Citizens of 34 nations exempt from UAE visit visa waiting period

Dubai: Citizens of 34 countries do not have to wait one month before applying for a visit visa after leaving the UAE, a senior Interior Ministry official said.

Currently visitors who leave the UAE even after a day's stay have to wait for a month before they can apply for a visit visa again.

"Citizens of nations who need to obtain an entry permit into the country through any one of the residency departments will not be able to apply for another visa immediately after they leave the country," Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, acting Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior for Naturalisation, Residency and Borders, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview.

Law

"Even if they stay here for two days and leave the country, they can come back after one month," he said. There is no multiple entry visit visa, Maj. Gen. Al Menhali stressed.

"If a visitor comes here, then goes on vacation to a nearby country and wants to come back, he should wait for one month before returning here," he said.

Maj. Gen. Al Menhali said these rules apply to people who need to apply for a visa prior entering the UAE.

"There are citizens of 34 countries who do not need a visa in advance. These citizens can get a visa upon arrival in the UAE," he said.

He said since the visa is issued upon arrival, these citizens can come back here any time they like."Citizens of these 34 countries need to show their passport to the immigration officer at any of the country's borders and they will have a new visa stamped. They can come and go as much as they want and at any time they want," he said.

Rules not new

"These rules are not new. But some people believe that they can come to the country and stay a couple of days and leave. They want to come back gain on the same visa believing that the visa has not expired yet, but they cannot. They have to wait for one month," he said.

Maj. Gen. Al Menhali said if a person stays for a day and leaves, the visa will be deemed expired even if the expiration date is later.

He said the one month waiting period is counted from the day the person leaves the country and not from the date of the visa expiration.

Multiple entry

Businessmen who need to enter and leave the country several times can apply for a multiple entry visa which is valid for six months, a senior Interior Ministry official said.

Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, acting Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior for Naturalisation, Residency and Borders, said once this multiple entry visa expires, businessmen have to wait for a month before applying for another visa.

This waiting period does not apply to citizens of 34 countries.

Maj. Gen. Al Menhali said the residency department deals with issuing visas on a case-by-case basis."We study each visa application and if it needs to be issued before the end of the one-month period, we can do it but it will depend on the circumstances of the visa applicant," the interior ministry official said.

The citizens of these 34 countries also do not have to wait a month before applying for a visit visa.

List of 34 countries

1. 
   
   Andorra
2. 
   
   Australia
3. 
   
   Austria
4. 
   
   Belgium
5. 
   
   Brunei
6. 
   
   Canada
7. 
   
   Denmark
8. 
   
   Finland
9. 
   
   France
10. 
    
    Germany
11. 
    
    Greece
12. 
    
    Hong Kong
13. 
    
    Iceland
14. 
    
    Ireland
15. 
    
    Italy
16. 
    
    Japan
17. 
    
    Liechtenstein
18. 
    
    Luxembourg
19. 
    
    Malaysia
20. 
    
    Monaco
21. 
    
    Netherlands (Holland)
22. 
    
    New Zealand
23. 
    
    Norway
24. 
    
    Paraguay
25. 
    
    Portugal
26. 
    
    San Marino
27. 
    
    Singapore
28. 
    
    South Korea
29. 
    
    Spain
30. 
    
    Sweden
31. 
    
    Switzerland
32. 
    
    United Kingdom
33. 
    
    United States
34. 
    
    Vatican City