How to Get an Entry Visa for UAE?

How to Get an Entry Visa for UAE? Types, Fees, Steps

If you're flying to the UAE and you're not from a visa-on-arrival country, you need an entry visa before you board. It's a pre-approval, not a residence permit. It controls how long you can legally stay on that single trip.

Quick answer

How to get an entry visa for UAE? Apply through a sponsor — an airline, hotel, UAE-based relative, employer, or licensed travel agent — or directly via the ICP smart services app. The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) issue short-term permits for tourism, visit, business, transit, study, medical treatment, or status conversion. Validity runs from 48 hours (UAE transit visa) to 5 years (multiple entry visit visa UAE). Standard processing: 48 hours.^[1][2]

Who actually needs an entry visa for the UAE

Roughly 80 nationalities get visa-free entry or a UAE visa on arrival — GCC citizens, most EU passports, UK, US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and a handful of others. Stay periods vary: 90 days within 180 for most Europeans, 30 days for UK passports renewable once, and so on.^[3]

Everyone else applies in advance. That includes Indian, Pakistani, Egyptian, Filipino, and most African and CIS passport holders. Indian nationals with a valid US visa, US green card, or UK/EU residence get a visa-on-arrival concession for 14 days, extendable once — worth checking the current UAE visa requirement before you pay an agent.^[3]

Honestly, most travellers assume their employer or hotel handles it. Confirm in writing who's sponsoring before you book a non-refundable flight.

The main entry visa types and current fees

The ICP and GDRFA publish slightly different fee structures, and prices were last revised in 2022. Common categories:

• 48-hour transit visa — free, sponsored by the airline (Emirates, Etihad, flydubai, Air Arabia).
• 96-hour UAE visa transit — around AED 50, also airline-sponsored.^[2]
• 30-day single-entry tourist visa — AED 200 service fee plus AED 100 application; extendable once for 30 more days at roughly AED 600.
• 60-day single-entry tourist visa — around AED 300 plus fees.
• Multiple entry visit visa UAE (60 or 90 days, valid 1 year or 5 years) — AED 650 to AED 1,850 depending on duration.^[1]
• Visit visa for relatives — sponsored by a UAE resident first-degree relative, 30 or 60 days.
• Job exploration visa / 5-year multi-entry — for skilled professionals and recent graduates of top universities, around AED 1,250.^[4]

Add VAT and typing-centre charges if you go through an agent. The ICP app is cheaper but the interface is, frankly, a bit rough.

Watch out: Overstay fines are AED 50 per day from day one after expiry, plus a AED 100 exit clearance fee. There's no grace period on a tourist visa anymore — that changed in 2022.^[5]

How to apply, and how long it takes

Three realistic routes for visa application for UAE entry:

1. Through your airline. Emirates and Etihad both run visa services for ticketed passengers. Submit passport scan, photo, and itinerary. Processing is 3–4 working days. They handle the sponsorship undertaking.

2. Through a UAE hotel or tour operator. Useful if you've booked accommodation. The hotel sponsors the visa against your reservation. Slightly more expensive but the paperwork is theirs.

3. Through ICP smart services (icp.gov.ae) or the UAEICP app. If a UAE resident relative is sponsoring you, or you're applying for the multi-entry tourist visa yourself, this is the direct route. You'll need a clear passport scan (6 months validity minimum), a passport-size photo on white background, and proof of funds or a return ticket. Standard processing is 48 hours; express service cuts it to 24.^[1]

For business visits, the inviting UAE company applies through their PRO (public relations officer) using the ICP business portal. Validity is usually 14 or 30 days, single entry.

Apply at least 10 days before travel. The system rejects applications occasionally for photo formatting or passport scan quality — give yourself room to resubmit.

Abu Dhabi entry visa vs Dubai — does the emirate matter?

Slightly. The ICP handles the Abu Dhabi entry visa and visas for Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah. Dubai runs its own immigration authority — GDRFA-Dubai — for visas linked to Dubai sponsors, hotels, or Emirates airline. You can enter the UAE through any airport on either visa; the issuing authority just reflects who sponsored you.^[2]

If you're flying into Abu Dhabi International on Etihad with an Etihad-sponsored visa, that's an ICP-issued permit. Land in Dubai on Emirates with a hotel in Downtown? GDRFA. Same legal status, different portal for extensions and status changes. Don't apply twice — duplicate applications across ICP and GDRFA get flagged.

How to get a UAE multiple entry visa (the 5-year tourist visa)

This is the option most frequent visitors miss. The UAE multiple entry visa lets you enter repeatedly over 5 years, staying up to 90 days per visit, extendable once to 180 days total per year. No sponsor required. You apply directly on icp.gov.ae or the UAEICP app.

Eligibility leans on financial proof. You'll need to upload a bank statement showing a balance of at least USD 4,000 (or equivalent) for the last 6 months, a valid health insurance covering the UAE, and a passport with at least 6 months remaining. The fee for this visit visa multiple entry UAE permit is AED 1,850 including the issuance charge.^[1][4]

A few things people get wrong here. The 5-year multiple entry visit visa UAE isn't a residence visa — you can't sponsor family, open a corporate bank account against it, or get an Emirates ID with full residency rights. You also can't work on it. It's a long-validity tourist permit, nothing more.

Processing is typically 5–10 working days because the financial documents get reviewed manually. Refusals on this category are more common than on the 30-day visa, usually for thin bank statements or inconsistent travel history.

Does a UAE visa work like a Schengen visa?

No, and this trips people up constantly. A UAE Schengen visa doesn't exist — the UAE is not part of the Schengen Area, and a Schengen visa does not let you enter the Emirates UAE. They're separate immigration systems. The GCC has discussed a unified GCC tourist visa modelled loosely on Schengen, with UAE visa news in 2024 confirming approval in principle, but rollout dates keep slipping.^[2]

What a Schengen visa can do: help Indian, Chinese, and some other nationals qualify for the UAE visa-on-arrival concession when paired with a valid US, UK or EU residence. That's the only