United Arab Emirates entry requirements, by passport
United Arab Emirates visa requirements at a glance: 90 of the 198 passports VisaRadar tracks can enter the United Arab Emirates without arranging a visa beforehand: visa-free, with a visa on arrival, or with an electronic travel authorisation. The other 108 must obtain a visa before they travel.
Which passport do you hold?
We'll take you straight to the entry requirements for the United Arab Emirates for your nationality.
What we've verified for the United Arab Emirates
Beyond the yes/no matrix, we've checked these against an official primary source (last checked 10 August 2026). The specifics depend on your nationality: open your passport's row in the table for the detail that applies to you.
- Required documents (4)
- Required vaccinations
- Health-insurance rules
- Customs limits (cash, alcohol, tobacco)
- Overstay penalties
- Stay and transit rules
Sources: icp.gov.ae (ICP: "Payment of visa or residence violation fine" service, updated 11 December 2024, with the AED 50 per day overstay fine) and mofa.gov.ae (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 25 June 2026, with ICP: the same fine on the new visa on arrival); gdrfad.gov.ae (GDRFA Dubai) and u.ae (government portal); dubaicustoms.gov.ae (Dubai Customs "Passenger Customs Guide", version 6, 2025: tobacco and alcohol allowances, minimum age of 18 and declaration above AED 60,000) (checked 29 September 2026).
This table summarises the exact entry mechanism for every passport we track. The difference between entering visa-free, with an electronic authorisation, with an e-Visa, or with a traditional visa is explained in visa, e-Visa, and electronic authorisation: what's the difference. How we verify every row before publishing it is on methodology.
Base entry rules refreshed 2 November 2026. Published: 10 August 2026.
| Passport | Requirement | Max. stay |
|---|---|---|
| Visa-free | ||
| Albania | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Andorra | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Argentina | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Armenia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Australia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Austria | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Azerbaijan | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Bahamas | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Bahrain | Visa-free | — |
| Barbados | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Belarus | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Belgium | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Brazil | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Brunei | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Bulgaria | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Canada | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Chile | Visa-free | 90 days |
| China | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Colombia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Costa Rica | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Croatia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Cyprus | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Czech Republic | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Denmark | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Ecuador | Visa-free | 90 days |
| El Salvador | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Estonia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Fiji | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Finland | Visa-free | 90 days |
| France | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Georgia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Germany | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Greece | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Guyana | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Honduras | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Hong Kong | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Hungary | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Iceland | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Ireland | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Israel | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Italy | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Japan | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Kazakhstan | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Kiribati | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Kosovo | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Kuwait | Visa-free | — |
| Latvia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Liechtenstein | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Lithuania | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Luxembourg | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Malaysia | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Maldives | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Malta | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Mauritius | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Mexico | Visa-free | 180 days |
| Monaco | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Mongolia | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Montenegro | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Nauru | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Netherlands | Visa-free | 90 days |
| New Zealand | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Norway | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Oman | Visa-free | — |
| Paraguay | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Peru | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Poland | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Portugal | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Qatar | Visa-free | — |
| Romania | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Russia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Visa-free | 90 days |
| San Marino | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Saudi Arabia | Visa-free | — |
| Serbia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Seychelles | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Singapore | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Slovakia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Slovenia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Solomon Islands | Visa-free | 90 days |
| South Korea | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Spain | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Sweden | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Switzerland | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Ukraine | Visa-free | 30 days |
| United Kingdom | Visa-free | 90 days |
| United States | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Uruguay | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Uzbekistan | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Vatican | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Visa required | ||
| Afghanistan | e-Visa | — |
| Algeria | e-Visa | — |
| Angola | e-Visa | — |
| Antigua and Barbuda | e-Visa | — |
| Bangladesh | e-Visa | — |
| Belize | e-Visa | — |
| Benin | e-Visa | — |
| Bhutan | e-Visa | — |
| Bolivia | e-Visa | — |
| Botswana | e-Visa | — |
| Burkina Faso | e-Visa | — |
| Burundi | e-Visa | — |
| Cambodia | e-Visa | — |
| Cameroon | e-Visa | — |
| Cape Verde | e-Visa | — |
| Central African Republic | e-Visa | — |
| Chad | e-Visa | — |
| Comoros | e-Visa | — |
| Cuba | e-Visa | — |
| Djibouti | e-Visa | — |
| Dominica | e-Visa | — |
| Dominican Republic | e-Visa | — |
| DR Congo | e-Visa | — |
| Egypt | e-Visa | — |
| Equatorial Guinea | e-Visa | — |
| Eritrea | e-Visa | — |
| Eswatini | e-Visa | — |
| Ethiopia | e-Visa | — |
| Gabon | e-Visa | — |
| Gambia | e-Visa | — |
| Ghana | e-Visa | — |
| Grenada | e-Visa | — |
| Guatemala | e-Visa | — |
| Guinea | e-Visa | — |
| Guinea-Bissau | e-Visa | — |
| Haiti | e-Visa | — |
| India | e-Visa | — |
| Indonesia | e-Visa | — |
| Iran | e-Visa | — |
| Iraq | e-Visa | — |
| Ivory Coast | e-Visa | — |
| Jamaica | e-Visa | — |
| Jordan | e-Visa | — |
| Kenya | e-Visa | — |
| Kyrgyzstan | e-Visa | — |
| Laos | e-Visa | — |
| Lebanon | e-Visa | — |
| Lesotho | e-Visa | — |
| Liberia | e-Visa | — |
| Libya | e-Visa | — |
| Macao | e-Visa | — |
| Madagascar | e-Visa | — |
| Malawi | e-Visa | — |
| Mali | e-Visa | — |
| Marshall Islands | e-Visa | — |
| Mauritania | e-Visa | — |
| Micronesia | e-Visa | — |
| Moldova | e-Visa | — |
| Morocco | e-Visa | — |
| Mozambique | e-Visa | — |
| Myanmar | e-Visa | — |
| Namibia | e-Visa | — |
| Nepal | e-Visa | — |
| Nicaragua | e-Visa | — |
| Niger | e-Visa | — |
| Nigeria | e-Visa | — |
| North Korea | e-Visa | — |
| North Macedonia | e-Visa | — |
| Pakistan | e-Visa | — |
| Palau | e-Visa | — |
| Palestine | e-Visa | — |
| Panama | e-Visa | — |
| Papua New Guinea | e-Visa | — |
| Philippines | e-Visa | — |
| Republic of the Congo | e-Visa | — |
| Rwanda | e-Visa | — |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | e-Visa | — |
| Saint Lucia | e-Visa | — |
| Samoa | e-Visa | — |
| Sao Tome and Principe | e-Visa | — |
| Senegal | e-Visa | — |
| Sierra Leone | e-Visa | — |
| Somalia | e-Visa | — |
| South Africa | e-Visa | — |
| South Sudan | e-Visa | — |
| Sri Lanka | e-Visa | — |
| Sudan | e-Visa | — |
| Suriname | e-Visa | — |
| Syria | e-Visa | — |
| Taiwan | e-Visa | — |
| Tajikistan | e-Visa | — |
| Tanzania | e-Visa | — |
| Thailand | e-Visa | — |
| Timor-Leste | e-Visa | — |
| Togo | e-Visa | — |
| Tonga | e-Visa | — |
| Trinidad and Tobago | e-Visa | — |
| Tunisia | e-Visa | — |
| Turkey | e-Visa | — |
| Turkmenistan | e-Visa | — |
| Tuvalu | e-Visa | — |
| Uganda | e-Visa | — |
| Vanuatu | e-Visa | — |
| Venezuela | e-Visa | — |
| Vietnam | e-Visa | — |
| Yemen | e-Visa | — |
| Zambia | e-Visa | — |
| Zimbabwe | e-Visa | — |
United Arab Emirates rules for every passport
Vaccinations, customs limits and penalties are the same for every traveller.
Vaccinations
- No mandatory vaccines for entry. The international vaccination certificate is asked of nobody: not the yellow fever one, and not even of travellers arriving from a country with risk of transmission. That is what the country has declared in the International Health Regulations list.
Customs limits
- Cash
- Declare cash, cheques, promissory notes, payment orders, precious metals or stones above AED 60,000 (or the equivalent in another currency), on entry and exit. Money carried by under-18s counts towards the limit of their parent, guardian or accompanying adult.
- Alcohol
- Up to 4 litres of alcoholic beverages or 2 cartons of beer of 24 cans of up to 355 ml each. Any excess is confiscated. Under-18s may not bring in alcohol.
- Tobacco
- 200 cigarettes, or 50 cigars, or 500 grams of tobacco (pipe, rolling tobacco or hookah molasses). Any excess pays customs duty. Under-18s may not bring in tobacco.
Overstay penalties
Staying beyond the permitted period, or past the expiry of the visa or permit, is fined AED 50 for each day. The fine must be paid and the status regularised, or the person must leave the country. Fines can be checked and paid through ICP's services and, for Dubai, GDRFA's.
Grounds for refusal
- Being on the blacklist: it covers people barred from entering or leaving the UAE for having committed a crime, for civil-rights liability, or for being a danger to public security.
- Being on the administrative list: it includes people barred from entry following cancellation of their residence visa, and people barred from leaving for having absconded from their sponsor.
- Carrying an administrative deportation, issued by the federal authority for public interest, public security or public morals. Its lifting can be applied for at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners’ Affairs of the relevant emirate.
- Having a travel ban from a pending legal case in the country: worth checking before flying, because it does not surface until the desk.
Do you need a different visa for Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Sharjah?
No. United Arab Emirates sets the requirements, so entering through Dubai asks for the same as entering through Abu Dhabi or Sharjah. If you're arriving overland or through a small border post, check that separately: some countries apply their own rules to specific crossings.
What does change is where you file the application when a visa is needed, and that depends on the country you live in rather than the city you're travelling to.
What draws travellers to the United Arab Emirates
The UAE is a small country with two hubs and a desert interior. Dubai is the city of records: the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest, the artificial Palm Jumeirah island, the giant malls: and the usual base. Abu Dhabi, the capital, carries more cultural weight: Jean Nouvel's Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the beaches of Saadiyat island. Al Ain, the inland "garden city", preserves its oasis and falaj irrigation systems and is the country's only UNESCO World Heritage site. The desert (dune safaris, Bedouin camps) rounds out the picture. Three or four days are enough for both cities. The best time is November to March; from May to September the heat is extreme and life moves indoors into air conditioning.
Sources for this section: visitdubai.com and visitabudhabi.ae (each emirate's official tourism body); UNESCO World Heritage List (whc.unesco.org, the Cultural Sites of Al Ain); UK FCDO travel advice for the UAE. Accessed 31 August 2026.
Where can United Arab Emirates passport holders travel visa-free? →
Informational only. Always verify requirements with the official embassy or consulate before you travel.