Dubai's New Visa-On-Arrival List Leaves Pakistanis Standing Outside

DUBAI: Dubai visa on arrival rules have changed for millions of travellers. Dubai just handed seven countries an easier path through its airports, and Pakistan didn't make the cut. The new rules have been announced by GDRFA regarding its visa-on-arrival policy, allowing the eligible visitors to choose either a 14 day visa or a 60 day visa immediately on arrival in the UAE, but the nationalities eligible for availing this facility include India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Kenya and South Africa – none other than Pakistan.

Who Can Apply?

Family members can travel along under the same facility, according to GDRFA, so long as they hold an ordinary passport and a valid residence permit from one of a handful of approved countries: the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea or Singapore. None of that helps a Pakistani traveller though. Pakistan isn't on the eligible-nationality list, full stop, so holding one of those residence permits changes nothing for a Pakistani passport holder trying to use this route.

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Documents Required

GDRFA wants a passport valid for six months at minimum, a recent colour photo shot against a white background, and proof of that qualifying residence permit. Forget one item on that list and the whole application falls apart before it starts.

Visa Validity and Fees

Both visa types behave differently once approved. The 14-day visa allows one extension, adding another two weeks on top. The 60-day visa comes with no such option once it runs out, the traveller leaves, no exceptions.

Applicants go through GDRFA's website or its smart app. Once approved, the visa arrives by email. GDRFA claims a 48-hour turnaround, which works well for travellers booking flights on short notice.

Pakistan Remains Excluded

Fees sit at 172.50 dirhams for the 14-day option and 422.50 dirhams for the 60-day one. Those numbers only mean something if a traveller's passport actually qualifies. Pakistanis dond't get near this pricing structure at all they're stuck with the UAE's older, slower visa process, arranged through a sponsor, an airline, or an agency, and priced completely differently.

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GDRFA calls the whole scheme a tourism push, aimed at making entry simpler and drawing in more visitors from abroad. The early numbers back that claim up somewhat: 73,551 visas went out under the programme in the first six months of 2026 alone.

Pakistani travellers reading this news are left with a fairly blunt reality. Millions of people from seven other countries just got a much faster route into Dubai. Pakistan is not one of the countries on that list, and nothing in this announcement suggests that's changing soon.