SheikhWays Visa Guide • Updated 30 September 2026
If your passport qualifies, there is nothing to apply for in advance. You queue at immigration in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah, hand over your passport, and the officer (or smart gate) issues a free entry permit linked to your passport. Travellers on the conditional route, such as Indian passport holders with a US or UK visa, must show that document and pay a fee. Here is each step, what to carry and how extensions work.
Around 88 passports get a free entry permit at the border (30, 90 or, for Mexico, 180 days), GCC citizens enter with their national ID, and seven nationalities (India, Indonesia, Kenya, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam) qualify only with a US, UK or EU visa or an eligible residence permit. The country-by-country breakdown lives on our UAE visa on arrival countries list. If your passport is not there, this process does not apply to you: start with our Dubai visa requirements guide.
The airline checks your eligibility before you board. If you are on the conditional route, have your US, UK or EU visa or residence permit ready at check-in, not just on arrival.
There is no separate "visa on arrival" office for most passports. You join the normal visitor queue. Some eligible travellers can use smart gates; follow staff directions.
The officer scans your passport, may take a photo and fingerprints or an eye scan, and may ask how long you are staying and where. Answers should match your booking.
Indian nationals and the other six conditional nationalities show their valid visa or residence permit and pay the fee (AED 100 for the standard 14-day permit, as of September 2026).
Your permit is linked to your passport electronically. Work out your last permitted day straight away: 30 days, 90 days within 180, or 14 days on the conditional route.
Travelling on an e-visa instead? The document list is different; see our UAE tourist visa documents checklist.
| Category | Initial stay | Extension |
|---|---|---|
| 90-day passports | 90 days within 180 | Plan to leave within the allowance; check ICP or GDRFA if you need longer |
| 30-day passports | 30 days | Check ICP or GDRFA for current extension services and fees |
| Conditional route (India and 6 others) | 14 days | Once, for a further 14 days; a 60-day permit is offered instead and is not extendable |
For a fuller walkthrough of fees and paperwork, read our UAE visa extension guide.
An eligible passport is not a guarantee. Officers refuse entry most often for less than six months' passport validity, a damaged passport, no onward ticket, a previous UAE overstay or ban, or, on the conditional route, a qualifying visa that has expired or is the wrong type. Travellers refused entry are normally returned on the next available flight at their own or the airline's cost.
Travel disruption is also a factor this year: a drone strike near Dubai International in March 2026 halted flights for more than seven hours, and several governments have raised their UAE travel warnings. See our Dubai safety and travel advice update.
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