Visit visas extended until March 31 for free

Decision applies to entry permits issued before December 29 last year, official says

In April 2020, the UAE extended the validity of entry permits until December. Dubai also extended tourist visas free for a month in December.

All visit and tourist visas issued in Dubai have been extended until March 31 this year without any fees, a top official told

Gulf News yesterday. According to the government official, all visit visas issued before December 29, 2020, will be extended until March 31, 2021. “To ensure visa extension for all visitors inside the country, the government entities concerned will work to facilitate procedures for tourists and visitors,” the official added.

In December 2020, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued instructions extending tourist visas for one month without government fees, to address the difficulties faced by visitors due to the closure of some airports.

In April, the UAE extended the validity of visit, tourist and other entry permits held by people inside the UAE until the end of December 2020 provided that they expired after March 1, 2020.

Travel agencies confirmed that the extension is being given to holders of visit and tourist visas issued in Dubai only.

Gulf News contacted the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship for clarification and a response is awaited.

However, the Pakistani Embassy in Abu Dhabi posted a notice on its social media account saying that “the government of the UAE has extended all the visit visas/entry permits issued before December 29, 2020 until March 31, 2021 without any fees”.