UAE travel: 11 countries that offer visa-free entry, visa on arrival to residents

The country’s strong passport and the high per capita income improve prospects for expats to obtain visas

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by

Waheed Abbas

Published: Tue 26 Jul 2022, 10:40 AM

Last updated: Thu 6 Apr 2023, 4:37 PM

Editor's note: This story was first published in September, 2022. It is being re-shared to help residents make Eid Al Fitr travel plans.

A dozen countries offer visa-free entry and visa-on-arrival to UAE residents including some highly popular tourist destinations.

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Seven countries offer visa-free entry to residents while five countries provide visa-on-arrival facilities.

According to online travel agency Musafir.com, Georgia, Maldives, Seychelles, Kazakhstan, and Jordan provide visa-free entry to UAE residents while Armenia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, and Albania offer visa-on-arrival to travellers from the UAE.

Raheesh Babu, COO of Musafir.com, said some of these countries may require additional documents to issue visas for a few nationalities.

Last week, Henley & Partners, a global investment migration consultancy, ranked the UAE passport 15th most powerful in the world with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 176. The UAE passport remains the strongest in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and the wider Arab World as well.

Declaring the UAE a pandemic winner, Henley & Partners said the UAE has made unprecedented achievements as it emerged as the biggest gainer on the index.

UAE’s strong passport and the high per capita income improve prospects for expatriates in the country to obtain visas from other advanced countries.

Popular visa-free destinations

Babu said Georgia is the most popular visa-free country amongst UAE residents due to affordability, short flying time, availability of halal food and its beautiful countryside.

“From a visa-free entry country’s perspective, Georgia is the most popular and economical destination to travel for UAE residents. Azerbaijan and Armenia, which provide visa-on-arrival, are the most economical countries to travel. The average cost to travel to these countries starts at Dh1,999 for three nights and four days holiday packages,” he said.

For mid-range packages, Babu added Kazakhstan and Jordan are popular for the variety of activities that these locations provide, making these locations popular amongst UAE residents.

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Waheed Abbas

Published: Tue 26 Jul 2022, 10:40 AM

Last updated: Thu 6 Apr 2023, 4:37 PM

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