by Dubai is a city that is home to some of the most unique and unusual places to see and things to do. The numerous old and new attractions in Dubai attract millions of tourists every year. From viewing the tallest building in the world (the Burj Khalifa) to exploring the largest manmade island in the world (Palm Jumeirah), there is no dearth of things to do in this city. But before you start planning your Dubai holiday, you need to apply for a Dubai tourist visa. Depending on your travel plan, a UAE tourist visa can be applied for 30 or 90 days. This can be for single and multiple entries. Tourist visas have an extension of 30 days and can be done twice, without leaving the country.
Let’s look at how you can get a visit visa for the UAE:
Who is a tourist visa for?
A tourist visa is for people who aren’t eligible for visa-free entry or visas on arrival to the UAE. Eligible individual tourists around the world can obtain a tourist visa. Females below 18 years of age aren’t eligible to apply unless they travel with their parents for this kind of visa. According to the Cabinet resolution in July 2018, those under 18 years of age who are accompanied by adults, can obtain a free visa from July 15 to September 15 for their visit each year.
What is the validity of a tourist visa?
Depending on your travel plans, a UAE tourist visa can be applied for 30 or 90 days of duration, this is single or multiple entries. The UAE recently facilitated a 5-year visa which allows tourists to enter the country multiple times through self-sponsorship and can stay in the country on each visit for 90 days, which also can be extended for 90 days more.
Required documents are:
- Colour photograph of the applicant.
- Colour copy of the applicant’s passport. Passport should be in effect for a minimum of three months.
- Can access the original form in English or Arabic, depending on what the nationality of the applicant is.
- Get a copy of the ticket.
Additional documents needed for visitors from some countries
Depending on the country of residence, additional documents could be required.
| Afghanistan | National ID Card |
| Iraq | National ID Card |
| Pakistan | National ID Card |
| Iran | National ID Card |
Who can apply for your tourist visa?
Tourist visas through airlines
Each airline has few conditions, which should be met to get your visa arranged by them. One condition is flying with them.
Tourist visas through agencies and hotels
Hotels and licensed travel agents in the UAE could arrange a visit visa for you if you purchase the ticket from them and make a reservation with the particular hotel. Also, you can contact travel agencies for tourist packages available for the UAE with a tour operator locally.
It is vital to check if the travel agents are reliable, who you’ll be dealing with. Besides one should prohibit payment or send copies of official documents until you are absolutely sure that the operator is genuine. You can get help from the UAE embassy locally for verification.
Note: The UAE embassy does not issue a visit visa. You need to get in touch with a UAE based airline, tour agency or a hotel (the hotel you intend to stay at) in the UAE to apply for a visa on behalf of you to the UAE visa issuing authorities.
How To Apply
All clients who want to apply for UAE visas using this facility need to follow all the steps below:
- Visit the www.emirates.com page
- Recover your booking by using the link to “Manage an existing booking”.
- Click on “Apply for UAE visa”.
- Read the “terms and conditions”, press agree and proceed.
- You’ll be led to the VFS page.
- You will be asked to select an itinerary for the purpose of the visa and all the co-applicant’s names who need the visa. Also, you will have to enter the passport details, current nationality and the current country you reside in.
- The next page you start entering details such as the email ID, relationship of the applicants that are applying together. Make sure this email ID is accurate and correct because all correspondence related to your application will be shared on this email ID.
- The applicant will get an email on the given email ID. The email will have a hyperlink which can be clicked, and then the application visa form of the applicant will open up.
- The documents will have to be filled up and uploaded. In case there are more clients applying on the PNR, the first applicant should fill the visa application form and start uploading the documents before heading to the 2nd client and so forth.
- If the payment has been processed and is successful, the applicant will get a confirmation email about the payment.
Apply in the UAE
In case you know any near relative and family member who resides in the UAE, they can also apply for the visit visa to help you by going to the ticket office in the UAE. Also please note, this kind of service is available only to UAE residents.
However, if you don’t want to go through hassle, you can take professional help. There are companies that can help you get UAE tourist visas with ease. You can try their services.
