UAE residency visa holders who stay outside the Emirates for more than six months may now apply for a permit to re-enter the country. Such residents will need to specify a reason for having stayed outside the country for that long and may need to furnish proof for the same. Residents can apply for the service on the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) website. Contact us for return permit services. The applicant can re-enter the country only after getting an approval email from the ICP. The approval process takes about 2-5 days. To avail of the service, applicants must enter their details and that of their sponsors, as well as their passport and residency-related information. A mandatory field on the application seeks the reason for staying outside the country for six months or more.

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Now that visa stamps on passports are no longer required for UAE residents, Expats who are flying home are advised to bring their new Emirates IDs to avoid delays at airports. A circular issued by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Port Security in April stated that Emirates IDs now serve as proof of residency. The latest version of the card contains all the relevant details that used to be printed on the visa stamp, and immigration counters at various airports will be able to read the data on the ID. Failure to bring the actual Emirates ID, however, could cause problems at airports in India, based on the experience of some expats who travelled recently.

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The issuance of three-month visit visas in the UAE has been discontinued. A Federal Authority For Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP) call centre executive said the three-month visas are no longer available. Visitors to the UAE can come on a 30- or 60-day visa. The three-month visit visa was discontinued during the Covid-19 pandemic, with a 60-day one introduced instead. However, the three-month scheme was made available again as a leisure visa in May. In Dubai, the 90-day visa is being issued to visitors who are first-degree relatives of residents. Residents can bring their parents or relatives on the three-month scheme.

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A unified tourist visa for Gulf Cooperation Council countries has been approved and could be rolled out as early as next year, a UAE minister has said. The process to implement the visa will be discussed next month, state news agency Wam reported, quoting Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy. Schengen-style visa was approved during a meeting of GCC ministers in Muscat. With a single visa, tourists can explore the six-member Gulf bloc – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. Al Marri told Wam that the visa is expected to be rolled out in 2024 or 25, depending on when the rules to implement it are finalised.

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