What you need to enter the United Arab Emirates with a British passport

Authorisation system

No single unified system: depends on the competent authority for the emirate of entry (ICP for Abu Dhabi and the other emirates, GDRFA Dubai for Dubai).

The UAE has divided immigration jurisdiction. ICP (the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security, icp.gov.ae) handles Abu Dhabi and the other emirates, and Dubai has its own authority, GDRFA (gdrfad.gov.ae). The procedure and portal that apply to you depend on the emirate you enter through.

Required documents

• A valid passport
• If you are travelling on an entry permit arranged in advance, you must enter the UAE within its 60-day validity from the date of issue: the permit expires even if you never used it
• Visa on arrival, where it applies, is granted for either 14 or 60 days depending on the case
• For several nationalities, visa on arrival does not depend on the passport alone: it also requires holding a valid residence permit from the United States, an EU member state, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand or Canada

Health insurance

Not mandatory for this destination.

When travel insurance is mandatory →

Transit rules

The UAE has two transit visas, of 48 and 96 hours, and you only need one if your nationality falls outside both visa exemption and visa on arrival. The important quirk is who arranges them: they are sponsored by the UAE-based airline you fly with, and must be approved before you enter the country. You cannot arrange one yourself; if you book through an agency, the agency still routes it through the airline. And once a 48-hour visa is issued, it cannot be extended to 96.