visa countries.
Now, let’s look at the composition of each group.
Dubai Visa-free countries
According to the latest Dubai visa rules, the citizens of GCC countries will be FREE from visa for every trip to Dubai, no matter how long it is.
The GCC countries are:
- Bahrain
- Kuwait
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
Notes:
- Citizens of those countries can enter Dubai with an ID Card or GCC country passport
- GCC residents (those holding a resident visa of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman) traveling to Dubai are not eligible for this rule.
Dubai free-visa-on-arrival countries
Additionally, citizens of the following countries are eligible for FREE visa on arrival. They will NOT need to do anything before departure, but go straight to the Immigration counter at the airport of Dubai and get a visa-free arrival stamp.
However, in order to get visa on arrival, those travelers must fly with any one of the approved airlines, such as Emirates, Etihad, Air Arabia, Air Astana, Flydubai, Turkish Airlines, and Indigo Airlines. Otherwise, they can apply for an e-visa for Dubai before departure.
Here is the list of Dubai visa-on-arrival countries and maximum duration of stay:
| 180-day Dubai visa on arrival is granted to citizens of following countries: | ||||
| Mexico (For holders of normal passports only; non-ordinary passports are visa-exempt for 90 days within any 180 days instead) | ||||
| 90-day Dubai visa on arrival is granted to citizens of following countries: | ||||
| Georgia (For holders of normal passports only; non-ordinary passports are visa-exempt for 90 days within any 180 days instead) | ||||
| Austria | Germany | Paraguay | ||
| Argentina | Greece | Peru | ||
| Bahamas | Honduras | Poland | ||
| Barbados | Hungary | Portugal | ||
| Belarus | Iceland | Romania | ||
| Belgium | Israel | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | ||
| Bulgaria | Italy | San Marino | ||
| Chile | Kiribati | Serbia | ||
| Colombia | Latvia | Seychelles | ||
| Costa Rica | Liechtenstein | Slovakia | ||
| Croatia | Lithuania | Slovenia | ||
| Cyprus | Luxembourg | Solomon Islands | ||
| Czech Republic | Maldives | South Korea | ||
| Denmark | Malta | Spain | ||
| El Salvador | Montenegro | Sweden | ||
| Estonia | Nauru | Switzerland | ||
| Finland | Netherlands | Uruguay | ||
| France | Norway | |||
| 90 days within any 12 months | ||||
| Brazil (For holders of normal passports only; non-ordinary passports are visa-exempt for 90 days within any 180 days instead) | ||||
| 30 days | ||||
| Andorra | Japan | Singapore | ||
| Australia | Kazakhstan | Ukraine | ||
| Brunei | Macao | United Kingdom (Only applicable for British citizens, British Overseas Territories citizens and British Subjects who have a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode.) | ||
| Canada | Malaysia | |||
| China (including holders of passports for public affairs) | Mauritius | |||
| Hong Kong | Monaco | United States | ||
| Ireland | New Zealand | Vatican City | ||