Dubai Visa: Do I Need One and How Do I Apply?

Anyone planning a trip to Dubai almost always asks the same question: do I need a Dubai visa? The answer depends on your nationality, the length of your stay and the purpose of your trip. This guide summarises entry requirements, visa types, application routes and the requirements for your documents.

The short answer

German, Austrian and Swiss nationals do not need a visa applied for in advance for tourist or business stays of up to 90 days. They receive a free stamp in their passport on entry. If you want to stay longer, work or study, you need a visa – regardless of the duration.

Visa-free entry: the 90-day rule

The 90 days apply within a period of 180 days. If you spend 50 days in the Emirates twice within six months, you exceed the limit and need a visa for the second trip.

On arrival in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah, you receive a stamp documenting the permitted stay. No fees are charged for this.

• Biometric or machine-readable passport – a national ID card is not sufficient
• Validity of at least six months from the date of entry
• At least one blank page for the stamp, no damage to the document
• No “X” gender marker – such passports are rejected at the border
• A return or onward ticket and sufficient funds may be requested

Different rules apply to other nationalities. Turkish and Moroccan nationals, for example, need a visa applied for in advance, usually valid for 30 days. If you hold a passport from outside the EU, check the requirements before booking.

The visa types at a glance

• Tourist visa – around 30 days, usually single entry, extendable by a further 30 days. For nationals who require a visa.
• Business visa – for business contacts without an employment contract, applied for via partner companies or agencies.
• Student visa – the university acts as sponsor.
• Residence visa – for living and working in the UAE, sponsored by the employer or your own company, valid for one to three years.
• Green Visa – five years for freelancers and skilled professionals, without a local sponsor.
• Virtual Work Visa – one year for remote work for a foreign employer, minimum income of around USD 3,500 per month.
• Golden Visa – up to ten years for investors, entrepreneurs and specialists.
• Retirement Visa – from age 55, five years, renewable.

Residence visa and Emirates ID

If you want to stay long term, you need a residence visa and an Emirates ID. The card is the actual identity document on the ground: without it, there is no tenancy agreement, no mobile phone contract and no regular bank account.

1. Entry permit – the initial entry permit that allows you to stay for the application
2. Medical examination – blood test and chest X-ray at an approved clinic, plus proof of health insurance
3. Emirates ID application – via the ICP authority, with biometric data capture
4. Issue of the residence visa – linked to your passport

Employees go through the process via their employer. Founders handle it via the free zone or the Department of Economy and Tourism. Several steps require you to be present in the Emirates – plan a trip for this.

Long-term options: Golden, investor and retirement visas

• Property investor visa: the requirement is property ownership from AED 2,000,000. Validity is two to ten years depending on the category. Financing is possible if the bank issues a no-objection letter.
• Golden Visa: ten years, for investors, entrepreneurs, scientists and specialists. Holders can sponsor family members and domestic staff. The property route is also subject to the AED 2,000,000 threshold.
• Retirement Visa: from age 55, five years, renewable. Property ownership, savings or a regular pension income must be evidenced.

The decision always rests with the competent immigration authority, in Dubai the GDRFA. Documents, medical examination and fees may differ between the emirates. Incomplete documents are the most common reason for delays.

Sponsoring family and domestic staff

If you hold a valid residence visa, you can sponsor your spouse, children, in certain cases parents, and domestic staff.

• Proof of a minimum income, the amount of which varies by emirate and category
• A valid tenancy agreement or proof of ownership of the home
• Marriage certificate and children's birth certificates, legalised and translated

Children under 18 can generally be sponsored without complications; for adult children, the authorities require proof of studies or dependency. Considerably stricter income requirements apply for parents.

Important: foreign documents must be legalised in the issuing country, translated into English or Arabic and additionally stamped by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This process takes weeks and is regularly started too late.

As an employee or entrepreneur

Route for employees: employment contract with an employer in the UAE, sponsorship by that employer, entry permit, medical examination, Emirates ID, residence visa.

Route for entrepreneurs: formation of the company, licence and establishment card, then your own residence visa with the company as sponsor. How many visas are possible depends on the office model and the package of the respective zone.

Application routes and processing time

• Official UAE portals: ICP Smart Services and the GDRFA portal
• Airlines offering visa services at booking
• Agencies and travel agents, especially for nationalities requiring a visa

How an online application works: create an account, fill in the form, upload a passport copy and a recent passport photo against a white background, pay the fee and receive the e-visa by email. Processing takes two to twenty working days depending on the visa type.

Have the e-visa ready, printed and digitally, at check-in and at border control.

Documents and minors

• Fully completed application form
• Recent passport photo against a white background
• Return ticket or proof of onward travel
• Proof of accommodation – hotel booking, letter of invitation or tenancy agreement
• Proof of financial means, if applicable

For minors, the following are also required: a certified and translated birth certificate; when travelling with only one parent, written consent from the other parent; and for unaccompanied minors, certified guardianship documents. Unaccompanied minors may be refused entry at the border.

How we see it

For a holiday or business trip, it is straightforward: valid passport, stamp on entry, done. It only gets demanding with the step to residence – and there in a sequence that many underestimate.

From our client work: the bottleneck is rarely the visa itself but the legalisation of foreign documents and the scheduling of the steps that require you to be present. If you only request marriage and birth certificates once the licence is in place, you lose four to six weeks.

Our advice, therefore: start the legalisations first, in parallel with the company formation. And plan your trip so that the medical examination, Emirates ID and bank account opening fall into the same window.

Check before booking

• Is your passport still valid for at least six months?
• Will you stay under 90 days within 180 days?
• Is the purpose purely tourist or business – or will you be working?
• For a residence visa, are the legalised documents available?
• Can you travel for the steps that must be done on the ground?

The visa routes we support and how the process works in detail are described on our page on visas and residency in the UAE.