DUBAI: In a major move to boost international tourism and travel flexibility, the United Arab Emirates has officially expanded its popular visa-on-arrival framework to include ordinary passport holders from six additional foreign nations along with their accompanying family members.
Under the freshly sanctioned executive directive, citizens belonging to the Republic of Indonesia, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Kenya, and the Republic of South Africa can now access visa-on-arrival privileges at all UAE entry ports. However, the residency framework mandates that these applicants must hold a valid, unexpired residence permit issued by specified global jurisdictions, namely the United States, any European Union member state, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada. Eligible travelers can obtain an entry visa valid for either a 14-day or a 60-day duration.
Reflecting on the expansion, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs underscored that the policy shift is aimed at cementing robust bilateral relations with friendly partner countries and promoting cross-border economic, cultural, and interpersonal alliances. The initiative is expected to offer a seamless entry experience while opening wider avenues for foreign nationals to explore the UAE’s sophisticated infrastructure, business environment, and rich tourism landscape. The ministry reiterated its focus on sustaining close coordination with national immigration units to systematically streamline consular and border mobility workflows.
The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) noted that these strategic legal amendments fall in line with the nation’s ongoing efforts to update its residency models in accordance with global travel and mobility benchmarks. The ICP further added that the visa expansion not only sharpens the UAE’s diplomatic and commercial cooperation with global allies but also considerably advances the country’s ranking in international competitiveness indexes covering global immigration and travel attractiveness.
Detailing the exact compliance parameters, the ICP clarified that both the principal applicant and their accompanying dependents must fully satisfy the dual requirement of nationality and elite foreign residency markers. The authority noted a structural difference between the two available entry permits: the 14-day visa can be legally extended exactly once while the visitor is residing inside the UAE, whereas the long-term 60-day visa is structurally designed for a single stay and cannot be extended under any circumstance. Upon the natural expiration of either visa period, visitors are required to exit the country, failing which an overstay fine of Dh50 per day will be summarily enforced.
Financially, the institutional processing architecture has set the total issuance fee for the short-term 14-day visa at Dh100. Conversely, travelers opting for the comprehensive single-entry 60-day visa variant will be required to pay an all-inclusive processing fee of Dh250 at the immigration desks.
ലഘു വിവരണം
ഇന്തോനേഷ്യ, വിയറ്റ്നാം, തായ്ലൻഡ്, ഫിലിപ്പീൻസ്, കെനിയ, സൗത്ത് ആഫ്രിക്ക എന്നീ ആറ് രാജ്യങ്ങളിലെ പൗരന്മാർക്ക് കൂടി യുഎഇ ഓൺ-അറൈവൽ വിസ ആനുകൂല്യം പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചു. അപേക്ഷകർക്ക് യുഎസ്, യുകെ, യുറോപ്യൻ യൂണിയൻ, കാനഡ തുടങ്ങിയ പ്രമുഖ രാജ്യങ്ങളിൽ ഏതെങ്കിലും ഒന്നിന്റെ സാധുവായ റസിഡൻസ് വിസ ഉണ്ടായിരിക്കണം. നിബന്ധനകൾ പാലിക്കുന്നവർക്ക് 100 ദിർഹം നിരക്കിൽ ഒരു തവണ നീട്ടാവുന്ന 14 ദിവസത്തെ വിസയോ, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ 250 ദിർഹം നിരക്കിൽ നീട്ടാൻ സാധിക്കാത്ത 60 ദിവസത്തെ വിസയോ ലഭിക്കും. കാലാവധി കഴിഞ്ഞും യുഎഇയിൽ തുടരുന്നവരിൽ നിന്ന് പ്രതിദിനം 50 ദിർഹം വീതം പിഴ ഈടാക്കും.
(With inputs from Gulf News
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