UAE Visit Visa Fee in 2024: What You Actually Pay

If you're planning to bring family over for a holiday, attend a wedding in Sharjah, or just see Dubai before deciding whether to move here, you'll need to budget for the UAE visit visa fee. The number you see advertised online is almost never what lands on your card.

Quick answer

The UAE visit visa fee in 2024 ranges from AED 200 for a single-entry 30-day tourist visa (government cost) to roughly AED 1,000–1,200 once you add typing-centre charges, ICP/GDRFA service fees, insurance, and the agent's margin. A 60-day single entry runs higher. Multiple-entry visas (60 or 90 days) cost more again and require proof of prior UAE travel or financial means. Pay through a licensed agent, an airline, or directly on the smartservices.icp.gov.ae or gdrfad.gov.ae portals.

What the government actually charges

The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) sets the base fees. For Dubai-issued visas, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) handles it. Same federation, two issuing bodies — Dubai keeps its own immigration shop, which is why fees and processing windows differ slightly between emirates.

Base government cost for a 30-day single-entry tourist visa sits around AED 200. The 60-day single-entry option is roughly AED 400. Multi-entry 60-day visas come in at around AED 650, and the 90-day multi-entry can hit AED 1,000 before service charges. [1][2]

That's the floor. Nobody pays just that.

On top of the base fee, you'll see:

• Service/processing charge: AED 100–250 depending on channel
• Smart services or e-service fee: AED 50–100
• Mandatory medical insurance for the visit: AED 50–200 depending on duration and age
• VAT at 5% on the agent's service component
• Urgent processing (24-hour): an extra AED 100–150

So a "AED 200 tourist visa" usually settles around AED 350–450 at minimum if you go direct, and AED 800–1,200 through a typing centre or travel agent who's adding their own margin. Frankly, most clients get burned here because they compare the headline price across three websites and assume the cheapest one is honest.

The actual fee breakdown by visa type

Here's what people actually pay in 2024, all-in, through a reputable agent or airline channel:

30-day single entry (tourist visa): AED 370–650 60-day single entry: AED 700–950 60-day multi-entry: AED 1,100–1,400 90-day single entry (visit, longer stays): AED 1,000–1,300 90-day multi-entry: AED 1,700–2,200

Add roughly AED 850–1,000 if you want to extend a visit visa for another 30 days from inside the country without exiting. Two extensions are usually permitted before you must leave. [3]

Watch out
Overstay fines from the day after your visa expires are AED 50 per day (since the 2022 reform that scrapped the old grace-period mess). They add up faster than people expect. A two-month overstay = AED 3,000 plus airport processing, and you cannot board a flight out until it's paid.

Who pays less, who pays more

GCC residents in certain professions get a visa-on-arrival route for AED 250, valid 30 days, extendable for another 30. Different fee structure, different counter at the airport. [2]

Citizens of around 80 countries — the UK, most EU states, US, Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, China, Russia, and others — get free visa-on-arrival for 30 or 90 days. If that's you, you're not paying a UAE visit visa fee at all. Check the ICP website before flying because the list changes.

Everyone else — including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Filipino, Egyptian, Jordanian, and most African passport holders — needs a pre-arranged visa. That's where the fees in this article apply.

A small note for Indian passport holders specifically: if you hold a valid US visa, US green card, UK residence visa, or EU residence visa, you qualify for a pre-approved visa-on-arrival at AED 250 (single entry, 14 days) or AED 350 (multi-entry, 60 days per visit, valid five years). Massively cheaper than the standard route. Most travel agents won't tell you because they make more on the regular visit visa. [4]

Where to actually pay

Four channels, in order of how I'd rank them:

1. Airline-sponsored visa (Emirates, Etihad, flydubai, Air Arabia). You book the flight, you apply for the visa through the same portal. Slightly more expensive than DIY but the airline carries the sponsorship risk and processing is generally faster. Good for first-timers.

2. Direct via ICP smart services or GDRFA Dubai. Cheapest. You need a UAE sponsor (a relative on residence visa, or yourself if you have an Emirates ID). The portal is functional, in Arabic and English. Payment by card. Standard processing 24–48 hours.

3. Licensed travel agency or typing centre. Convenient if you don't have a sponsor or you're applying for elderly parents who'd rather not deal with portals. Expect to pay an extra AED 200–400 for the hand-holding.

4. Unlicensed agents on social media. Don't. Genuinely. The Ministry of Interior has prosecuted fake-visa operators under Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021 on Entry and Residence of Foreigners, and victims rarely get refunds.

When the fee changes — and refunds

Fees aren't static. ICP adjusts them periodically by Cabinet Resolution. The last meaningful revision was 2022, when the visa system was overhauled and several new categories (Green Visa, job-exploration visa, five-year multi-entry tourist visa) came in. The five-year multi-entry tourist visa, by the way, costs AED 650 for application plus AED 100 for the entry permit each time you use it — not free entries, despite what some agents imply. [5]

Refunds on visit visa fees are limited. If the application is rejected, government fees are usually forfeited; agent fees are refunded minus a processing charge. If you cancel after approval but before entry, you typically get nothing back. Read the agent's terms before paying.

Costs to budget realistically
For a family of four (two adults + two kids) on a 30-day visit visa from India, all-in cost through a decent agent in 2024 sits at AED 2,800–3,500. That includes insurance and the typing-centre fee. Add flights and accommodation on top.

Common mistakes that cost extra money

• Booking the wrong duration. People underestimate stay length, then pay AED 850+ for an extension. If granny is staying six weeks, get the 60-day visa upfront — it's cheaper than the 30-day plus extension combo.
• Ignoring the medical insurance requirement. It became mandatory for visit visas in 2018 and enforcement tightened in 2023. Without it, the application bounces.
• Paying for "urgent" processing they didn't need. Standard processing is 24–48 hours. Unless you're flying tomorrow, save the AED 150.
• Using expired photos or scanned passports. Rejections cost the full fee on re-submission. The portal is strict about passport validity — six months minimum from entry date.
• Booking with one agent and re-applying with another. Two open applications for the same person triggers an automatic flag. Wait for rejection or withdrawal first.

The honest summary: if someone is quoting you under AED 300 for a 30-day visit visa in 2024, something's missing from the price.

When you'd want a lawyer involved

Most visit visa applications don't need legal help. Where they do: prior overstay history, prior deportation, a criminal record disclosure question on the form, or a sponsor (your UAE-based relative) who's in arrears on their own residence or has employment issues. Article 21 of Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021 gives immigration broad discretion to refuse entry, and you only get one shot at the application before a rejection sits on the system for six months.

For visa-related matters generally, browse our visa category for more on residence, status changes, and overstays.

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Citations

[1] Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) — Visa Services. https://icp.gov.ae [2] General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs Dubai (GDRFA) — Tourist and Visit Visa Services. https://gdrfad.gov.ae [3] UAE Government Portal — Visit and Tourist Visa Extension. https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/visa-and-emirates-id [4] ICP — Visa-on-arrival for Indian passport holders with US/UK/EU residence. https://icp.gov.ae [5] UAE Cabinet — Entry and Residence Reforms, 2022. Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021 on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners.