Dubai Visiting Visa Cost in 2025: What You Actually Pay

If you're booking a relative's trip to Dubai and trying to figure out the real dubai visiting visa cost, you've probably noticed the numbers online don't match. Agency sites quote one figure, the GDRFA portal shows another, and your travel agent quotes a third. Here's what's actually going on.

Quick answer

The dubai visiting visa cost in 2025 ranges from AED 370 for a 30-day single-entry tourist visa to roughly AED 1,150 for a 60-day multi-entry visa, when applied through the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) or Smart Services. Add AED 100 for urgent processing and around AED 50–150 in service or typing-centre fees. Airlines and travel agencies add their own markup, often AED 100–300. Total, expect AED 400–500 for a basic 30-day visit visa through official channels. [1][2]

The official price list (and why nobody quotes it cleanly)

GDRFA Dubai and the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) publish the base fees. Here's what they actually charge in 2025:

• 30-day single-entry tourist visa: AED 370
• 30-day multi-entry tourist visa: AED 720
• 60-day single-entry tourist visa: AED 470
• 60-day multi-entry tourist visa: AED 1,150
• Urgent processing add-on: AED 100
• Visa extension (per 30 days, done inside the UAE): AED 600 [1][2]

That's the government slice. Pretty clean.

What inflates the number on third-party sites is the service fee — typing centre charges, agency commission, courier, "insurance bundle", and sometimes a fake "express" surcharge that just covers their own margin. Honestly, most clients I deal with overpay by AED 200–400 because they used the first Google result.

Costs at a glance
Government fee (30-day single): AED 370
Typical agency markup: AED 100–300
Urgent processing: AED 100
Mandatory medical insurance (sometimes bundled): AED 50–90
Realistic total via agency: AED 500–750

Where you apply changes the price

You've got four real options. Each one has a different sticker.

1. Through an Emirates or flydubai booking. If your visitor is flying one of the UAE national carriers, you can sponsor the visa via the airline's portal. Emirates charges around AED 350 for a 30-day single-entry, but you must hold a confirmed return ticket on Emirates. Convenient, slightly cheaper, locked to one airline.

2. GDRFA Dubai Smart Services or ICP app. Direct to government. Cheapest if you handle it yourself. You'll need a UAE-resident sponsor (a relative or friend with an Emirates ID) for visit visas, or you apply as a tourist with hotel booking and return ticket for the standard tourist visa. This is the route I usually recommend.

3. A registered typing centre or visa agency. Convenient, faster turnaround, but you pay for it. Expect AED 500–800 all-in for a 30-day tourist visa.

4. Hotel bookings on Booking.com or similar. Some hotels include visa processing if you book a minimum stay. The dubai visiting visa cost gets bundled into the hotel rate, which makes it hard to see what you're really paying. Compare before you commit.

A quick warning: any site charging more than AED 900 for a basic 30-day single-entry tourist visa is overcharging. Walk away.

Tourist visa vs. visit visa — they cost different things

People mix these up constantly. They're not the same product.

A tourist visa is what most visitors get. No UAE sponsor required, applied through an airline, hotel, or licensed agent. Standard 30 or 60 days.

A visit visa requires a UAE-based sponsor — usually a first or second-degree relative who holds a residence visa, or a UAE company sponsoring a business visitor. The fees are similar but you'll need to submit the sponsor's Emirates ID, passport copy, salary certificate (minimum AED 4,000/month is the usual threshold), and a tenancy contract registered with Ejari (Dubai's official rental registration system). [3]

For family visits the visit visa route is often cheaper because you skip the agency markup — but you spend time gathering documents. Trade-off.

Extensions, overstays, and the fees that actually hurt

The dubai visiting visa cost you pay upfront is small compared to what an overstay will cost you.

Extension inside the UAE: AED 600 per 30-day extension, available for tourist and visit visas. You can extend twice without exiting, giving you up to 90 days total on a 30-day visa. Apply through Smart Services before the visa expires — even one day late and you pay the overstay fine instead. [2]

Overstay fine: AED 50 per day from day one of overstay (this changed in late 2022 — used to be AED 100 for the first day plus AED 50 thereafter). Sounds manageable until you realise a two-week overstay is AED 700 plus the AED 600 extension you should've done. Then there's the AED 250 "exit permit" if you're trying to leave with an expired visa. [2][4]

Watch out
If your visitor enters on a 30-day visa and overstays by 30 days, the bill at the airport is roughly AED 1,500–1,800 once you add the exit permit and out-pass. Far more than just renewing on time.

Medical insurance — now mandatory, and people forget

Since 2023, ICP and GDRFA require all visit visa applicants to hold valid medical insurance covering their stay. The insurance must cover treatment in the UAE for the full visa period. Most agencies bundle a basic policy for AED 50–90 for 30 days. If you apply direct, you need to buy it separately — Daman, Orient, and several others sell visitor policies online for AED 60–120. [5]

Without proof of insurance, the application gets rejected at submission. Frustrating because the rejection fee isn't refunded by some agencies. Check before you pay.

The hidden costs nobody mentions

Beyond the headline dubai visiting visa cost, budget for:

• Emirates ID for visits over 90 days: AED 100 plus AED 70 typing fee. Required if extending beyond the initial visa period.
• Visa status change (in-country): If your visitor wants to switch to a residence visa without leaving, the status change fee is around AED 750.
• Refundable deposit: Some sponsors are asked to pay a AED 1,000–2,000 refundable deposit, especially for visitors from certain nationalities. Returned when the visitor exits on time.
• Re-entry permit if visa was cancelled early: AED 200.

Frankly, the deposit catches people out the most. It's not a fee — you get it back — but you need the cash flow.

Which route gives you the best price

If you're the visitor and travelling on Emirates or flydubai: book through the airline. Lowest hassle, fair price.

If you have family in the UAE: go visit visa through GDRFA Smart Services or the ICP app, directly. You'll pay around AED 370–470 government fees plus insurance. No agency markup.

If you need speed and don't want to deal with portals: a reputable typing centre with the AED 100 urgent fee will get the visa in 24–48 hours for around AED 600–700 all-in.

If anyone quotes you over AED 1,000 for a basic 30-day single-entry tourist visa, they're either selling you a package you didn't ask for or pocketing the difference. Push back.

For more on related residency questions, see our UAE visa categories guide.

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Sources

[1] GDRFA Dubai, Visit Visa Services — gdrfad.gov.ae (2025 fee schedule) [2] ICP, Entry Permit Services — icp.gov.ae (2025) [3] UAE Government Portal, Sponsoring family for visit — u.ae [4] UAE Cabinet Resolution on entry and residence amendments, 2022 [5] ICP circular on mandatory medical insurance for visit visas, 2023

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