Online UAE Visa For Indians/ UAE Visa On Arrival for Indians with Valid US Visa in 2024

I travel to UAE frequently. My twin sister lives in Dubai and hence I make a trip to Dubai at least twice a year.

It is mostly to spend time with the little devil aka the nephew. So many people ask me about the UAE visa requirements for Indian Citizens. What if I told you that it is easy and you can obtain an online UAE visa for Indians through Emirates in 10-15 minutes?

I used to apply for an online UAE visa through Emirates till recently. This is till I realised that I do not have to apply for an online visa since I already have a valid US visa as well. You can obtain a UAE visa for arrival for Indian passorts if you have a valid US visa. I still use the Emirates online UAE visa facility for my parents since they do not have a valid US visa.

Online UAE Visa For Indians/ Visa On Arrival for Indians with Valid US Visa

So in this post, I give you answers to the below two queries;

1. How to apply for an online UAE visa for Indians through Emirates?
2. How to avail UAE visa on arrival for Indian passport holders with valid US visas?

How to apply for an online UAE visa for Indians through Emirates?

I am going to take you through a broad view of the entire process and the whole thing takes less than 15 minutes.

• Go to Emirates page.
• Click on Manage.

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• Enter your ‘Last Name’ and ‘Booking Reference’ and click on Go.
• On the right side, you will see the below options. Click on ‘Apply for a UAE Visa’.

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• Click on ‘Continue to Visa Application’ on next page. This redirects you to the VFS Global Services page.

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• Next page will give you information on types of visa. Click on continue at the bottom.
• Enter all your passport details and click on ‘Continue’.

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• In the next page, enter your email address details.
• You will get a ‘Visa Application Form’ where you have to fill all the required details and click on submit.
• You have to upload a scanned color copy of your passport’s front and back pages (Only pdf is allowed and size restriction is 200KB). Also upload a passport colour photograph not exceeding 40KB in size.
• Sometimes they may ask you for other documents like bank statements and proof of residency etc.
• Review your application and click on ‘Submit’.
• In the next page, you have to click on ‘Purchase’ and this will redirect you to the payment gateway.
• Once this is done, you can check the status of your visa application by using the right side form on the VFS page.

Emirates_Online_UAE_Visa The entire process is so easy and it is so quick too. I applied on a Wednesday afternoon and I received my visa over email on Sunday afternoon. (Note that Fridays and Saturdays are weekly off for UAE). They usually process the entire application in 4 working days. You have to just take the printout of this eVisa and this can be used both at the Indian and UAE airports. Your visa will come with a disclaimer that this is valid only for Emirates flights.

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Online Visa Fees for UAE for Indian Citizens

Based on the number of days, the tourist visa fees for UAE for Indian citizens range from 90$ (for a 30-day stay for one time entry) to 330$ (for a 90-day stay).

I am definitely going to use this service for my parents for its relative ease of use. You guys should definitely try it out. Check the list of FAQ’s here.

How to avail UAE visa on arrival for Indian passport holders with valid US visas?

In March 2017, the UAE and the Indian government came up with a new scheme for all Indian passport holders traveling to UAE with a valid US visa. This has been applicable since May 2017 and it has been quite helpful for frequent travelers like our family with valid US visas.

So, who can avail this visa on arrival facility?

All Indian citizens with a valid US visa or Green card can avail this facility. I have a B1/B2 US visa which has a validity of 10 years. While availing this facility, please ensure that both your passport and your US visa are valid for at least 6 months.

How can you avail the Dubai visa on arrival for Indian passport with US visa facility?

Before my experience, I read a lot on how we need an ‘Ok to board’ from the airline if you are making use of this facility. I even contemplated getting an Online UAE visa before I was scheduled to fly. But thankfully, none of that is required. I was on my way back from London to India and I decided to stop in Dubai for a few days.

Checking in

At Heathrow, the first thing the lady who was in charge of check-in asked me was where my UAE visa was. I informed her that I have a valid US visa. She asked me no further questions after she checked the validity of my US visa.

Find the nearest Marhaba counter once you land in UAE

I was flying with Qantas (a partner airline of Emirates). All Emirates and Qantas flights land in the T3 terminal in Dubai International Airport. In T3, the Marhaba counter is just before the immigration counter. Once you descend from the escalator, look to your left and you can see the Marhaba counter. There were two counters here. It was relatively empty when I was there and I did not have to wait.

UAE visa on arrival for Indian passport holders with a valid US visa fees

Once they check your USA visa validity, you will have to pay 140 Dhs (Approximately 38-40$). They accept only Dhirhams in cash but you have an option to pay with your international credit card as well. They give you a valid UAE visa on the spot and this will be valid for 14 days. You have an option to extend this for another 14 days for a fee of 250 Dhs.

You can proceed to the immigration counter once you receive your paper visa.

Check out this post on how to get an Australia visa for Indians.

I have a valid US visa on an old passport. Am I eligible for this UAE visa on arrival scheme for Indians?

So I had to change my passport this year since I ran out of pages and I had a couple of valid visas on my old passport including my US B1/B2 visa. So I was worried that I would not be eligible for this scheme. Thankfully, all you have to do is carry both your old and new passports, preferably stuck together. I had no issues availing this scheme when I went to Dubai in November 2018 and November 2022.

Conclusion

As you can see, both processes are relatively easy. I will definitely be using both these processes based on the number of days I intend to stay in UAE.

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Find my recommendations on guidebooks for Dubai.

Guidebooks for UAE

Traveling to UAE and need more guidance on which books to read? These are our recommendations for you to read before you go.

• Fodor’s Guide to UAE
• Lonely Planet’s Guide to UAE
• DK Eyewitness Guide to UAE