The United Arab Emirates(UAE) has always been an ideal destination for work, entrepreneurship, business, investments, tourism and life. As the country continues to grow and develop, UAE has implemented certain new visa rules with new types of entry visas and residence permits along with changes in golden visa and more.
New UAE Visa Rules 2024
1. Entry Permit For A Temporary Work Mission
People who visit for short term purposes like short work assignments or project-based missions can apply for temporary permits under the sponsorship of the employer. Family members, relatives or friends of UAE citizens or residents can also apply. For this, a temporary work contract or letter from the employer specifying the purpose of visit along with health and fitness proof necessary.
2. Residence Permit For Humanitarian Cases
The Following humanitarian cases are taken in consideration for this permit:
- Female residents whose UAE national husband passed away in the country and have one or more children.
- Parents or children of a citizen holding foreign passports
- Spouses and children of Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) state citizens holding foreign passports.
3. Dubai & UAE Re-entry Permit
Residency visa holders staying outside the UAE for more than six months can apply for a re-entry permit. Through this, residents are allowed to re-enter the UAE within 30 days of approval and can avoid their residency from being canceled.
4. UAE Entry Permit Extension
Depending on the purpose and other factors UAE permit can be extended up to 90 days.
The Applicant must have a valid passport for at least 6 months and apply through the relevant tourism company. You can use the ICP smart service system by creating an account and paying the fees to obtain entry permit extensions within 48 hours.
It is also possible to issue a 30 day extension twice for AED 610, with GCC residents paying AED 260 and providing a passport copy. And these extensions can exceed one month for healthcare, study and GCC companion entry permits. Healthcare permits can be extended up to 90 days for AED 510. GCC companion permits up to 60 days for AED 260, and study permits up to 90 days for AED 610.
Depending on the purpose of the visit entry permit duration depends with a maximum limit of one year at the authority’s discretion.
UAE Visit Visa Rules 2024
1) UAE Visit Visa Extension
The UAE has now implemented a one time 30-day visa extension for travelers on 90 days visit visas, which allows for a total extension of up to 90 days. Also, all types of tourist visas can be extended for 30 more days within the country with a fee of AED 600 for each extension.
The visitor need not have to leave the country and re-enter to extend their visa, just take care that the renewal process is completed before the visa expiry.
Along with that, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security UAE (ICP) has now confirmed that people can extend or cancel their entry permits through a personal online account.
Normal/Green residency visa applications are valid for 2 months, whereas golden visa applications allow validity of 6 months with multiple entries. Golden and green visa holders and their families residence visas will remain valid even if they stay outside the country for over 180 days.
2) UAE Unused Visit Visa
People having unused visit visas in the UAE must cancel it, by paying a fee within the specified time period of 30 days for a 30 days visit visa. The fee can be varying up to AED 300. Also, people have the option to extend their entry up to 2 months with a fee of AED 200.
If you have an unused visa, you must cancel it to avoid rejection of new visa application in the future.
3) UAE Visit Visa New Requirements
People heading to Dubai with a visiting visa must ensure they have a AED 3,000 in cash/credit, a valid return ticket and a proof of accommodation before boarding. Authorities have strictly enforced these rules, which had led to some people being stopped at the Indian airports as well as the Dubai airports after failing to meets these entry standards.
ALSO READ: A Step-By-Step Guide On How To Check UAE Visa Status
UAE Residence Visa Rules 2024
1. Shorter Processing Time
The UAE government has recently launched ‘The Work Bundle Platform’, which aims to streamline the issuance of work permits and residency visas. This platforms aims to reduce complexity of entire government procedures, and simplifying the entire processing time from 30 days to approx 5 days.
The work bundle is said to simplify the 8 procedures into a single procedure, including the issuance of work permits, visas, emirates IDs, and medical exams.
2. Green Residency Expansion
In order to attract skilled professionals, freelancers, investors and entrepreneurs, the UAE green visa now offers 5-year residence options. It also includes benefits like long grace periods up to 6 months after permit cancellation or expiration to support family members. Green residence holders can also sponsor first-degree relatives with a residency duration matching their own.
3. Three-Year UAE Work Permit
As a part of aiming to ease financial burdens, the UAE Federal National Council (FNC) has approved extending work permits from 2 years to 3. The permits that are issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation are currently valid for 2 years. Working without a valid permit is strictly prohibited.
4. 20% Work Permit Quota
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) systems, have alerted the UAE companies applying for new work permit in encouraging them to hire workers from different nationalities. This steps aims in enhancing cultural and demographic diversity within establishments and is not linked to a specific nationality. Failure to implement may result in downgrade of the companies classification from category 2 to category 3, also impacting work permit costs.
5. Blue Residence Visa Launched
A new long term visa program named “Blue Residency”, has been unveiled by the UAE government, designed for environmental advocates. This visa allows a 10-years residency visa to individuals who have played a notable role in environmental conservation efforts.