The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that Indian citizens holding ordinary passports will now be eligible for visa on arrival at all ports of entry across the country.
visa option
Eligible Indian travelers will have two options to obtain a visa on arrival:
- 14 day visa, extendable for an additional 14 days.
- 60 day non-extendable visa.
For both types of visas, travelers have to pay the prescribed fee as per UAE norms.
are you eligible?
The visa on arrival policy applies only to individuals holding a permanent resident card, green card or valid visa from the United States, the United Kingdom or a European Union nation.
Passport validity requirement
To qualify for a visa on arrival, the passport must be valid for at least six months from the date of entry into the UAE.
Update regarding visa on arrival facility for Indian citizens traveling to UAE pic.twitter.com/aFrqnX8jTx
– India in UAE (@IndembAbuDhabi) 17 October 2024
The recent announcement of visa on arrival builds on previous efforts to ease travel for Indian citizens. Earlier in February 2023, Emirates Airline in collaboration with VFS Global launched a pre-approved visa-on-arrival service for Indian passport holders. “We have partnered with VFS Global to launch a pre-approved visa on arrival facility for Indian passport holders who have booked their travel with us. The new process will help customers avoid queues when arriving in Dubai,” he wrote on X at the time.
In the same month, Dubai also began granting five-year multiple-entry visas to Indian citizens. This policy was introduced to enhance trade, tourism and economic relations between India and the United Arab Emirates.
India remains an important source of tourists for Dubai. In 2023, Dubai is expected to see a 25 per cent increase in Indian visitors compared to pre-pandemic levels, with 2.46 million night stays recorded. This surge cemented India’s position as Dubai’s top tourism market, according to a report by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism in February 2023.
