Tourist visa is the easiest way to get to Dubai, so no wonder that this visa is currently the most popular visa to opt for even if someone is seeking to stay for a longer time. The Tourist visa can only be applied by a travel agency or by a hotel. Let us find out why.
The tourist visa is a visa that is used to enter Dubai for touristic reasons. This is the latest list of those nationalities that do not need to apply for a visa prior to their arrival:
GCC Nationals as for the neighbouring Gulf countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
* Europe: United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Finland, Spain, Monaco, Vatican City, Iceland, Andorra, San Marino and Liechtenstein.
* North America: USA and Canada
* Australia and New Zealand
* Far East: Japan, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong
Interestingly, the United Arab Emirates do not include North African or other Middle Eastern states like Turkey or Iran in this list. In addition, it is important to note, that due to any political reasons, upcoming political affairs, the above list can change in virtually any moment. You must contact with your nearest travel agency for information, even you are included in the list. It is essential that your passport have a minimum of 6 months validity counting from the date of planned departure from Dubai.
A tourist visa is eligible for 30 days. Most importantly, one cannot renew this visa but only change its status. Many, who go in Dubai in order to find jobs, when in possession of a work contract, change their tourist visa into a residence visa. This latter visa has strict requirements, about which you must ask the help of your future employer.
Everyone who applies for a tourist visa must know that going to any embassy straightaway will not result in visa. You must turn to an accredited travel agency or contact with your hotel in order to take the role of sponsor, which is not only essential, but also obligatory in order to enter Dubai.
Also, note that no additional visa issue can take place upon entering Dubai. Those who have previously planned an excursion to other countries should reconsider their plans. According to the sudden change of law in the United Arab Emirates, many tourists have found themselves in trouble, when they wanted to go back to Dubai, from a one or few day excursion taken to any of the neighbouring countries. They faced with the fact that they could not enter back and must opt for a new tourist visa.
For the application, you will need a copy of your passport and two passport-sized photographs, according to the general size of passport photographs. Some agencies deal with the issuing of UAE visa. These include Air Arabia offices all around the world and as said before, the accredited travel agencies. Contact your nearest offices for up-to-date information, so that you do not face any problems on the border of the airport.
Getting tourist visa in Dubai is not hard at all, as tourism is Dubai’s priority. They cannot make this harder, as this would deeply discourage anyone to travel to Dubai. The problem is with the politics of course, where situation might change from one day to the other. If you have been to Israel anytime, and the Israeli visa is in your passport, you for sure will not be entering in Dubai at all. So, do not forget to get fresh information about tourist visa before entering Dubai.