The New Dubai 5-Year Tourist Visa Explained

Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced a 5-year multiple-entry visa scheme for every nationality. The initiative was approved to promote tourism in the country.

Making the announcement, Sheikh Mohammed, UAE’s Vice-President and Prime Minister, tweeted in Arabic: “Today we approved the change of the tourist visa system in the country so that the duration of the tourist visa is five years, multi-use for all nationalities. We receive more than 21 million tourists annually and our aim is to establish the country as a major global tourist destination.”

A Dubai tourist visa is needed by a traveler that is primarily taking a trip to Dubai in UAE for tourism. It serves a permit, allowing the holder to stay in the destination for a specified period. You can get one through sponsorship by a UAE airline, hotel as well as tour operators.

Each airline in this country provides visa services for customers looking to fly with them. Also, hotels and travel agents can help you obtain a tourist visa. This article explains all you need to know about the new Dubai 5-year tourist visa.  

Understanding UAE’s New Visa Scheme

Before the approval of this scheme, tourists intending to travel to Dubai and other destinations in UAE could obtain single or multiple-entry visas for a 30-day or 90-day period.

In the newly introduced 5-year multiple-entry system, visa holders could be granted permission to stay in the country for 6 months at a stretch. As of yet, the details of this scheme have not been revealed.

UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (FAIC) will be the body to implement the decision.

“2020 has to be a different year,” PM Sheikh Mohammed said, “as it marks the year of preparation for the next 50 years (2020: towards the next 50).”

According to AFP, travelers from Africa, Arab states not in the Gulf, a number of South American nation, European states not in EU, and the countries in the now defunct Soviet Union formerly required visas.

The United Arab Emirates presently gets over 2.1 crore (10 million) tourists every year. And the country has not too long ago increased its rate of launching policies for boosting its trade as well as tourism sectors. Last year July, the country gave permission to employed women in UAE to act as a sponsor of work permits for their husbands, fathers, in addition to adult children. The government also lowered the fees for getting work permits by 50% to 94% for one-hundred forty five (145) services & transactions.

In that same July, the Emirate of Dubai stated that it would allow the Indian rupee (INR) for transactions, which are done at duty-free stores. In October this year, Dubai is billed to play host to Expo 2020, which is a big-budget international trade fair.

What Are the Requirements to Get a Dubai Tourist Visa?

These are the documents you need to obtain a Dubai tourist visa:

• A valid Nigerian passport (with a minimum validity period of 6 months)
• Copies of a valid identity card & passport (in addition to valid & expired visas).
• Visa application form to be completely filled out in upper case and signed by you
• A copy of a confirmed itinerary (which are your round trip tickets). If you don’t have a return ticket, you could be denied entry at the airport
• Evidence of financial status — typically a copy of your recent statement of account
• Evidence of health insurance
• A letter from your employer, which states you’ve been granted leave and you’ll be resuming to your job on your return. If you’re self-employed, you can include a copy of your business registration as well as tax documents.
• A copy of your hotel reservation
• If you are getting a short term 30-day visitor visa, you have be of high profession and present proof of your profession.

In a Nutshell

In early 2020, UAE launched a 5-year multiple-entry visa scheme for every nationality, and the initiative was aimed at promote tourism in the country. The government is yet to release details about the new scheme, which will introduce changes in how tourists intending to travel to Dubai will obtain a visa.