Dubai Visit Visa Fee: 2025 Costs, Types & Hidden Charges

If you're planning a trip to Dubai or bringing family over, the dubai visit visa fee is rarely just one number. It's a stack of charges — government fee, service fee, insurance, and sometimes a security deposit — that varies by visa length, sponsor, and where you apply.

Quick answer

For 2025, the dubai visit visa fee typically lands between AED 370 and AED 1,200 depending on duration and entry type. A 30-day single-entry visa runs around AED 370–550 through GDRFA (General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs), the 60-day option sits near AED 700–900, and multi-entry 60-day visas can reach AED 1,200. Add roughly AED 100–250 for typing and service charges if you go through a typing centre or agent, plus mandatory medical insurance from AED 50.

The actual fee breakdown by visa type

Dubai's visit visas come in a few flavours, and the dubai visit visa fee scales with how long you want to stay and how many times you want to enter.

30-day single-entry tourist visa. The government fee is roughly AED 370 when applied directly via the GDRFA Dubai app or smart channels. Through agents or airlines, you'll see AED 450–550 quoted.

60-day single-entry tourist visa. Expect AED 700–900 depending on the channel. This one's popular with family visitors and remote workers doing a stint.

60-day multi-entry tourist visa. The most expensive standard option — around AED 1,200. Useful if you're flying in and out for business or hopping to Oman and back.

Multi-entry 5-year tourist visa. Introduced under Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2022, this costs around AED 1,820 and allows 90-day stays (extendable by another 90) per visit, up to 180 days a year. Honestly, if you visit Dubai more than twice a year, this pays for itself fast.

Transit visa (48-hour or 96-hour). The 48-hour version is free; the 96-hour version is around AED 50 plus service charges. Airline-sponsored only.

Costs at a glance (2025):
- 30-day single entry: AED 370–550
- 60-day single entry: AED 700–900
- 60-day multi-entry: AED 1,200
- 5-year multi-entry: AED 1,820
- Medical insurance: from AED 50
- Typing/service charges: AED 100–250

Where you apply changes what you pay

Same visa, different price tag. That's the awkward truth.

Apply directly through the GDRFA Dubai smart services or the ICP (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security) app, and you'll pay the base government fee with minimal markup. Apply through Emirates, Etihad, or flydubai with your ticket, and they bundle a service fee on top — usually AED 100–200. Apply through a third-party agent or typing centre, and markups can hit AED 300+.

In my experience, most clients overpay because they default to whichever travel agent booked their flight. If you have a UAE sponsor — a relative, employer, or hotel — the smart-app route is almost always cheaper.

Frankly, the convenience fee is fine if you value the time. Just know you're paying it.

Sponsorship rules and the security deposit nobody mentions

This catches people out. A lot.

If a UAE resident sponsors a visit visa for a relative, GDRFA can require a refundable security deposit of AED 1,000–2,000 per visitor, depending on nationality. The deposit is returned after the visitor leaves the country — but it can take 60–90 days to refund, and you need to actively claim it.

Sponsors must also meet eligibility thresholds. Under the current GDRFA framework, a resident sponsoring a family visit visa generally needs a minimum monthly salary of AED 4,000 (or AED 3,000 with company-provided accommodation), and the relationship must be documented — attested marriage certificate for spouses, attested birth certificates for children and parents.

The relevant legal basis sits in Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021 on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners and its implementing regulations, which set out sponsor obligations and the consequences of overstay (which fall on the sponsor, not just the visitor).

Don't sponsor anyone you wouldn't trust with your own bank balance. If they overstay, the fines and bans land on your file too.

Medical insurance, Emirates ID, and the small print

Since 2023, medical insurance covering the duration of stay is mandatory for visit visa holders. The cheapest compliant policies start around AED 50 for 30 days, AED 90 for 60 days. Some applications won't process without proof of insurance uploaded at submission.

You don't need an Emirates ID for a standard visit visa under 90 days. But if you extend past 90 days or convert to a residence visa, biometrics and an ID card become mandatory — adding around AED 370 for the ID and AED 575 for the medical fitness test.

Overstay fines are AED 50 per day starting from the day after expiry. There's no grace period for visit visas anymore — that ended in 2022. Miss your flight by three days and you're looking at AED 150 plus a potential entry-ban flag if you ignore it.

Watch out: A common scam — agents quoting AED 250 for a 30-day visa. The government fee alone is AED 370. If someone's underbidding the official rate, they're either using stolen credentials or you're being baited into a bigger upsell. Walk away.

Extensions, conversions, and getting the deposit back

You can extend most tourist visas twice, for 30 days each, without exiting the UAE. The extension fee is around AED 600 per extension via GDRFA smart channels. Two extensions on a 30-day visa gives you 90 days total in the country — useful if a family visit stretches or a job offer is pending.

Converting a visit visa to a residence visa from inside the UAE (status change) was reinstated for most nationalities post-2022. The status-change fee is roughly AED 750 on top of your residence visa costs, sparing you a flight to Kish or Muscat.

To reclaim a sponsor's security deposit:

1. Confirm the visitor has exited (check passport stamp dates).
2. Submit a refund request via the GDRFA Dubai app or Amer service centre.
3. Provide the original deposit receipt and the visitor's passport copy showing the exit stamp.
4. Wait 30–90 days for the refund to hit the sponsor's account.

Lose the receipt and you'll spend more time chasing the refund than the deposit is worth. Photograph it the day you pay.

Frequently overlooked charges

A few costs that don't show up in the headline dubai visit visa fee but absolutely should:

• Urgent processing fee: AED 100 extra for 24-hour issuance vs. the standard 3–5 working days.
• Airport-to-visa change-of-status fee: AED 620 if you arrive on a visa-on-arrival and want to convert without leaving.
• Re-entry permit for multi-entry holders: Usually bundled, but verify before assuming.
• Translation and attestation: If sponsoring a parent or sibling, attesting the birth/relationship certificate in the home country can cost USD 100–300 before MoFA (UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs) attestation here at AED 150 per document.

For broader context on residency pathways once you're here, see our visa category guide.

The bottom line on dubai visit visa fees

Budget realistically: AED 500 minimum for a basic 30-day visit, AED 1,000–1,500 for a 60-day sponsored visit including insurance and incidentals, and AED 2,000+ if you're factoring in deposits and extensions. The dubai visit visa fee itself is only part of the picture — the deposit, insurance, attestation, and any extension fees are where budgets quietly blow out.

Apply through official GDRFA or ICP channels where you can. Keep every receipt. And if a deal looks too cheap, it is.

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Sources

[1] Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021 on Entry and Residence of Foreigners, UAE Official Gazette. [2] Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2022 on Entry Permits and Visa Categories. [3] GDRFA Dubai — Smart Services portal, fee schedules 2024–2025. [4] ICP (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security) — visit visa categories and fees. [5] UAE Government Portal (u.ae) — Tourist Visa pages, updated 2024.

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