If you plan to visit a gulf country just for holidays and have fun or wanted there for a job or retirement plane, the United Arab Emirates is one of the most exciting and fruitful countries in the world.
The UAE consists of seven emirates Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Raisul Khaima, Umm al Quwain, and Fujairah. But the most prominent are Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which provide all sorts of wonderful sites such as huge buildings, waterfalls, and other amazing archaeological and much more. This is not only the best feature. These cities provide a huge number of jobs for any working-class person.
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In this article, I will walk through a detailed view of how to apply for a visa for UAE, what types of visas are available, the requirements to apply, and how many ways to apply for the batter and quick visa availability.
Types of Visas for the United Arab Emirates
There are different types of visas to apply for UAE, which defines why you travel to the UAE. Seven types of different visas are given below.
Tourist visa
as we can understand with the name, a tourist visa is required for those who wanted to visit the country for tourism purposes. This visa allows the visa holder to stay in the country legally for up to 30 days. To get this tourist visa, you need to have a tour operator or sponsorship by a UAE airline and hotel. Each airline provides you with different packages for stay and traveling if you ask for their services. On the other hand, travel agents are also available for a tourist visa and can provide you with good packages to stay and travel.
Medical Visa
If you have any sponsorship available in UAE for some residential purpose, you can apply for a medical visa on behalf of that UAE citizen. If you got the visa, you would be eligible to enjoy the perks and privileges from all the government and private hospitals in UAE.
Employment visa
An employment visa, commonly known as a work permit, is required when you want to do a job in any company available in UAE. It can be issued by the ministry of human resources and Emiratisation. The validity of this visa is 2 months from the issuance date. If you wanted to look for a UAE job, you need to have this employment visa; otherwise, it’s prohibited, and you will be deported if you get caught.
Residence visa
If your successes in getting a job in UAE, the next thing you need is a residential visa. To get this pizza, you need to clear a medical test and apply for the emirates id. After having the UAE resident id card certifies that you are living in UAE legally. Once the whole process is complete, and you can get all the authentic documents now, you are allowed to sponsor your family members and bring them into the country to stay with you.
Transit visa
If you are going on a connecting flight and your stay in the UAE is more than 8 hours, you can apply for a transit visa. This visa allows the passengers to go outside the airport, but you must leave the county within 96 hours from arrival. Dubai airport recently proposes that the passengers who have transit time less than 8 hours can also experience the city very soon.
Student visa
If you wanted to study in the UAE, you need to have a student visa that requires sponsorship by your parents or relatives. After getting the required confirmation, the visa will be issued for higher studies in the UAE.
Retirement visa
After 55, you can apply for a retirement visa to spend your retirement life in the UAE. There is a procedure to follow, and after fulfilling that, you can stay in the UAE and enjoy all the perks and privileges available for a citizen.
UAE permanent Residential Visa
The most solid and recently introduced visa allows multiple entry interim visas for non-UAE residential, especially for those looking for long-term investment visas in the country. This visa allows foreigners to live, work, or study in the United Arab Emirates without any national sponsor. If they are working or doing any business, they will be the business’s complete owner in the United Arab Emirates land. The UAE government issues this visa for 5 to 10 years, and it’s renewed automatically without any confirmation or guaranty.
There are four types of people who can get a 10-year residential visa without sponsors, and they are
- Investors
- Entrepreneurs
- Specialized talent
- Outstanding students
For getting a visa on an investments basis and investors should invest 10 million Dharams inside the country. It can be possible that either you start a new company or buy the shares of any running company. Still, the value of the shares has to be a minimum of 10 million dirhams otherwise you will not be able to avail of this facility. Also, keep in mind that the money you are investing has to be your own money, not the loan amount, and it has to remain in the country for at least three years. The other option is if you add a business partner with the same amount volume of 10 million dirhams, your visa will be extended. By having a long-term visa by investing in the country, you have the liberty to keep your spouse and children, and for business purposes, you are allowed to have a director and one adviser.
If you are looking for a permanent visa and you don’t have investment, the other option is to be the person with a special talent in the field of science and knowledge such as a doctor, a scientist, a specialist, or a creative individual in the field of art one of these skills are required to have a long term visa on special talent bases. A Ph.D. degree from one of the 500 highly reputed universities or an award to certify your work or some major contribution in science and other individuals, popular talent skilled like required to get you a permanent residential visa in UAE.
The last option is for extraordinary students who want to study in UAE on student sponsorship need to get either 95 percent marks in their private or secondary schools or a 3.75 GPA on university student level to be eligible for the visa in the United Arab Emirates without any sponsorship or personal guaranty.
After discussing the types of visas, we now discuss the documents required and how many procedures are available to apply for the United Arab Emirates visa.
How to apply for a UAE visa
There is a proper process to apply for any visa of United Arab Emirates; in other countries, you apply via embassy or consulate, but UAE embassies do not issue tourist visas, so to get the visa of United Arab Emirates, you need to apply with the reference of a sponsor who will take full responsibility while you stay in UAE.
Different types of sponsors can do this for you, such as a hotel or a travel agency that can provide you with 30 days of visit visa and 15 service visas on their behalf. The other option is different airlines that can provide you with visa and hotel bookings on their behalf. Still, the last and the most dependable option is your relatives living in the United Arab Emirates, or a friend who is also resident in UAE can provide you with the visa on their behalf.
Application Process and Documents
When you apply for the United Arab Emirates visa, your application is respondent in 3 to 4 working days. Still, sometimes it takes a bit longer depending upon the type of visa you are applying for. The process is straightforward. If you apply for the visa through the service center, you will need to have an appointment and follow the given steps to get confirmation
Step – 1: Document Requirements
The first and the most important part is the documents that are required for visa application. Be careful while submitting the documents because if any documents are missing, the procedure will remain incomplete. It will not be accepted by the visa authority, which ends on delay or, in some cases, rejection of the visa. For you need to provide all the original documents as well as their photocopies to complete the process, the list of the documents is given below
- Visa application filled and signed with colour photo
- Passport coloured photocopy and validity of 6 months
- Bank approval letter
- Invitation letter if there is any host in the UAE
- Marriage or birth certificate
- An employment contract or sponsor passport
Although we covered everything, you need to apply for a visa for the United Arab Emirates; you should also cross-check from the Website of GDRFA in Dubai for further information and documents requirements.
Step – 2: Submission
After submitting the application through online channels and uploading the documents, you have to wait because sometimes visa authorities will contact you to get some further information or interview them. In that interview, mostly they asked, have you ever been to the United Arab Emirates. What do you know about the UAE? Why do you want to go to UAE? In this case, don’t panic and answer the entire question with comfort and confidence. The visa staff only wants to gather as much information as they can to approve your visa application.
Step – 3: Result Awaiting
Once the application is processed, you will wait for the result, whether it approves or rejected. Mostly if you are applying online, you will receive the result via email. If your application is being rejected, they will inform you via email why your visa is being rejected. There are countless reasons for the rejection of a visa, but the most common are.
- an error in the writing of the application
- you applied for the wrong type of visa
- some missing documents
- the photo did not meet the required size
After pointing out the error, correct the problem by providing the right documents or an error in application writing. Filled the new application form attentively to avoid any other errors such as spelling mistakes, wrong passport number, or relative documents details. These are the most common errors in the filing of an application. After clearing these errors, apply again, and you will surely get the visa to the United Arab Emirates in 3 to 4 working days.
Wrap Up
In this detailed guide, we cover every aspect and procedure that how to apply for a visa in the United Arab Emirates, what are the types and eligibility criteria and documents required to get the visa easily, and also provides you with the solution to the common errors that most of the applicants do while applying. We hope that this guide will help you in applying for the visa with a proper pattern.
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FAQ’s
Where can I apply for a visa for the UAE?
It depends on which type of visa you are applying for. If you apply for a tourist visa, which is the most common visa, you need a sponsor, which can be anyone such as a travel agency, or the most dependable one is a friend or a family member who is already living in the United Arab Emirates. If anyone of them would take complete responsibility for your moments and stay in the UAE, you can easily get a tourist visa on their behalf.
Do I need a printout copy of my visa?
Yes, indeed, you do, and you have to keep it yourself while traveling to avoid any misunderstanding and delay. Although it is not compulsory, keeping a colour copy with you is highly recommended if you travel to the United Arab Emirates.
If my visa is rejected, will I get the visa fees refund?
No, you will not, as the UAE immigration authorities do not refund the fees even the application is rejected for any possible reason.
In how many days I need to travel after issuing the visa?
You have to travel within 60 days, or else your visa may expire.
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