UAE visa by nationality

ByKhalid Bin Rashid Published: Last Updated:

ICP covers all emirates except Dubai. Dubai residence and visa services sit with GDRFA. Emirates ID is federal, always ICP. The nationality list comes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MOFA, and its limits come first, because they decide how the list can be used. The MOFA page gives each country or territory exactly one of two labels: Visa Free or Visa Required. It states no stay duration, no extension rule, no distinction between visa-free entry and visa on arrival, no e-visa category, no passport-type conditions, and no per-country notes. Visa Required on this page does not distinguish a pre-arranged visa from an e-visa, and it does not by itself rule out the conditional exception below. The counts are 90 Visa Free, 107 Visa Required, and 197 entries in total, counted from the MOFA list as published. Separately from the list, MOFA announced a conditional visa-on-arrival exception in June 2026 for nationals of six countries holding ordinary passports, along with their accompanying family members, provided they hold a valid residence permit issued by one of the countries named in the conditional-exception section. That exception is stated in its own section, with its condition attached, and it is never merged into the two lists.

UAE visa by nationality labels

Use each list only for the label it gives. If your country appears under Visa Free, the MOFA page states that label and nothing more about how long you may stay, whether you may extend, or which passport type the label covers. If your country appears under Visa Required, the MOFA page states that label and nothing more about which visa route applies. Do not attach a duration to any nationality from this page, because the page states none. Do not rewrite Visa Required as an e-visa or pre-arranged visa requirement, because the page does not use either label. Check the live MOFA page and the live service screens for your exact route before you travel, because the list alone does not answer duration, extension, or condition questions.

Visa free countries

  1. Republic of Albania
  2. Principality of Andorra
  3. Argentine Republic
  4. Republic of Armenia
  5. The Commonwealth of Australia
  6. Federal Republic of Austria
  7. Republic of Azerbaijan
  8. Commonwealth of the Bahamas
  9. Kingdom of Bahrain
  10. Barbados
  11. Republic of Belarus
  12. Kingdom of Belgium
  13. Bosnia and Herzegovina
  14. Federative Republic of Brazil
  15. Brunei Darussalam
  16. Republic of Bulgaria
  17. Canada
  18. Chile
  19. Peoples Republic of China
  20. The Republic of Colombia
  21. Republic of Costa Rica
  22. Republic of Croatia
  23. Republic of Cyprus
  24. Czech Republic
  25. Kingdom of Denmark
  26. Republic of Ecuador
  27. Republic of El Salvador
  28. Republic of Estonia
  29. Republic of Fiji
  30. Republic of Finland
  31. French Republic
  32. Georgia
  33. Federal Republic of Germany
  34. Greece
  35. Co operative Republic of Guyana
  36. Republic of Honduras
  37. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China
  38. Hungary
  39. Republic of Iceland
  40. Ireland
  41. The State of Israel
  42. Italian Republic
  43. Japan
  44. Republic of Kazakhstan
  45. Republic of Kiribati
  46. The Republic of Korea
  47. Republic of Kosovo
  48. State of Kuwait
  49. Republic of Latvia
  50. Principality of Liechtenstein
  51. Republic of Lithuania
  52. Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
  53. Malaysia
  54. Republic of Maldives
  55. Republic of Malta
  56. Republic of Mauritius
  57. United Mexican States
  58. Principality of Monaco
  59. Mongolia
  60. Montenegro
  61. Republic of Nauru
  62. The Kingdom of the Netherlands
  63. New Zealand
  64. The Kingdom of Norway
  65. Sultanate of Oman
  66. Republic of Paraguay
  67. Republic of Peru
  68. Republic of Poland
  69. Portuguese Republic
  70. Qatar
  71. Romania
  72. Russian Federation
  73. Republic of San Marino
  74. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  75. Republic of Serbia
  76. Republic of Seychelles
  77. The Republic of Singapore
  78. Slovak Republic
  79. Republic of Slovenia
  80. Solomon Islands
  81. Kingdom of Spain
  82. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  83. Kingdom of Sweden
  84. Swiss Confederation
  85. Ukraine
  86. The United Kingdom for Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  87. United States of America
  88. Oriental Republic of Uruguay
  89. The Republic of Uzbekistan
  90. Vatican

Visa required countries

  1. Afghanistan
  2. Peoples Democratic Republic of Algeria
  3. Republic of Angola
  4. Antigua and Barbuda
  5. The Peoples Republic of Bangladesh
  6. Belize
  7. Republic of Benin
  8. Kingdom of Bhutan
  9. Plurinational State of Bolivia
  10. Republic of Botswana
  11. Burkina Faso
  12. Republic of Burundi
  13. Kingdom of Cambodia
  14. Republic of Cameroon
  15. Republic of Cabo Verde
  16. Central African Republic
  17. Republic of Chad
  18. The Union of the Comoros
  19. Democratic Republic of the Congo – Kinshasa
  20. Republic of the Congo – Brazzaville
  21. Republic of Côte dIvoire
  22. The Republic of Cuba
  23. Republic of Djibouti
  24. Commonwealth of Dominica
  25. Dominican Republic
  26. Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
  27. Arab Republic of Egypt
  28. Republic of Equatorial Guinea
  29. State of Eritrea
  30. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
  31. Gabonese Republic
  32. Republic of the Gambia
  33. Republic of Ghana
  34. Grenada
  35. Republic of Guatemala
  36. Republic of Guinea
  37. Republic of Guinea-Bissau
  38. Republic of Haiti
  39. Republic of India
  40. The Republic of Indonesia
  41. The Islamic Republic of Iran
  42. The Republic of Iraq
  43. Jamaica
  44. Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
  45. The Republic of Kenya
  46. Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
  47. Kyrgyz Republic
  48. Lao Peoples Democratic Republic
  49. Republic of Lebanon
  50. Kingdom of Lesotho
  51. Republic of Liberia
  52. State of Libya
  53. Macao Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China
  54. Republic of North Macedonia
  55. Republic of Madagascar
  56. Republic of Malawi
  57. Republic of Mali
  58. Republic of the Marshall Islands
  59. Islamic Republic of Mauritania
  60. Federated States of Micronesia
  61. Republic of Moldova
  62. Kingdom of Morocco
  63. Republic of Mozambique
  64. The Republic of the Union of Myanmar
  65. Republic of Namibia
  66. The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
  67. Republic of Nicaragua
  68. Republic of Niger
  69. Federal Republic of Nigeria
  70. Islamic Republic of Pakistan
  71. Republic of Palau
  72. State of Palestine
  73. Republic of Panama
  74. Independent State of Papua New Guinea
  75. Republic of the Philippines
  76. Republic of Rwanda
  77. Independent State of Samoa
  78. Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
  79. Republic of Senegal
  80. Republic of Sierra Leone
  81. The Federal Republic of Somalia
  82. Republic of South Africa
  83. Republic of South Sudan
  84. Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
  85. Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
  86. Saint Lucia
  87. Republic of the Sudan
  88. Republic of Suriname
  89. Kingdom of Eswatini
  90. Syrian Arab Republic
  91. Republic of Tajikistan
  92. United Republic of Tanzania
  93. Kingdom of Thailand
  94. Togolese Republic
  95. Kingdom of Tonga
  96. Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
  97. The Republic of Tunisia
  98. Republic of Turkiye
  99. Turkmenistan
  100. Tuvalu
  101. The Republic of Uganda
  102. Republic of Vanuatu
  103. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
  104. Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
  105. The Republic of Yemen
  106. Republic of Zambia
  107. Republic of Zimbabwe

Conditional visa on arrival

This section is separate from the two lists above. It states a conditional exception announced by MOFA in June 2026, and the condition is part of the exception every time it is stated. MOFA states: “nationals of the Republic of Indonesia, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Kenya, and the Republic of South Africa holding ordinary passports, along with their accompanying family members, are eligible to obtain a 14-day or 60-day visa on arrival, provided they hold a valid residence permit issued by the United States, a European Union member state, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada.”

The terms of that exception, with the same residence-permit condition attached, are as follows. The exception applies only to nationals of the six countries named above holding ordinary passports, along with their accompanying family members, with the same residence-permit condition stated in the MOFA wording above. The visa on arrival is for 14 days or 60 days. The 14-day visa may be extended once while the holder is in the UAE, whereas the 60-day visa is issued for a single stay and is not extendable. Upon the expiry of either visa, holders are required to depart the country. The page does not state which of the two visa types a given applicant receives, so no allocation rule is stated.

The fees and fine for this exception, with the same residence-permit condition attached, belong only to this scheme. The exception applies only to nationals of the six countries named above holding ordinary passports, along with their accompanying family members, with the same residence-permit condition stated in the MOFA wording above. The total issuance fee for the 14-day visa is AED 100, while the total issuance fee for the 60-day visa is AED 250. An overstay fine of AED 50 per day will apply to those who remain beyond the permitted period. That AED 50 per day figure belongs only to this conditional visa-on-arrival scheme. Do not read it as a general overstay figure, and do not read it as a Dubai figure.

Carry both the list label and the exception together, with the condition attached. All six countries named in the exception, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Thailand, the Philippines, Kenya, and South Africa, read Visa Required on the MOFA binary list above. The June 2026 decision is a conditional exception for ordinary-passport holders with a qualifying residence permit, on the condition stated in the MOFA wording above. The list is the general classification. The exception does not change the label in the list, and the label does not cancel the exception for a person who meets the condition. Whether the MOFA list page detail screens already reflect the exception is not stated on the pages used, so confirm it on the live screens.

5-year tourist visa for all nationalities

Separately from nationality labels, the u.ae tourist visa page states a 5-year multiple-entry tourist visa that can be issued for all nationalities. The holder may remain in the country for 90 days on each visit, and the stay can be extended for a further 90 days.

To obtain this visa, the applicant must have:

  • a bank balance of 4,000 USD or its equivalent in foreign currencies during the last six months
  • a valid health insurance policy applicable in the UAE, valid for 180 days
  • a ticket showing continuing or return journey from the UAE.

Every duration and requirement in this paragraph belongs to this visa type. None of it is attached to any nationality in the lists above, and none of it changes any Visa Free or Visa Required label.

MOFA list limits

The MOFA list does not state a stay duration for any nationality, an extension rule for any nationality, a fee for any nationality, or a passport-type condition for any nationality. For GCC nationals, the MOFA Visa Free label for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia is the only GCC fact stated. No further GCC entry rule is stated. Confirm duration, extension, fee, and passport questions on the live official screens for your exact route before you travel.

Related guides

Sources

Senior Expert in UAE Visa and Emirates ID

Khalid Bin Rashid is a Dubai native and Senior Expert in UAE Visa and Emirates ID. He writes the UAE guides covering Emirates ID status, renewal, tracking and changes, as well as UAE visa rules, bans and fines, through ICP and GDRFA Dubai.

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