20 days extension
Without exit
UAE Visa change without exit - 2023 Guide
23rd January, 2023 Updated
The processing and issuing of in-country visa change without exit have been completely discontinued from December 24, 2022, onwards by the immigrations of all seven Emirates in the UAE. Visitors in UAE who want to get a visa extension can continue to do so with the Oman visa run or Airport-to-Airport method.
Table Of Contents
01
Current visa change options & rates
1090 AED
Only for 30 days on arrival nationals
30+10 days new on arrival Oman Exit
Sharing return transfer
350 AED
Only for 30 days on arrival nationals
30+10 days new on arrival Airport Exit
Airport to Airport visa change return flight ticket (from Dubai or Sharjah)
850-900 AED
Only for 30 days on arrival nationals
30+10 days new tourist visa
Airport to Airport visa change return flight ticket (from Dubai or Sharjah)
1649 AED
All nationals
60 days new tourist visa
Airport to Airport visa change return flight ticket (from Dubai or Sharjah)
1889 AED
All nationals
02
What is a Visa change without exit in UAE?
Suspended from December 2022
Inside country visa change without exit UAE is one of the few visa extension or renewal options currently available for visitors who are in UAE at the moment. Due to some travel restrictions imposed after the Outbreak of the Corona Pandemic, "Inside country visa with Status change service" is the best visa change option to get done while being safe inside your home.
Also, check out our UAE visa extension detailed guide.
03
Process
Step 1
Documents collection and Verification
Forward us the relevant documents through WhatsApp or E-mail to check and verify the current visa expiry date, passport validity and other details.
Step 2
Payment confirmation
Go ahead with Payment at our city offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah or to our bank account (deposit slip /online transfer details have to send to verify).
Step 3
Visa Application
The visa application will get submitted and get approved. After approval visa
Status: In echannel/ednrd will show up as 'Active'
Step 4
Visa Status Change
The Status will be changed from old Visa to new Visa.
Status: Upon status change, visa status in echannel/ednrd will show up as 'Used'
Step 5
The Status change Approved
Status change gets approved.
Step 6
Receive visa copy and Status change
You will receive the approved visa copy and status change papers by E-mail or to your WhatsApp.
Step 7
Getting confirm the new visa expiry date
Arabiers team will send you the immigration system screenshot for the last date of the new visa Your awareness
04
Documents required
- Copy of current tourist/ visit visa
- Applicant's passport soft copy ( colour scan copy in PDF OR JPEG format)
- Applicant's Photograph (color photo in PDF OR JPEG format)
- UAE resident visa page of the guarantor ( Relative/ friend/ company )
- Applicant's passport soft copy ( colour scan copy in PDF OR JPEG format)
- Applicant's Photograph (colour photo in PDF OR JPEG format)
- UAE resident visa page of the guarantor ( Relative/ friend/ company )
- Resident visa cancellation copy
- Applicant's passport soft copy ( colour scan copy in PDF OR JPEG format) Recent colour photo of the applicant with clear background in PDF or JPEG format
- Applicant's Photograph (colour photo in PDF OR JPEG format)
- UAE resident visa page of the guarantor ( Relative/ friend/ company )
05
Reviews
Zayed from Arabiers was quick to solve my visa problems to extend them. I recommend doing business with this company if you want your visa services to be fast and efficient.
- Gustavo Chinchayan -
The best one stop Travel Agency in the UAE to apply for Extensions to your Visas right inside UAE (in-country). Very Professional and very very helpful Staff members who provide Support all the way till you get your Visa in country
- Ezy Waqa -
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Tips
Use immigration websites (e-channel/ Ednrd) to check what your current visa expiry date is by entering the relevant details into the field and counting how many days more you have. It is important to track exact dates to avoid last-minute tension and overstay fines.
Keep updated about immigration overstay charges. In case of tourist/ visit visa holder overstay, very first day fine costs 200 AED, and on every other day overstay fine costs 100 AED per day. If it's a resident visa cancelled individual first-day fine will be 200 AED, and each other day, 25 AED will accumulated. If you are doing visa change without exit, it counts as 100 AED per day.
Always read the reviews from It's always a good idea to check out the reviews and service standards of the visa firm that you intend to process your visa. Before the payment, call or visit the office much better.
Prepare fee for visa extension in advance because all travel companies accept upfront payments to process visa-related services. UAE immigration charges application fees upfront for any visa-related services
After your new visa status change is done, make sure to understand what is the next ending date for the new visa you just received. Usually, the visa provider will share the screenshot taken from immigration for your reference to know till when.
Visa processing time completely relies on how busy the immigration system is. Submitting applications over the weekend or near to weekend might take time; hence immigration and most tourism companies closed on Fridays. These days due to the large volume of applications, visa processing takes more time too. Check out our UAE visa terms and condition too.
07
UAE visa change without exit updates - 2023
January 23, 2022
The United Arab Emirates Integrated Government Services (ICP UAE) has announced that it will be implementing additional fees for all of its services. According to the update, a fee of AED 100 will be levied for each service, which includes getting an Emirates ID, resident visas, as well as visit visas.
Source: ICP UAE
October 28, 2022
From October 3, 2022, onwards, all visitors in UAE can obtain a 60-day prepaid visit visa without exiting the country according to the new UAE visa laws that have been recently revealed by the government. Those who are planning to continue their stay in UAE are now given 30, 60 days single and multiple entry visas in the country without exiting UAE.
September 27, 2022
A 48-hour or 96-hour transit visa is issued for travellers who are transiting through any of the UAE's airports.
August 20, 2022
Travellers flying to Dubai below the age of 16 don't need to face a PCR test before leaving their country of origin.
August 13, 2022
The UAE cabinet has implemented a number of visa reforms to encourage visitors to remain longer in the country. The UAE Cabinet will begin implementing the extension of the usual stay period from 30 to 60 days in September.
(Source: The National)July 19, 2022
The National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) urges travellers to retake their PCR tests every 14 days to maintain the Green status in their Al Hosn app.
(Source: Gulf News)July 09, 2022
The festival of Eid Al Adha will be celebrated on 9th July Saturday with a holiday from 8th July onwards. As per the announcement by The Federal Authorities for Government Human Resources, work will continue from Tuesday 12th July.
(Source: The National)July 04, 2022
Emirates Airlines is preparing for a busy summer season in June and July with over 550,000 passengers scheduled to depart the UAE. The airline is facing high booking volumes for its flight and is advising its customers to make reservations early to avoid disappointment.
(Source: The National)07
Your visa change reasons
Below we have listed a handful of reasons that can lead you to apply for a UAE visa change without exit.
- Received free on-arrival at UAE, which is coming to an end
- My Transit visa is expiring, but unable to travel
- Cancelled resident visa
- Expiry nearing for the prepaid tourist visa
- Arrived on mission visa and wish to change to tourist visa
After you have figured out which of these 5 scenarios sounds similar to yours, read below to see what procedure you should follow for a UAE inside-country visa change.
01Received free on-arrival at UAE, which is coming to an end
First, figure out which on-arrival category you belong to, the 30-day or 90-day on-arrival visa.
30-day on-arrival holders
If you hail from countries like Andorra, Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan, Macau, Malaysia, Mauritius, Monaco, New Zealand, Ireland, San Marino, Singapore, Ukraine, Britain (UK) and Northern Ireland USA & Vatican City, you will receive a free on-arrival visa that permits you to stay for a total of 40 days in the UAE. The visa originally permits 30 days of stay with an additional 10-day grace period to leave the country or do an extension. To extend, you can either choose to avail of the extension of your on arrival visa for an additional 30 days giving you a total stay of 60 days from your entry date) or do a new 90-day tourist visa if you wish to stay longer. We can apply for an inside country 90-day UAE visa, which will give you a total of 140 days to stay in UAE, 30+ 10 days (on arrival free stay) and 90+10 days (99-day visa)
90-day on-arrival holders
If you belong to countries like France, Switzerland, Russia, Spain, Argentina, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Paraguay, Greece, Poland, Bahamas, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Uruguay, Denmark, Malta, South Korea, Honduras, Portugal, Barbados, Hungary, Romania, Belgium, Iceland, Brazil, Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia, Costa Rica, Liechtenstein, Seychelles, Croatia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Maldives you are eligible for free on arrival visa for a 90-day stay in UAE. This is a multiple entry visa that can be used within a 6-month duration.
This visa doesn't have an extension, and the 90 days stay period needs to be utilized within 180 days from first entry. For an extension, you have to apply for a prepaid tourist visa with exit or without exit. But, due to the prevailing pandemic, it's ideal to opt for an inside-country visa to avoid any unwanted hassle.
02 Transit visa is expiring, but unable to travel
UAE issues a 48-hour and 96-hour transit visa for individuals on long layovers. Having any type of UAE transit visa authorizes them to leave the airport and sightsee UAE. In instances of flight delays or change of travel plans, you can always apply for the visa change without exit by submitting your entry and transit visa details.
03 Cancelled resident visa
If a UAE resident wants to find new employment or stay longer for certain reasons, the cancelled Residence visa can be changed to a tourist visa without exit to avoid incurring overstay fines. You will need to submit your Resident cancellation paper and residence details.
04 Expiry nearing for the prepaid tourist visa
If you hold passports from South Africa, Turkey, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Jordan, Sri Lanka, you require a pre-arranged UAE visa to enter UAE. If you need an extension, you can opt for the visa change without the exit option if it fits your budget.
05 Arrived on mission visa and wish to change to tourist visa
The mission visa holder cannot apply for an inside-country tourist visa as the mission visa needs to be cancelled (which requires the holder to leave UAE) to be able to apply for a new visa.
08
Current visa status check & checking fines.
If you wish to confirm your last day of stay and the current visa status, you can utilize the file validity checker of the Federal Government System (ICA). If you are on arrival, prepaid, transit visa holder, click the "passport information and visa", If you are a resident holding a cancelled visa choose "passport information and residency". From the visa expiration date, you can calculate your overstaying fines, If you are cancelled, resident 25 AED per day and visitor 100 AED per day.
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Comparing visa change options
Mentioned here are certain other methods that can be used to extend your UAE stay.
- Airport to airport visa change
- Oman visa run
- Visa change by bus -Suspended due to covid
- Going on holiday and coming back
- Going home country and coming back
- Airport to airport visa change -Suspended due to covid
01Airport to airport visa change
Before COVID-19, Airport to Airport visa change was the popular option. This service has been suspended due to the travel restrictions imposed in most Gulf cities to contain the pandemic. With all the quarantine rules, PCR tests and mandatory insurance before flying, the Airport to Airport visa change would have been very costly and a hassle. Compared to this, the inside-country UAE visa is an easier alternative that doesn't require quarantining or PCR tests.
02 Oman Visa Run
The Oman visa run has become less famous after COVID-19. Anyone opting for this needs to contact the Oman Embassy in UAE or contact +968 24290942 / +968 24290827 or email at omaneVisa@rop.gov.om. When compared with inside country UAE visa, the Oman visa run procedure is very useful for 30-day on-arrival nationals who can get a new visa when re-entering without any cost. This service cannot be used by prepaid visa holders or 90-day on arrival visa holders.
03 Visa change by bus -Suspended due to covid
This Visa change by bus was popular with Indian and Philippine nationals renewing their tourist visas. Arrangements have to be made a few days in advance because the Oman visa needs to be obtained 1 to 2 working days before your date of travel. This procedure takes the applicant by bus to the Hatta border, exits from there and waits until the new UAE visa has been issued to enter UAE. The procedure is similar to an Oman visa run, but the arrangements are made by your operators.
04 Going for holidays and coming back - Not suitable due to covid
If you are lucky to find holiday packages cheaper than the visa change without an exit procedure, you can apply for your new visa while holidaying or re-enter with an on-arrival visa if you are eligible.
05 Going home country and coming back - Not suitable due to covid
You might feel like using your return ticket to fly back and re-enter with a new visa is cheaper. But when you add up the cost of a new visa and round ticket, it will be costlier than the visa change without exit. With the PCR tests and quarantine, it will also be a much more tedious process than without an exit UAE visa.
10
Fines calculation during visa change without exit
The visa change without exit procedure can be performed in the Dubai or Abu Dhabi immigrations depending on your preferred emirate. The procedure might be slightly different from emirate to emirate. When it come to paying your overstaying fine, both Emirates have separate fee structure.
Fine collection In Abu Dhabi
Additional fees like ICA fees, electronic payment fees and e-services fees will be collected.
Example scenario
AOverstaying on a prepaid/ on arrival visa, breakdown of the total fine needed to pay
Overstaying Fines (days of overstaying x 100 AED) + ICA fee total (53.47 AED).
If you overstay for a total of 10 days, your fines will be 10 x 100 + 53.47 = 1053.47 AED. This needs to be settled before your new application is processed.
BOverstaying after your grace period after residence cancellation
Overstaying Fines (days of over staying x 25 AED) + ICA fee total (53.47 AED )
If you overstay for a total of 10 days, your fines will be 10 x 250 + 53.47 = 303.47 AED, which needs to be settled before the new application is processed.
Fine collection In Dubai
No additional fees will be collected.
You will be charged 100 AED per day if overstaying on a prepaid/on-arrival visa and 25 AED per day if overstaying on a residence visa. The fines need to be settled before the status change application proceed.
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Frequently Asked Questions
In the past travel insurance wasn't a mandatory thing to travel and change visas in the UAE. After the covid, UAE authorities asked all travellers to get travel insurance that cover the covid in case they become a victim and infected with corona.
No grace period
Dubai visa is also a UAE visit visa, issued by Dubai immigration. Visa change without exit is also possible for Dubai-issued tourist visas.
The process of getting a tourist visa without exit involves status change. Charges of status change remain for 1 & 3-month visas. So better to take 90 days, instead of 30 days. If you are taking 30 days take the extension of your current visa with your current sponsor if you have a prepaid visa & if you are on arrival national getting 30 days you can do an oman visa run.
Yes, you can, but coming back to UAE will have issues. So please properly complete your cancellation and settle your liabilities and leave. Checkout our guide about UAE visa cancellation
At Arabiers, we have put together a guide about the UAE tourist/visit visa extension options with the latest updates. During the corona lockdown due to Oman, entries from UAE borders are suspended, and airport-to-airport visa change is suspended, so the only safest option is visa change without exit. Also, you can go back to your home country or any other country which allows you to enter during this covid. Also, make sure your city is safer and the visitors coming from that city are allowed to UAE.
Although a PCR test is mandatory while entering Dubai, and being vaccinated can have advantages during your quarantine, there is no specific rule requiring the applicant to do a PCR test or be vaccinated while applying for an extension. Certain rules must be followed by travellers. They are:
- Having a valid PCR test certificate collected no later than 48 hours before travel to Dubai.
- Sign an agreement for a 10-day quarantine in-home or hotel starting from the date of arrival in Dubai. (Source: Emirates)
- When travelling to Abu Dhabi, all safety protocols meted out in Abu Dhabi borders need to be followed, although they can extend travel time. (Source Etihad)
After April 29, 2016, GCC resident permit holders should apply for a UAE visa before travelling to the UAE. If a visa extension is needed after entering Dubai, an inside-country visa extension procedure can be done without the GCC resident permit holder leaving the UAE.
The border run has been suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak. If you have any questions about the procedure, please contact the Oman embassy at +971 4 397 1000 or Oman police & immigration at +968 2 429 0942. You can also extend with a visa change without exit, although it can be a bit costly.
Many travellers from the USA have asked this question. Visiting Dubai is not an issue as long as you have a confirmed flight to travel to Dubai as many flights get either rescheduled or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can enter with your on-arrival visa facility or opt for a cheaper alternative than an inside-country visa extension; get a prepaid visa before arriving.
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