UAE Visa on Arrival: Who Gets One, for How Long, and What It Costs

Published August 30, 2026

For a large share of the world’s travelers, entering the UAE involves no paperwork at all: land, queue, get stamped. But “visa on arrival” covers several very different arrangements — 30 days for some passports, 90 for others, 180 for one, and a newer residence-permit-based route for six more nationalities. Here’s the landscape as of 2026, drawn from Emirates’ UAE visa information and the UAE government portal. One rule sits above all of it: your passport must be valid for at least six months on entry.

Sources: emirates.com; UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 25, 2026.

The 30-day stamp

Passport holders from a shorter list — Andorra, Brunei, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Macau, Malaysia, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, Ireland, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vatican City — get a free 30-day visit visa stamped at immigration. No advance arrangements, no fee.

The 90-day stamp

The larger list gets more: a multiple-entry 90-day visit visa, valid for six months from issue, for a stay of 90 days in total. It covers the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Israel, Brazil, Russia, most of Europe (the EU states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and the Balkans), and a run of Latin American and Pacific states — some 70-plus countries and territories in all. The multiple-entry part is the underrated feature: you can hop to Oman or Georgia and return on the same stamp. European citizens who exhaust their 90 days can apply for a pre-arranged visit visa on top.

Mexico is the outlier, with a multiple-entry 180-day visit visa on arrival.

Visa on arrival by residence permit, not passport

Two schemes extend arrival visas to nationalities that would otherwise need advance approval:

Indian citizens holding a normal passport plus a valid US visa, US green card, or UK or EU residence (each with at least six months’ validity) can get the single-entry, 14-day visa on arrival at the fee in the table above.

Since June 2026, per the UAE foreign ministry, nationals of Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Kenya, and South Africa who hold a valid residence permit from the US, UK, EU, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada can also get the 14-day or 60-day visa on arrival — the 60-day version is a single stay and can’t be extended.

GCC: citizens yes, residents no

Citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council states enter freely with a passport or national ID — no visa at all. But GCC residence-permit holders of other nationalities get nothing on arrival: they need a pre-arranged eVisa (30 days, extendable once for 30) before flying, per u.ae.

Extensions and overstays

The 30-day stamp comes with a grace period and can typically be extended through the federal ICP or Dubai’s GDRFA without leaving the country; the 90-day stamp gives most visitors little reason to extend. Extension fees and current procedures live on the official channels — u.ae’s visa section links to both authorities. Don’t wing an overstay: under the 2026 rules for the residence-permit scheme, penalties run AED 50 per day, and immigration systems here are thoroughly joined-up.

Before you fly, verify

These lists move — 2026 alone added six nationalities — and airlines enforce them at check-in, not at the destination. Run your passport through the ICP’s visa-eligibility checker or your airline’s tool a week before travel. If you’re only passing through on a connection, the calculus is different (transit visas are airline-sponsored and pre-arranged); our stopover guide covers that case, and once you’re through the gates, a Nol card and a local eSIM are the first two errands. More on getting here and around in travel.

Photo: Pexels

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